Fiber versus Copper

Fiber versus copper - choose the perfect solution for your cabling infrastructure is not an easy task. but; once you be aware of the different properties of copper and fiber your solution may seem clearer.There are many advantages of fiber-optic cable compared to copper cables. Following table highlights some of these differences.

Implementation Issues	UTP Cabling	Fiber-optic-cabling
Bandwidth Supported	Fiber-optic can significantly increase your bandwidth potential and the Bandwidth is upto 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps	Copper wire infrastructure and TDM technology are limited in nature. Because it was originally designed for transmitting voice calls only, the demand for bandwidth wasn't high. So it support 10 Mbps to 100 Gbps.
Distance	The signal travel on copper wire networks degrades as the signal is carried from the central office. So the distance covered by copper wire is very Short which is from 1 meter to 100 meters.	Fiber was originally used for long haul networks. The signal travel on fiber optic cable do not degrades as the signal degrade in copper wire. Distance covered by fiber optic is very long from 1-100,000 meters.
Security	Intercepting copper cable can be performed by just connecting taps to a line to pick up the electronic signals. So it is very easy to compromise your security and dificult to trace compromise cable.	Putting a tap on a fiber-optic cable to intercept data transmissions is very difficult. It's also easy to quickly identify compromised cables, which visibly emit light from transmissions.
Immunity to EMI and RFI	Copper wire is a conductor so there is very low immunity to EMI and RFI for copper wire.	Fiber Optic Cable is non conducting meterial and electrical signal do not interfere on it So the immunity to EMI and RFI is very High (Completely immune)
Immunity to electrical hazards	Low	High (Completely immune)
Size of Cable	The speed via copper cable is directly associated with the weight of cable used. For achieving a higher speeds, more cable must be used, which requires more space in a system room.	Fiber cable's speed is not associated to its size, and it's far lighter weight than copper. This renders it easier to use, and less demanding of limited space in small rooms.
Media and connector costs	Lowest	Highest
Installation skills required	Lowest	Highest
Safety precautions	Lowest	Highest
Power over Ethernet (PoE)	Yes	No
Flexibility	High	Low
Reliability	Less reliable	More reliable