Is reddit right about copper cables between buildings?

[looktall]

My only fear is that 40G and 100G in the home is around the corner

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that.
Typical consumer products still top out at 1gig.

 

[bp2008]

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for that.
Typical consumer products still top out at 1gig.

Yup, 1 gig has been the norm for like 20 years, and now finally 2.5g is starting to appear mostly at the high end, and for most people the only reason to get it is to see larger numbers on their internet speed test when they get multi-gig service to their houses.

 

[TonyR]

Just finished connecting my detached garage to the house using 10G Ethernet over multi-mode OM3 fiber. The cost difference between copper and fiber was not a big deal. Fiber has less cost these days although SFP+ equipment may be slightly more because it usually supports 2.5G ports in addition to 10G and 1G and PoE.

I peeked at direct burial Ethernet cable too. It has extra water penetration protection using a long lasting gel of some kind. Messy of you have to add RJ45 connector. AFAIK the copper transceivers have magnetics to measure differential signals and are also optically isolated from the rest of the electronics. This is all packaged in a nice little integrated circuit possibly within the RJ45 connector of your equipment's circuit board. Shielding protects all this from external electrical phenomena. These cables break down over time and if they become energized externally you lose. Depends how they degrade.

Lots of effort was spent on trenching, PVC conduit, drainage, and lumber to protect against a shovel strike down the road when I forget where I buried all this stuff. Trenching was the big effort. My only fear is that 40G and 100G in the home is around the corner and none of this really matters because it will have to be done again in a few years.

The cost of just the PVC conduit per foot is likely more than the fiber!

 

[newfoundlandplucky]

True. There were also savings related to lower materials cost of fiber, unneeded aggregates, and less skill so higher chance of success.