Fiber Optic Cable vs. Twisted Pair Cable

Fiber Optic Cable vs. Twisted Pair Cable

As we all know, cables are the most important component to achieve data connections in every communication system. Most common cable types are fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable and coaxial cable.

Many people are confused how to make choices for their networks. This article aims to make comparison among fiber optic cable, twisted pair cable, and coaxial cable, and tell you how to differentiate these three cables.
 

Twisted pair cable is a kind of wiring in which two conductors of a single circuit are twisted together. The twisted cabling design helps to reduce noise from outside sources and crosstalk on multi-pair cables.

Twisted pair cable comes in two versions: unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) and shielded twisted-pair (STP). There is also some differences between fiber optic cable and twisted pair cable:

Twisted Pair Cable

Transmission

The signals transmission of fiber optic cable takes place in the electrical form over the metallic conducting wires, while the twisted pair cable takes place in an optical forms over a glass fiber.

Noise Immunity

Optical fiber has the highest noise immunity as the light rays are unaffected by the electrical noise, but the noise immunity of twisted pair cable is low.

Installation

The installation of twisted pair cable is easy, but the fiber optic cable needs complicated installing skills, and is difficult to work with and expensive in the short run.

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