In the ancient world, the majority of the copper mined in the Roman Empire came from Cyprus and was called Cyprium or later Cuprum, hence the modern name, copper. Today, it is one of the best electrical conductors of all the metals, and its abundance has helped it become the material that tied the world together in telecommunications. Here we’ll discuss the advantages for choosing copper cabling for your network, as well as the differences between copper and fibre cabling.
WHY CHOOSE COPPER CABLE FOR YOUR NETWORK CABLING?
- COPPER IS THE BEST CONDUCTOR = EFFICIENT. Copper has the highest electrical conductivity rating of all non-precious metals (100%). Electrical conductivity is a measure of how well a material transports an electric charge. Aluminum for example only has 61% of the conductivity of copper.
- COPPER IS FLEXIBLE. The inherent strength, hardness, and flexibility of copper building wire make it very easy to work with. Even though it has some flexibility, it doesn’t lose any toughness. It is not brittle when you bend it, so it will not crack or break.
- SAFETY. It really takes a lot to melt a copper wire (at least 1981.4ºF /1083.0ºC). In terms of safety, copper is going to be one of your best options. If an overload or surge comes through the wire, it is not likely to melt or burn. This means that your odds of a fire starting as a result of a power problem are going to be greatly decreased.
- COPPER STAYS PUT. When materials other than copper are used to wire things, they can sometimes loosen where they are connected and come unattached. This can lead to some seriously dangerous conditions when it comes to electrical wiring. With category cable connections, compromised cabling can lead to drops in connection and data corruption. Not good.
- COMPATIBILITY. Not having copper wiring can cause incompatibility problems in the future. For example, most appliance and electrical equipment manufacturers specify that copper wire is in all of their products.
- COST EFFECTIVE. Generally, copper wire is less expensive to install than fibre.
It is true that fibre cable prices have come down, however the technology surrounding fibre installations is still more expensive than copper. Fibre is more often used as a backbone infrastructure as copper has length and bandwidth limitations. For data networks, the 300ft rule for copper is almost always applied. Fibre on the other hand can be utilized in any building or campus environment without exceeding length limitations. The number one thing to consider when using fibre as a transport medium is equipment. Will your equipment handle and accept fibre optic cable? There are many solutions to consider, CORE can point you in the right direction.
To fully maximize your cabling infrastructure and prepare for the media-rich applications of the future, speak to a CORE Cabling specialist today. We’ll point you in the right direction.
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