There's a touch of green associated with receiving phone service, using the Internet and streaming video over an all-fiber-optic network. It's not the color of laser-generated light that carries massive amounts of data through all-glass cables directly into homes and businesses. It's green in the sense of how much more environmentally friendly today’s fiber-based telecommunications networks are compared to copper wire and coaxial cable networks. Whether it's energy efficiency or reduced demand for raw materials and other resources, all-fiber networks are a winning strategy on many fronts — including environmental sustainability. As we approach the 45th celebration of Earth Day on April 22, it's a good time to reflect on how network and technology decisions made by major telecommunications companies don't just result in advanced, more reliable services. These decisions can also pay handsome dividends on the sustainability front.
There's a touch of green associated with receiving phone service, using the Internet and streaming video over an all-fiber-optic network. It's not the color of laser-generated light that carries massive amounts of data through all-glass cables directly into homes and businesses. It's green in the sense of how much more environmentally friendly today’s fiber-based telecommunications networks are compared to copper wire and coaxial cable networks.
Whether it's energy efficiency or reduced demand for raw materials and other resources, all-fiber networks are a winning strategy on many fronts — including environmental sustainability.
As we approach the 45th celebration of Earth Day on April 22, it's a good time to reflect on how network and technology decisions made by major telecommunications companies don't just result in advanced, more reliable services. These decisions can also pay handsome dividends on the sustainability front.
Carrying more information per cable mile
What makes fiber green? Fiber networks have long been recognized as the most efficient, reliable means for transmitting information. Fewer physical resources are required to deploy and maintain these networks. Fiber carries far more information per specific length of cable than older technologies such as coaxial and copper. A beam of light over a single fiber, for example, can carry millions of phone calls and billions of bits of data simultaneously — far surpassing any other wireline telecommunications medium in use today. And the light signal over fiber doesn't degrade as quickly as electrical signals over copper, requiring less power and equipment for amplification. That saves energy and other costs associated with manufacturing, delivering and installing the equipment.
Even better, when customer demand grows for more data, video or other capabilities, a fiber network can handle the additional load without the installation of additional cables. Think of all the copper cable that can either be recycled or simply not used. One of the major manufacturers of fiber used by Verizon, Corning, breaks it down further in a 2010 news feature: “Industry data indicates that the mining required to provide two kilograms of copper wire (roughly the amount you’d need for a 200-foot length of copper cable) translates into about 1,000 kilograms of environmental impact. The creation of that same length of fiber requires only about .06 of a kilogram of environmental impact.”
Less energy required
All-fiber networks also require less power to operate, helping reduce growing demand for electricity and the associated generation of carbon dioxide from power plants. The power required to send an electrical signal over miles of copper wiring is typically dozens of times the amount of energy needed to send light over the same distance via a fiber-optic cable, according to a 2014 story on the "green" aspects of fiber by High Speed Experts. Fraunhaufer, a European research organization, points out in a 2012 paper, "Data transmission using light consumes only a fraction of the energy that conventional methods need."
The rate of repairs for fiber is up to 50 percent less than copper
Fiber-optic networks are far more reliable than copper and coaxial because they are not as susceptible to degradation from moisture, freezing and electrical interference. These fiber networks break and fail far less frequently than copper and coaxial, and they have a far longer lifespan than those mediums. In communities where Verizon customers are served by an all-fiber network, the rate of required repairs has dropped by as much as 50 percent. The net result is fewer resources required, lower associated costs and reduced demand for raw materials in the manufacturing process — translating to a more sustainable approach in wireline network operations. Add to that fuel savings and reduced emissions from fewer repair trips in local neighborhoods, and you have a winning green combination.
Even on the rare occasion when a fiber link goes down, service is restored much faster on fiber than on copper or coaxial. In many cases repair times are up to 67 percent quicker. This means reduced need for replacement equipment, repair trips and other resources — and more satisfied customers.
The all-fiber network
Verizon's commitment to an all-fiber network directly into homes and businesses began in 2004. It emerged from a search for the most effective, reliable, cost-effective means to serve customers at a time when demand for higher quality and increased broadband capability was soaring. Today it is available to nearly 20 million homes and businesses in over 800 communities, providing some of the best voice, broadband and video products available today.
So as we pause to reflect on how far we've come in the nearly half century since the Earth Day movement started, it's a good time to acknowledge how what we and other responsible companies do in our day-to-day operations lessens our impact on the environment.
Other programs Verizon is pursuing, ranging from eWaste recycling to on-site alternative energy generation, have grabbed the sustainability limelight, and rightfully so. But deployment of advanced systems like an all-fiber network — already used by millions today — also serves the sustainability cause while delivering services that are second to none.
Fiber optics image via Shutterstock.
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