Introduction to fiber optics and broadcasting

Abstract

Fiber-optic transmission offers the best components of coaxial and free-space transmission. It has the ability to carry a signal from one point to another without using the limited electromagnetic spectrum. However, it does not suffer from very limited bandwidth and data rate, the way coaxial cable does. The benefits of fiber-optic communication over coaxial includes: an immunity from electromagnetic noise, longer distance capability, high signal quality, greater information capacity, and ease in upgrade. Fiber-optic transmission is, however, not perfect. Like other transmission paths, there are associated losses which combine into an overall heading of attenuation. For this reason, a number of factors must be considered during the design process.