We’re bombarded by news of fiber optic networks—fiber to the home, 5G cellular backhaul, data centers and more. Managers involved with designing, installing and operating these networks need to be familiar with them. How well do you understand fiber optic networks?
Created by: Jim Hayes
1. A fiber optic network transmits information as pulses of light over thin strands of extremely pure glass that makes it ______ than copper cables or wireless.
A. Transmit data at higher rates
B. Send signals over longer distances
C. More secure in noisy electrical environments
D. All of the above
2. When it’s necessary to send signals from one point on the ground to another in the least amount of time, the “fastest” network is ______.
A. Fiber optics
B. Twisted-pair copper
C. Coaxial copper
D. Wireless
3. Fiber optic networks can send signals in analog or digital format.
A. True
B. False
4. Many fiber optic networks use ______ multiplexing to send multiple signals over the same fiber at the same time.
A. Time division
B. Frequency division
C. Wavelength division
D. Amplitude division
5. The difference between the specified output of a transmitter and the minimum power input of a receiver in a fiber optic link is called the ______.
A. Link margin
B. Power budget
C. Loss budget
D. Loss
6. Outside plant fiber optic networks use ______ fiber for its greater length and bandwidth capability.
A. Step index multimode
B. Graded index multimode
C. Single-mode
D. Plastic
7. Fiber-to-the-home passive optical networks use ______ to connect many users from one central source to save fibers and costs.
A. Switches
B. High-fiber-count cables
C. Splices
D. Optical splitters
8. Large data centers generally use single-mode fiber for links at data speeds greater than 10 Gbps.
9. Practically the only networks that still use multimode fiber are ______.
A. CATV
B. Cellular wireless such as 5G
C. Premises LANs
D. Traffic controls
