How to connect an optical cable. What is fiber optic? — How to connect fiber optic Internet

Broadband Internet is the general name for a whole group of modern high-speed technologies for constantly accessing the World Wide Web. Data is received and transmitted at the same high speed - up to hundreds of Mbit/s.

Thanks to broadband Internet, users have access to

digital TV services; IP telephony; possibility of cloud data storage and much more.

Internet service providers offer Various types connections broadband internet access. All available varieties can be divided into two large groups:

fixed - based wire connections; fiber optic - via optical communication lines; mobile - via wireless communication channels.

Broadband access over a leased line

The very first broadband technologies were based on Internet access via a digital leased line (DSL). Modern methods digital signal processing can significantly increase the capacity of a telephone line, which has made xDSL family technologies one of the most widespread throughout the world.

The symbol "x" is used to represent the entire family of leased line access technologies, which differ in data transfer speed and line multiplexing method. They are designated by separate abbreviations - ADSL, HDSL, RADSL, SHDSL, VDSL.

In general, all xDSL technologies can be divided into two categories:

symmetrical - with the same speed of receiving and transmitting data; asymmetric - with a higher speed of receiving data from the network.

Symmetric technologies are used most often in the corporate sector, while asymmetric technologies are used for subscriber access.

High-speed fiber optic Internet access channels

Access to the Internet via an optical line is the most common and fastest option for broadband access, widely used in multi-apartment city buildings. Each entrance of the house is connected via a fiber optic switch to the provider, and a twisted pair cable is pulled to the end subscribers for connection to a router or directly to the computer’s network card. In this case, the access speed global network will not exceed 100 Mbit/s.

The highest speed connection is achieved when the subscriber also connects via a fiber optic cable, rather than the usual twisted pair copper cable. Fiber access allows you to provide connection speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s, which allows you to connect any types of services - Internet, digital TV, IP telephony.

Mobile broadband

Broadband Internet access via mobile networks operators cellular communication 3G and 4G are a popular service due to the large coverage area and the explosive spread of mobile gadgets.

3G technology today is already morally obsolete, but is used quite widely, since it is available on a significant part of the coverage of leading operators. 4G technology is being actively introduced to replace 3G, making it possible to develop significantly more high speed. In metropolitan areas and large cities, providers are also developing the provision of Internet connections via WiMax, since most gadgets come with an already integrated WiFi module.

High-speed Internet, digital television, mobile connection possible thanks to thin glass threads stretching along the seabed between continents. If it were not for fiber optics, you would hardly be reading these lines.

The fundamental principles of this technology are described in the middleXIXcentury. Then they tried to use water as a signal conductor - without success. Materials suitable for the implementation of a bold idea were developed only after more than a hundred years.

Conductor for light

In a regular wire, the signal is transmitted through a copper core. Information is carried by a flow of electrons – electric current. Data is transmitted encrypted in binary code. If the pulse passes, it means one; if it doesn’t pass, it means zero.

In a fiber-optic communication line, the encoding principle is the same, but the information is carried by photons or light waves, or rather, both at the same time. Scientists debated the nature of light for so long that they eventually combined incompatible theories. But you don't need to understand quantum wave duality to understand how light is used to transmit information in telecommunications networks.

It is enough to understand how to make light flow through wires for kilometers.

The first thing that comes to mind is mirrors. Make a metal tube and cover the inside with a smooth layer, for example, silver.

Light, entering on one side, will be reflected from the walls until it reaches the exit on the other side. Not a bad idea, but it won't work.

Firstly, making such a tube of the required length is an extremely difficult and therefore expensive task.

Secondly, the reflection coefficient of silver is 99%, that is, the light entering the tube will lose energy and will completely go out after 100 reflections.

It is much better to do without mirrors. The foundations of geometric optics laid down in the 19th century will tell you how to do this.

The basic idea is easy to demonstrate using an aquarium as an example. A ray of light from a source under water passes through the boundary of water and air - two media with different optical properties - and partially changes the direction of movement, and is partially reflected from the boundary of the two media as from a mirror.

If the angle of incidence of the beam is reduced, at a certain moment the light will stop coming out of the water at all and will be reflected completely, 100%. The boundary between two environments works better than any mirror.

As it turned out, to create such a border, water is not needed. Any two materials that transmit light differently - having different refractive indices - will do. Even a 1% difference is enough to create a light guide.

Glass wires

Light guides in lamps and toys are made from plastics, but more expensive and more transparent materials are needed to make fiber optics suitable for communications.

Scientists have adapted quartz glass for this purpose. The core of the fiber optic preform is most often made from pure silicon dioxide. The outer layer is also made from quartz, but with an admixture of boron or germanium to reduce the refractive index.

Previously, to obtain such a blank, they simply inserted two glass tubes into each other, but today they often do it differently. Hollow tubes of pure quartz are filled with a mixture of gases high in germanium and heated slowly until the germanium settles in an even layer on the inner surface.

After a sufficiently thick layer of germanium oxide has grown on the quartz glass, the pipe is heated until softened and pulled until the cavity inside collapses.

This produces a rod with a diameter of 1 to 10 centimeters and a length of approximately 1 meter, already containing quartz in the core with the addition of germanium, having an increased refractive index and a shell of pure quartz around it.

Such a workpiece is delivered to the top of a tower up to several tens of meters high. There, the lower part of the workpiece is again heated to one and a half thousand degrees - almost to the melting point, and the thinnest thread is pulled out of it. On the way down, the glass cools and is dipped into a bath of polymer, which forms a protective layer on the surface of the quartz. This method produces up to 100 km of fiberglass from one piece. At the base of the tower, the cooled fiber is wound onto a bobbin.

Yes, it is precisely wound: oddly enough, quartz fiber bends easily.

The resulting fibers are collected into bundles of several pieces and sealed in polyethylene. Cables are then woven from these bundles.

Each cable can have from two or three to several hundred optical fibers. On the outside, they are braided with a polymer thread for strength and receive another protective shell of polyethylene.

Advantages and disadvantages of fiber optics

All these difficulties are justified because light is the fastest thing in the Universe.

Thanks to this property of light, optical fiber has unsurpassed information capacity. twisted pair, similar to a telephone line, or coaxial cable, a shielded conductor, carries 100 megabits per second.

The most common eight-core cable made of 4 twisted pairs for computer networks carries up to 1000 megabits per second. Optical fiber along one core is three times larger, up to 3000 megabits per second, and with the help of various experimental tricks this threshold can be overcome.

In addition, optical fiber is much lighter than copper. At 9 microns thick – thinner than a human hair – a 100 km long quartz thread weighs about 15 g.

Almost all modern backbone data transmission lines are laid from fiber optic cables. They connect continents, countries and data centers.

In large cities, “optics” are also used when connecting apartment buildings to the global network, but the fiber is laid between the provider and the house, and ordinary twisted pair is installed in apartments.

With this connection scheme, the maximum network access speed for a subscriber still does not exceed 100 Mbit/s. For comparison, by running an optical cable directly into an apartment, you can get a channel of 1 Gbit/s, and yet the consumer rarely encounters fiber-optic Internet.

It's not just that fiber is expensive to produce. Laying the cable is just the beginning. Signals traveling along a communication line accumulate errors over distance and eventually fade out completely. For twisted pair cables this occurs after 1 km, for coaxial cables after approximately 5 km. Afterwards the signal has to be restored and amplified – regenerated.

With optical fiber, the regeneration distance is many times greater, but no matter how clean the quartz glass is, impurities remain in it, for example, millionths of a percent of water.

The length of the fiber can be hundreds of thousands of kilometers, but after 100–200 km the attenuation of the optical signal still manifests itself.

Therefore, intermediate amplifiers are installed on fiber-optic communication lines, which restore the amplitude of the optical signal, and regenerators, which remove interference. Such equipment is much more expensive than amplifiers on traditional communication lines and requires qualified maintenance.

But most importantly, at the moment gigabit communication channels are in little demand ordinary people. Perhaps, with the advent of smart homes, wearable computers, and the spread of ultra-high-resolution video streaming, the need for them will increase, but for now the speed provided by twisted pair cables is quite enough for the average consumer.

Even without coming into direct contact with this technology, each of us enjoys its benefits. Stable connection, low delay in signal transmission to the most remote servers and high speed of receiving a response from them, the ability to withdraw money from any ATM and make a call to any country in the world - all this is the merit of optical fiber, and it has no competitors in the project.

At the moment, fiber optic cable is the most in a fast way internet connections in the world. High network speed is ensured by transmitting data using light. In fact, the cable consists of many individual wires through which light pulses pass. Such cables are capable of simultaneous data transmission from several objects, without any loss of information or speed. Taking advantage of this feature, providers often combine cable TV, telephony and Internet services in one cable, which can significantly reduce costs. Optical fiber is the technology of the future.

In this article we will look at how much it costs to install fiber optics in a private house and how to do it.

Benefits of fiber optics

• durability;
• high throughput;
• safety, this type communication allows you to quickly identify third-party interference;
• versatility.

Rostelecom fiber optic to a private home - how to connect?

Previously similar look communication was only available in the apartment, but now it is possible to install a fiber-optic cable into a private house. Similar services are provided by Rostelecom. To activate this service, simply leave a request at the company’s office or on the website rostelecom.ru.

Rostelecom fiber optic to a private home - brief instructions, how to connect:

1. Go to the company website rostelecom.ru.
2. Select your region.
3. Go to the "For Yourself" section.
4. Go to the "Internet" tab.
5. Select a tariff and click the connect button.
6. Fill out the form and click "Order".

If you do not have Internet access, you can visit the company’s office in person and discuss all issues with a specialist.

How much does it cost to install Rostelecom fiber optics into a private home?

When connecting your home to optical fiber in the private sector, the price will be determined depending on the type of line, footage and tariff. IN currently connection is made for only 99 rubles per month.

The following basic tariff plans are also available:

1. 200 Mbit/sec for 890 rub.
2. 100 Mbit/sec for 690 rub.
3. 80 Mbit/sec for 590 rub.
4. 45 Mbit/sec for 480 rub.

Summarizing

According to user reviews, optical fiber is in a great way Internet connection, as it can provide stable high connection speed. Personally verified by own experience. Now you know how to install fiber optics into a private home and can do it at the best prices.

The OPTEN trading house, being the main partner of many domestic and foreign companies, offers for supply the entire range of goods for the construction and operation of fiber-optic communication lines. In particular, a rack-mount optical cross http://td.opten.spb.ru/komm-cross/komm/krossi-sto, necessary for the functioning of fiber optic networks.

There is ongoing debate among Internet users about which cable is better to use to access the World Wide Web: fiber optic or twisted pair. Proponents of fiber optic cable talk about its reliability, speed and stability. Is it really?

There are two types of cable that providers use to connect the Internet and television: fiber optic cable and twisted pair. Baza.net subscribers are connected using twisted pair cables.

The design of this cable is quite simple. It consists of one or more pairs of insulated conductors, twisted together and covered with a plastic sheath. This cable can be placed in the apartment at your convenience. For example, under the baseboard. And repairing damaged twisted pair cables will not take large quantity time.

With fiber optic cable the situation is completely different. There are many elements inside it: glass fibers, plastic tubes, fiberglass cable. It cannot be bent as freely, otherwise the cable may break and as a result the signal will be lost. To repair damage to the optical fiber, you will need to call a specialist with expensive equipment.

In addition, repair and replacement of fiber optics can "cost a pretty penny."

There is a connector at the end of each cable. For a twisted pair cable, this is a plastic tip, similar to the one that is inserted into a landline telephone. It is important to note that this connector is universal and will fit almost any network card. You can insert it into your laptop, Wi-Fi router, or game console.

The fiber optic has a different connector for which You will need to purchase a special optical terminal. Pleasure is not cheap, and the lineup limited to just a few options.

Of course, the maximum possible data transfer speed through optical fiber is higher than through twisted pair. But it is worth noting that you are unlikely to feel this difference in speed. The fact is that each device, be it a W-Fi router, a home computer or a TV set-top box, has its own network adapter. If your device was released a few years ago, then its maximum bandwidth is only 100 Mbps, while in new devices it allows you to overclock to 1 Gbps by default. In this case, even if you installed fiber optics, but access the Internet from an old laptop model, you will not be able to get a speed higher than 100 Mbit/s.

We decided to check what maximum speed the average user needs to spend time on the Internet comfortably.

As a test, we watched YouTube videos at maximum speed. high quality, launched online games, listened to music from the network and downloaded files from various resources. Despite the fact that the Internet speed in the office reaches 1 Gbit/s, none of these tasks required more than 72 Mbps.

To be honest, no one needs to use fiber optics in an apartment. And users themselves don’t know why they need such speed.

Experts from all over say that the fiber-optic network will remain unclaimed for at least another ten years. At the moment, there are practically no Internet resources for which you need a speed higher than 70-100 Mbit/s. Even if in the future there will be pages that twisted pair cannot handle, we will be able to replace the equipment with more up-to-date equipment in the shortest possible time and will provide access via fiber-optic cable.

In fact, you already access the Internet via fiber optic cable.

As a provider, we provide fiber optics to each apartment building, and then we connect the Internet to each individual apartment via twisted pair cable.

After conducting a series of studies, we came to the conclusion that the stability of data transmission using both types of cable is absolutely identical and does not depend in any way on their throughput.

So what should you choose?

The conclusion suggests itself. Twisted pair cable is cheaper and more accessible than fiber optic cable, which has no advantages in use for the average user. Dear friends, carefully choose your provider and always remember this article before choosing one or another method of connecting to the Internet.

And internet via fiber optic cable is last change way to transfer data around the world. It is much faster than regular cable, faster than dial-up, and can carry large amounts of data, often reaching several terabytes of data transfer quite easily.

Before fiber: DSL and cable

Digital subscriber line (DSL) used existing telephone lines for data transmission, which were usually made of copper. DSL is slow, old, and has largely been phased out in favor of cable, but it remains in some rural areas. The average speed for DSL is about 2 Mbps.

Cable Internet uses coaxial cable, also made of copper, and typically comes with the same cables used to control a television network. That's why many ISPs offer bundled plans with a TV subscription and Internet access. Average speeds for cable vary, but range from 20 Mbps to 100 Mbps.

Optical fiber

Fiber optic cables use small glass fibers to transmit data using pulses of light. Light travels in the same way as electricity through a copper wire, but the advantage is that fiber cables can carry multiple signals at once. They are incredibly small, so they are often combined into larger cables called "fiber optic trunk cables", each containing multiple fiber lines. Fiber cables contain a huge amount of data, and average speed, which you will see in your home, is about 1 Gbps (often called “gigabit Internet”).

Fiber backbone cables form the main part modern Internet, and you will see their benefits, even if you do not have fiber Internet. That's because Internet Exchange Points (IXPs)—the switching and routing stations that connect your home to the rest of the world—use fiber optic backbones to connect to other IXPs.

But when it comes time to connect every home in town to your local IXP (a term commonly referred to as the "last mile"), your ISP will typically use traditional coaxial cable for your home. This option becomes bottleneck for your Internet speed. When someone says they have “fiber internet,” they mean that the connection from their home to the IXP also uses fiber, eliminating the speed limitation of copper cable.

Limitations of fiber optics

There's a reason fiber internet isn't widely available. Fiber is much more expensive to run and doesn't justify the cost when cable lines are often already available. For most people, the 20-100 Mbps speed they get on cable is sufficient, since most internet downloads won't exceed that connection anyway.

And while fiber is certainly better than copper, you won't see an increase in actual download speed due to limitations on the server you're downloading from. An app like Steam loading a 10GB game looks like it will only take a few seconds on a 1000Mbps fiber connection, but in reality you'll get maximum speed 50 Mbps from Steam servers.