Choosing Copper or Fiber for a Link

For any network link you must choose a medium: copper twisted pair or fiber optics. Each has clear strengths, and the right pick depends on distance, speed, environment, and budget. This decision comes up constantly in real work and in exam scenarios. This lesson gives you a simple framework so you can justify the better choice every time rather than guessing.

The biggest deciding factor is distance. Copper Ethernet is limited to about 100 meters per run. Beyond that, the signal weakens too much. Fiber easily spans hundreds of meters to many kilometers. So any link longer than 100 meters — between buildings, across a campus, or to another city — points strongly to fiber, while short runs can use copper.