Fiber optic technology works by using long strands of glass to send and receive laser-generated light impulses that contain digitized data. Fiber optic technology requires the use of ultra-pure glass. Ultra-pure glass is required because it allows the light pulses to flow through the long strands of fiber optic cable without being distorted. A tiny impurity in the fiber optic cable could cause the light pulse to lose some of the information that it is carrying. Fiber optic technology has lots of advantages over traditional copper cable transmission systems.
Optical fiber can carry a lot more information.
Two strands of optical fiber can carry 24,000 telephone calls. It would take approximately 48,000 copper wires to make the same number of phone calls. Fiber optic technology will make it possible to improve communication systems like the telephone by allowing people to actually see the person they are talking to. When fiber optic technology was first created it used multimode fiber. Multimode fiber allows the light to take several different paths down the glass fiber.