Fiber optic cable can be run anywhere from 300 meters up to 80 kilometers (roughly 50 miles) depending on the cable type, transceiver used, and network standard. Many factors decide the fiber cable distance, but the key factors include the below six aspects. Attenuation First is the attenuation of the optical fiber. Single-mode. *FDDI grade **Greater than 30 km distance mandates an "engineered link", requiring “field-testing” for verification of conformance to the 11 dB channel insertion loss specification. The larger repeater spacing compared with 1-km spacing of coaxial systems was an important motivation for system designers because it decreased the installation and maintenance costs associated with each. With amplifiers, such as Erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), the distance can be extended to 600 miles or more, and even further with additional amplifiers for long-haul applications. The reach of multimode fiber, which has a larger core diameter and supports multiple modes of light propagation.
