Metro fiber is a fiber optic network which connects several enterprises in a metropolitan area providing a high-speed broadband connection. High-speed data is transmitted as light impulses. These fibers are often leased out by providers to other companies.
Metro fiber is a relatively newer technology which is used to connect buildings in a large metropolitan area over the internet, like connecting multiple computers in a single building. In a metropolitan area, metro fiber is used to link central offices. In a fiber optic network, this fiber is used for high-speed data transmission through fiber optic lines in the form of light pulses.
To simplify the functioning of a metro fiber network, consider a hypothetical situation, where all business enterprises and even individual consumers are making use of a single network. These networks would then join with even larger networks and the metropolitan area would be connected by a single large network. Metro fiber is used for high-speed broadband connection across several enterprises in a metropolitan area. The buildings that it connects are known as ‘lit’ or ‘on-net’ buildings. With speeds up to 10, 100, or 1000 Mbps, it enables faster access to internet and data transfer for clients, a major way forward from the traditional bandwidth. This fiber enables one to meet high data needs of multi-site business enterprises.
A highly favorable alternative to traditional internet connections, these fibers are particularly beneficial for data and multimedia transfers. Business enterprises stand to gain the maximum from this technology by using it for increasing their productivity and thus get higher revenues.
The providers of metro fiber networks often lease out unused fibers to other companies. These unused fibers are called dark fibers. These fibers are leased out to enterprises for establishing optical connections in their region. For example, large business houses leasing out their connections, phone companies connecting central offices, etc. If a local cable company leases out network connections to a television company, then the television company can directly transmit signals to the cable company, thus relaying crystal clear signals.
Networks using this fiber can transmit signals over a range of approximately 200 kilometers, though most connections are confined in much shorter area like a metropolitan area. Most connections are made within a span of 100 kilometers and do not require the use of an optical amplifier, except when the coupling loss is very high. The optical amplifiers do not permit operation of light wavelength outside the available band of the optical amplifier.
The metro fiber technology has become a revolution of sorts. It is connecting people, increasing the productivity of business enterprises and binding several institutions in one network. With speeds of 155 Mbit/s up to 10 Gbit/s, a complete channel can be leased out through this fiber network with data being transmitted at whatever speed you want.