What to know when buying fiber optic?The fiber optic market is continuously growing and the reason why is simple: fiber optic outperforms, by far, any alternative cabling solution. Nowadays, fast networks are one of the key elements for remaining competitive in the business world and more and more companies are shifting to fiber optics. If you are thinking about it too, take a few minutes to read the key practices you need to understand when buying fiber optic cabling.
First, get to know your options. Fiber optic patch cords come in two types – single mode and multimode (step index and graded index). If you need to cover longer distance connections, single mode fibers are what you are looking for. Their compact cores reduce the attenuation and the loss of signal strength. You must be aware that single mode fiber is more expensive than multimode because of their complex production process.
Multimode solutions transmit more data than single mode. They do so at slower speeds and at a certain risk of attenuation. Multimode cables are generally used in short-distances networks.
While these two types of cables dominate the fiber optic market, there are some manufacturers who offer hybrid cables (single mode combined with multimode lines) as well.
Second, make sure you understand what are the installation demands. Fiber optic cables can be installed both indoors and outdoors. Indoors installation can be quite complex because the networks need to be designed with the structure of the building in mind. They are centred on LANs (Local Area Networks). Centralized fiber cabling becomes more and more common because they do not require any grounding or temperature control.
Last, but not least, find the fiber optic manufacturer that can answer to all your network needs. The quality of the fiber and product support are different from one provider to another. Make sure you identify the vendor that resonates with your network expectations the best.
And while we’re here, with over 10 years of experience, PeakOptical carries a complete product matrix within this segment, fully compatible with the leading manufacturers.
Our portfolio includes transceivers, media converters, xWDM solutions and fiber optic patch cords. Is your organization ready to buy fiber optic? Give us a call.
