What type of fiber is required to run at Gigabit speed?

Gigabit Ethernet is a type of high-speed Ethernet. It is ideally developed for transmitting data at a rate of 109 bits/sec. However, in a practical Gigabit Ethernet network, the transmission rate may vary due to transmission losses at fiber ends of the connectors. Due to this high speed, the transmission protocol demands a higher bandwidth. It is important to understand that the transmission speed of data via fiber is majorly affected by the distance. In certain conditions, the fiber optic that is being used must offer sufficient bandwidth and as less as possible data losses. This makes the selection of fiber to run at gigabit speed a little complex. However, some of the suitable types of fiber are listed below to run Ethernet at gigabit speed.

  • FDDI-Grade (62.5 Micron Fiber): Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) - grade cable that has 62.5 microns of core diameter offers bandwidth that can suffice gigabit network transmission. However, the limitation of this type of fiber is the distance. It can effectively transmit up to 200 meters of distance. Under certain distance, FDDI-grade, the 62.5-micron fiber is known to offer virtually unlimited bandwidth.
  • Single-Mode Fiber: In cases of long-distance gigabit transmission, single-mode fiber or a hybrid fiber is a suitable option. It efficiently offers a bandwidth of a multimode fiber as it transmits data at 1300 nm. Due to higher bandwidth and long-distance transmission capacity, this type of cable is suitable to run at gigabit speed.
  • 50-Microns Fiber: 50-micron multimode fiber is a suitable option for gigabit data transmission. It offers a bandwidth of 500 MHz-km. It offers a transmission window for 850 nm and 1300 nm wavelengths. These cables are suitable for 550 meters of data transmission, and therefore are used in field-networking, factory-terminated fiber-optic connections.

These are the fibers suitable for gigabit transmission and are being used under various fiber optic transmission standards. Owing to rapid advancement in technologies, the compatibility of these fibers must be checked prior to the installation.