Telecommunications Media
Telecommunications media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cables, and fiber-optic cables, all off which physically link the devices in a network. Also included are terrestrial microwave, communications satellites, cellular phone systems and packet and LAN radio, all of which use microwave and other radio waves. In addition, there are infrared systems, which use infrared light to transmit and receive data.
Wired Technologies
Twisted-Pair Wire
The ordinary telephone wire, consisting of copper wire twisted into pairs, the twisted-pair wire, is the most widely used medium for telecommunications.
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable consists of a sturdy copper or aluminum wire wrapped with spacers to insulate and protect it
Fiber Optics
Fiber optics uses cables consisting of one or more hair-thin filaments of glass fiber wrapped in a protective jacket. The transmitting speed of fiber is hundreds of times faster than coaxial cable and thousands of times better than twisted-pair wire.
The Problem of “The Last Mile”
The last mile is the final leg of a cable TV, telephone or other telecommunications network that ends in the user's household. The problem is the telecommunications provider adopts a new, faster, better technology that can provide higher bandwidth and faster telecommunication speeds to consumers. The house it is connected to is wired with twisted-pair wiring that simply cannot handle the bandwidth provided by fiber.
