In recent years it has become apparent that fiber-optics are steadily replacing copper wire as an appropriate means of communication signal transmission. A fiber-optic system is similar to the copper wire system. The difference is that fiber-optics use light pulses to transmit information down fiber lines instead of using electronic pulses to transmit information down copper lines.
A fiber-optic cable contains anywhere from a few to hundreds of optical fibers within a plastic casing. Also known as optic cables or optical fiber cables, they transfer data signals in the form of light and travel hundreds of miles significantly faster than those used in traditional electrical cables.
There are three types of fiber optic cable commonly used: single mode, multimode and plastic optical fiber (POF).