Faster Than a Speeding Electron
Cat5e and RG6 cables have the capacity to transmit more data than even the most demanding electronic technology now available. But the day will surely come when these copper-based cables can't keep up with the flood of data pouring through the Internet.
If that keeps you up at night, consider the ultimate in network wiring: fiberoptic cable. The stringlike cable sends data as light pulses through strands of ultra-pure glass. "The bandwidth is virtually unlimited," says audiovisual specialist Steve Hayes of Custom Electronics, the firm that wired the TV project house in Winchester, Mass. "It's the most secure cable you can have because there is no electronic transmission that someone can 'spy' on." It's also immune to electronic interference and impossible to short-circuit.
At $2 a foot, fiberoptic cable is double the price of most structured wiring and requires expensive receivers and transmitters to convert the optical signals into ones that can be read by computers and other electronic devices. Nevertheless, Hayes installs fiberoptics in most of his wiring projects these days, saying it's the best insurance going when it comes to networking a home.
Cat5e and RG6 cables have the capacity to transmit more data than even the most demanding electronic technology now available. But the day will surely come when these copper-based cables can't keep up with the flood of data pouring through the Internet.
If that keeps you up at night, consider the ultimate in network wiring: fiberoptic cable. The stringlike cable sends data as light pulses through strands of ultra-pure glass. "The bandwidth is virtually unlimited," says audiovisual specialist Steve Hayes of Custom Electronics, the firm that wired the TV project house in Winchester, Mass. "It's the most secure cable you can have because there is no electronic transmission that someone can 'spy' on." It's also immune to electronic interference and impossible to short-circuit.
At $2 a foot, fiberoptic cable is double the price of most structured wiring and requires expensive receivers and transmitters to convert the optical signals into ones that can be read by computers and other electronic devices. Nevertheless, Hayes installs fiberoptics in most of his wiring projects these days, saying it's the best insurance going when it comes to networking a home.
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