As the demand for bandwidth increases it appears that common sense decreases at a proportional rate with regards to the installation of fiber optic cabling. There are those that continue to insist on installing Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Copper in lieu of fiber cabling in most installations. I had a contractor once tell me that he is aware that fiber is a better media and is less costly in the long run. However, he insists that if he installed fiber networks on a regular basis it would not be long before he would be out of business. He knew that it would take less time to install a fiber network which would mean less billable man hours and most importantly, he knew he would not have to go back to the job site for many years to upgrade, troubleshoot, or otherwise service the customer's network. As a matter of fact, once the fiber network was properly installed, terminated, and tested, he would probably never hear from that customer again. In order to upgrade the fiber cabling one would only have to change the active devices at both ends. Over the years he had relied on repeat business from each of his customers as that had been the normal history associated with installing UTP copper.
For the last 25 years, in order to upgrade a building's network one would have to re-cable the entire building to support the required bandwidth demand - cable and connectors. This has usually occurred every 3 - 5 years. Notwithstanding the fact that fiber has been around for years, UTP cooper became the media of choice even after it became apparent in the late 1990's that fiber in many cases was less expensive to install and maintain. So therefore the copper manufactures have continued to twist it tighter, make the conductor larger and put shielding around it to try and squeeze the final drop of bandwidth capability out of it. One can compare that to tightly twisting a wet wash cloth in an attempt to squeeze out all of the water. Of course one cannot squeeze out all of the water thus the rag must be hung out to dry - which is exactly what should be done with UTP copper. Even though UTP copper continues to falter on a regular basis when the demand for bandwidth increases, there are still those that insist on following the path of insanity which is, of course, continuing to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. With regards to 10Gig Ethernet, UTP Copper continues to be installed even when the common maladies associated with UTP cabling continue to exist. And now the the "copperheads" are faced with a new problem - the now infamous Alien (UFO/Subterranean Crosstalk). Fiber cabling is immune to Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and Radio Frequency interference (RFI) so it therefore has none of the problems commonly associated with copper cabling.
The issue of fiber being too fragile is nonsense. Optical fiber is not your typical kind of glass. It is made of ultra-pure silica, which is an extremely strong material that has the ability to handle exposure to temperature and pressure extremes. The tensile strength (resistance to pulling) of optical fiber exceeds 600,000 pounds per square inch which actually makes it stronger than copper or steel strands of the same diameter and easily surpassing the strength requirements of today's communications applications. At the time it is manufactured and cabled, it is usually joined with aramid (Kevlar) or fiberglass yarns and placed into various jacketing materials depending on its intended use thus making it even stronger. Therefore the use of expensive plenum innerduct is a waste of good money and time in most applications. Unless there are AH-1 Apache Helicopters or F-18 jets flying around in the overhead - don't use the stuff!
The myth that fiber's performance capabilities are unnecessary is another ridiculous statement. Fiber has proven time and time again that it can transmit information error-free over much greater distances than copper and support higher data rates at the same time. If a local area network is experiencing bottlenecks, high error rates, or slow throughput, an optical fiber solution will, in fact, fix the problem permanently and support a broader range of bandwidth capabilities, further supporting the fact that ALL computer networks should be fiber and not copper. Optical fiber itself is capable of supporting runs beyond the 100-meter limit for any grade of copper cabling available today. Standard 62.5-micron (µm) fiber can run effectively up to 300 meters at 100 Mbps, and LOF, 10Gig, 50- µm fiber can run up to 500 meters. With proper training and awareness, contractors will find that fiber networks are easier to install and test and offer outstanding opportunities for business growth.
Contractors and students alike continue to say, "fiber is difficult to install". This is far from the actual truth. Most fiber contractors today still insist on installing fiber and even copper networks without proper training. Receiving training from an old "salt" that has been doing it his way for years is not the correct method to learn to do anything. Also, training from a fiber optic training company using cirrculum written by individuals with little actual hands on experience is another mistake. Beware of some of the fiber optic training companies that have been around since the early 80's as they may be teaching outdated and useless installation techniques thus wasting your time and money. In fact, fiber cabling is much easier and less time consuming to install when compared to the installation of UTP copper. Even the fiber network test equipment is easier to use and much less expensive. Besides ease of installation, SFF connectors make fiber faster to install, as the connection time per connector is much quicker.
Another leading myth is that upgrading from copper to fiber is expensive and not worth the effort. This is so far from the truth that it borders on being absolutely silly. Fiber has already surpassed the cost parity with copper, even when considering installed first costs. Now, in many cases, fiber is actually a less expensive alternative for cabling than copper. Forget about using expensive optical switches initially. There are actually fewer switches required because the Telecom Room, as we know it, goes away. Use copper switches initially with small, inexpensive media converters at each end. Also a certification tester for a fiber network is around $1,200.00. The certification tester for a copper network starts at around $5,000.00. The Federal Court System installed fiber to the desk in 9 Federal courthouses in 7 South Texas cities. This action saved the taxpayer tons of money! No more unnecessary cabling upgrades, little if any network infrastructure maintenance, no more switch failure points in the telecom rooms, no more network slow downs due to high bandwidth requirements, and no more worries associated with copper networks. They got all of the data necessary about fiber vs. copper and made a knowledgeable decision instead of a decision based on myths and opinions.
Before you follow the path to insanity, get some good education and some exceptional hand-on training from a reputable fiber optic training company. Forget about attending those schools where the curriculum is written by college professors with little or no actual hands on experience. Pursue your knowledge of fiber optics networking with aggression and conviction. And by all means be sure you make a knowledgeable decision on the use of fiber optics in your network. Be sure to visit the BDI DataLynk web site and read the US Courts Fiber to the Desk Article. This article discusses the largest OM-3, 10Gig, FTTD project ever installed in the United States and it was all done by BDI DataLynk students who, before attending our fiber optic training programs, had little or no fiber optics network training.
Remember that installing copper is installing the past.
Bob Ballard, RCDD, CFOI, CFOT, and owner of BDI DataLynk, is a Registered Communication Distribution Designer appointed by BICSI, and is also recognized by the Fiber Optics Association as a Certified Fiber Optics Instructor. Bob has been actively involved in the telecommunications industry for over 20 years. His expertise in the area of fiber connectivity has made him a sought after consultant whenever problems arise. He speaks at Universities, Architectural Firms, Integrator Gatherings, and Conventions. He has performed fiber optics training for contractors all over the US and Mexico. He also has taught numerous fiber optic training sessions in the United States and Mexico on subjects ranging from Long-Haul Fiber Connectivity to Network Grounding. He is also responsible for one of the largest fiber to the desk installations in the US - the US Courts FTTD Project in Texas. For more information about installting and testing fiber optics networks, visit us at http://www.bdidatalynk.com
