Coaxial cable has a higher transmission speed than optical fiber

Optical fiber is significantly faster than coaxial cable, offering speeds from 1 Gbps up to 400 Gbps, while coaxial cable typically maxes out around 1 Gbps in practical use.

Speed and Transmission

Coaxial cable transmits data using electrical signals over a copper conductor. Typical broadband coaxial connections deliver speeds up to 1 Gbps, with advanced DOCSIS 3. 1 standards theoretically reaching 10 Gbps downstream, though real-world speeds are often limited to 500–1000 Mbps due to shared bandwidth and signal attenuation.

Latency ranges from 20–50 ms, and performance can degrade during peak usage or over long distances. Optical fiber, on the other hand, uses light pulses through glass or plastic strands, allowing much higher speeds and lower latency. Residential Fiber to the Home (FTTH) setups start at 1 Gbps, while enterprise and data center networks can achieve 100–400 Gbps.

Single-mode fiber supports 10 Gbps over 40 km without amplification, and multimode fiber can reach 400 Gbps over short distances with latency as low as 5–10 ms.

Bandwidth and Reliability

Fiber optic cables provide higher bandwidth, supporting simultaneous high-speed uploads and downloads with minimal interference. Coaxial cables have lower bandwidth and are more susceptible to congestion, especially when multiple users share the same line. Fiber's immunity to electromagnetic interference ensures consistent performance over long distances, whereas coaxial signals degrade more quickly with distance and electrical noise.

Practical Implications

For home internet: Coaxial may suffice for standard browsing and streaming, but fiber ensures faster, more reliable connections for multiple devices and high-demand applications. For enterprise or data-intensive use: Fiber is preferred due to its high speed, low latency, and scalability. Latency-sensitive applications: Fiber is superior for cloud computing, 5G fronthaul, and real-time data transmission.

In summary, while coaxial cable remains a cost-effective option for basic internet needs, optical fiber offers dramatically higher speeds, lower latency, and greater reliability, making it the optimal choice for modern high-performance networks.