电子信息类专业英语（西电第二版）Unit 19 Optical Fiber Communication.pptVIP

　　(i) Potential low cost. The glass which generally provides the optical fiber transmission medium is made from sand—not a scarce resource. So, in comparison with copper conductors, optical fibers offer the potential for low cost line communication. Although over recent years this potential has largely been realized in the costs of the optical fiber transmission medium which for bulk purchases is now becoming competitive with copper wires (i.e. twisted pairs), it has not yet been achieved in all the other component areas associated with optical fiber communications. For example, the costs of h