The internet has become an integral part of our daily lives to such an extent that a slow, unreliable connection is not only a major hurdle but simply unacceptable. With the advancement of internet technologies, Internet Service Providers are also enhancing their services to keep up with customer demands; one of these evolving technologies is fiber optics.
Currently, Fiber internet connectivity is the fastest, most reliable connection available as it uses fiber optic cables to transmit data. Due to its fast internet speeds and enhanced reliability, it has quickly gained popularity globally. But, have you ever wondered about this technology and how it transformed to provide the fastest internet service? If you are curious, just like us to learn more about the workings of fiber optics internet and the science behind it, here is everything that you need to know on this topic!
What is Fiber Optic Internet?
FiberOptic is the latest technology that uses cables with a glass core and a glass or plastic cladding to send out information over long distances in the form of light. This reliable technology delivers signals at a much faster rate and provides high bandwidth for a seamless internet experience.
With dual-way transmission speeds of gigabit a second, this technology has the potential for continuous advancement as you don’t need to invent a new technology to further increase the bandwidth.
How Does Fiber Optics Internet Work?
Fiber Optic cables comprise numerous optical fibers that are thinner than hair and acts as a transmission medium for carrying signals over longer distances. To simplify the entire process, let’s have a look at the working of fiber internet at various stages.
Signals Travel in the Form of Light Beams
The first stage comprises signals traveling through the fiber optic cable in the form of light beams. These light beams continuously bounce against the cable walls. As the fiber cables are made of numerous optical fibers, they have the potential to carry millions of data packets.
Occurring of Total Internal Reflection
This continuous bouncing against the cable walls gives each particle a mirror-like reflection.
The fiber cable is made up of two parts:
The Core: Light travels through this part. This innermost part of the fiber is made up of glass.
Cladding: It is typically made up of a thicker layer of glass or plastic and is usually wrapped around the core to ensure that light particles remain inside the core.
Both the core and the cladding make total internal reflection possible which is usually created when light particles strike the glass at a certain angle (less than 42 degrees).
Transmission in the Form of Light Pulses
FiberOptic carries light pulses at blazing-fast speeds. These pulses carry binary data which can easily travel 60 miles without any degradation and translating these bits into pulses is quite simple. Therefore, optical amplifiers are used to boost the signals so they can travel longer distances without any loss. It is also very easy to translate these bits into light pulses; you can take no pulse as 0 and one pulse as 1.
Conversion at the Last Mile
An Optical Network Terminal (OTN) translates these pulses into electrical Ethernet once these pulses arrive at their destination, enabling you to connect your devices to the internet. As this conversion happens at the last stretch of the fiber that connects you to the backbone of the network, it is termed a last-mile conversion.
The backbone of the internet makes internet connectivity possible around the globe. It is the core of the internet that allows instant connectivity as soon as you connect to a website.
So, what are the types of last-mile connections?
Last Mile Connection Types
As all fiber internet services are not similar, internet service providers install various last-mile connections to provide the services and each one defines how pure your connection is. Each last-mile connection is referred to as “Fiber-to-x” where x depicts the location where the connection ends.
The most commonly used last-mile connection types are:
- Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH)
- Fiber-to-the-node (FTTN)
Final Words
Fiber internet has quickly become the preferred choice of people globally with its fast internet speeds and reliability. Unfortunately, its low availability due to a lack of network infrastructure limits many people accessing it. We hope that now you have a clear idea about the working of fiber internet.
FAQs
