Coaxial cable, also called coax, is a type of cable used to transmit electrical signals. It consists of a central conductor surrounded by an insulating layer, a braided metal shield, and a plastic jacket. The shield protects the signal from interference by external electrical noise. Coax cables are commonly used for cable TV, internet connections, and satellite signals.
Whereas fiber optic cable, or fiber for short, transmits data using light pulses instead of electrical signals. It contains thin glass or plastic fibers that carry the light. Fiber optic cables are immune to electrical interference and can transmit data over long distances with minimal signal loss. This makes them ideal for high-speed internet connections, phone networks, and data centers.
What is the real difference? Coax is more durable and cheaper than fiber wiring but is subject to signal degradation. This means that you can’t effectively run coax over long distances because you will lose the signal on the line. Fiber, however, has no signal degradation, so you can run fiber networks forever without losing any signal strength. The problem is the wires are essentially glass and can be damaged easily.
In today’s world (and for the end user experience), there isn’t much of a difference. Coaxial cable can transmit 20 Gb/s download speeds, well over what current providers are offering. Fiber can deliver theoretically unlimited bandwidth, which is why it most providers selling it will use the term “future-proofing.”
The biggest thing to understand as a consumer who is thinking about switching their Coax network to a Fiber one, is that you probably will not notice a huge difference. You will not get a clearer picture on your TV or faster download speeds on your computer. What you would notice by switching is reliability. If you have an old network that has frequent issues and downtimes, a fiber network could alleviate those issues.