Fiber optic cables are, like their name suggests, a cable that uses light, rather than electricity to transmit information. They're made from silica glass fibers about the same width as a human hair, which allow the light to bounce back and forth down the length of the cabling. They support high-speed, interference-resistant communication and are particularly effective in applications that require high bandwidth, low latency, and strong signal integrity. The fiber which is used for optical communication is waveguides made of. Fiber optics, which is the science of light transmission through very fine glass or plastic fibers, continues to be used in more and more applications due to its inherent advantages over copper conductors. Unlike traditional metal wires that transmit electricity, fiber optic cables transmit light, making them capable of delivering higher bandwidth over longer. Optical fiber is a highly-transparent strand of glass that transmits light signals with low attenuation (loss of signal power) over long distances, providing nearly limitless bandwidth.
[PDF Version]