The fiber in fiber optic refers to the cable through which the information is transferred, while the optical part refers to the method by which the information is transferred. This is an optical beam of light that travels down a cable, usually either glass or glass.

A typical fiber optic cable consists of thin strips of glass or plastic, also known as optical fibers. The cable can consist of at least two lines, up to two hundred faults, depending on the cable. Each strand is one-tenth the size of a human hair. A single wire can transfer around 25,000 phone calls making an entire fiber optic strong enough to carry several million calls.

Fiber optic carries information from one place to another using all-optical (light-based) technology.

This light does not leak through the cable. The inner walls of the cable are equipped with glass, so light from the fiber optic travels "almost" at the speed of light, repeatedly bouncing off the walls. If light hits a glass at a truly shallow angle (less than 42 degrees), it will be reflected back again. The glass, in these cases, acts as if it were a mirror. This is called total internal reflection.

The last thing that keeps the light inside the cable is the actual structure of the tube. The main part of the cable, also called the core, is the point through which the light travels. Outside the core is another layer of glass, called the cladding, that serves to surround it. The job of the coating is to keep the light signals inside the core. The reason it can do this is because the glass material that makes up the coating is different from the material in the core. Technically, the coating has a lower refractive index.