[wplug] Fiber speed (was: Moyers & Internet)

[Vance Kochenderfer]

DK <curlynoodle at gmail.com> wrote:
> I technical question on fiber optics.  What is the maximum theoretical
> speed of a WAN deployed via fiber.  I realize that a 1Gbps LAN is rather
> easily done, but what at a neighborhood wide scale?

The smart-ass answer to the maximum theoretical speed of fiber is
299,792,458 m/s.  :)  But of course you wanted to know the maximum
data rate.  The answer isn't obvious, because theoretically the
only limit comes from weird quantum effects which would eventually
prevent you from distinguishing one photon from another.

As I sat contemplating the math this would require, I fortunately
remembered that I'm an engineer and not a scientist, and could fall
back on what the practical limits are.  In this case, that limit is
what equipment exists.  According to Wikipedia, 10 Gbps Ethernet
can stretch out to 80 km
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10_gigabit_Ethernet>, and the
Implementations section indicates there are a number of cards
available.

I imagine the true limit comes down to what your network
architecture looks like and, ultimately, what you can afford.  A
single point-to-point link can be extremely fast, but things get
complex in a hurry when you start adding more nodes.

Vance Kochenderfer        |  "Get me out of these ropes and into a
vkochend at nyx.net          |   good belt of Scotch"    -Nick Danger