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Fiber optic (or "optical fiber") refers to the medium and the technology
associated with the transmission of information as light impulses along a glass
or plastic wire or fiber. Fiber optic wire carries much more information than
conventional copper wire and is far less subject to electromagnetic
interference. Most telephone company long-distance lines are now fiber optic.
Transmission on fiber optic wire requires repeating at distance intervals.
The glass fiber requires more protection within an outer cable than copper. For
these reasons and because the installation of any new wiring is labor-intensive,
few communities yet have fiber optic wires or cables from the phone company's
branch office to local customers (known as local
loop).
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