Fiber optic cables offer a cost advantage primarily in long-distance transport.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not specified
• D. Only in some cases

Answer: (A)

Fiber optics deliver a cost advantage mainly in long-distance transport because they suffer far less signal loss over distance, which means you can span longer distances between repeaters and amplifiers. This reduces the need for frequent regeneration of the signal, lowering equipment and maintenance costs. In addition, the high bandwidth of fiber allows multiple data streams to travel over the same fiber using wavelength-division multiplexing (DWDM), so a single fiber can carry a huge amount of data, further reducing cost per bit as distance grows. In shorter links, the upfront costs for fiber infrastructure and transceivers can outweigh the savings, so the cost advantage is not as pronounced. Hence the statement is true.