Fiber Optics in the US

An optic fiber is a thin piece of glass or plastic that light travels along, like electricity traveling through a metal wire. That’s basically the gist of it. Fiber optics is simply another way we have figured out to transmit data or power. Benefits to using fiber is: 

• One fiber can carry 3 million voice calls or 90,000 TV channels (aka “broad bandwidth”)
• Optic cables aren’t prone to electrical problems as copper—optic cables don’t pick up other signals and they don’t conduct electricity (meaning they can be placed in a lot more variety of places and aren’t affected by a lightning strike).
• The light in the cables can travel much further without needing an energy boost (aka “low attenuation loss”). For example, the usual distance information can travel in copper wire without assistance is 100m (330ft), while in an optical cable it’s 2000m (6500ft).
• It’s harder to tap into information traveling along a fiber optics cable than down a copper one.
• They are also smaller, thinner, lighter, more flexible, and cheaper to make, making installation much easier (although installation costs are more than for copper wires).

The US ranks 18th among countries in the OECD, a group of the world's largest economies, in fiber-optic penetrations rates, as this chart from Statista shows. Its 9.4% penetration rate is nearly half of the OECD average, and almost an eighth of what the top-ranked Japan has.

Fiber optic connections are several times faster than the speeds you get with your standard broadband connection. It's usually fast enough to download a full two-hour movie in just a few seconds.


The low fiber-optic percentage doesn't come as a big surprise, given the US has some of the slowest internet speeds in the world. But the results show the US may have a long way to go to catch up with the rest of the world in next-generation internet technology as well.

The main reason why the US is the slowest in internet speeds and is due to the market. US ISPs are narrowed down to two Comcast and Cox.  These companies have an infrastructure already in place for years that supports copper.  Changing to Fiber would cost them billions of dollars, which in return would increase our internet bills.  Because of poor planning and maximizing on the market, these two companies are slowly introducing Fiber optics to only those who can afford the big bill. Many of new companies who want to offer fiber are being destroyed by the tech giants. Few companies such as Google have brought fiber into some major cities at a lower cost, but the growth rate is small. A handful of companies, like Google and Comcast, have been working on bringing super high-speed, fiber-optic internet connections to the US, but the penetration rate is still lagging the rest of the world.

This video below shows an effort between the US and some Asian countries to connect via Fiber optic cables. A few smaller companies have joined together to run fiber through the ocean which will help develop the infrastructure for all those countries, enhancing trade and communications. The video only talks about a handful of countries, however more have been working together over the years.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ziCHn6F_6rg
https://ecurrent.fit.edu/blog/panther-voices/cant-live-without-fiber-optics/
http://www.businessinsider.com/fiber-optic-penetration-in-us-is-low-2016-2
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/why-its-so-hard-to-bring-gigabit-internet-to-the-us