Copper cables: Should they be phased out as last mile broadband solutions?

The fundamental building block of last mile broadband connections for the telecommunications industry is the copper cabling systems that have traditionally underpinned the networks. Time has seen tremendous change in this core component of the network, with result being silica-based fiber optics are championed as the de facto replacement technology for traditional copper cabling in the last mile. This paper will provide a survey and discussion of the current status of copper cabling in networks. It will examine the strengths of copper verses fiber optics. It will explore the effectiveness of recent technological advances made in delivering broadband over copper. It will also review the current economic models relating to cable deployments. Finally, an analysis will be presented that attempts to answers the question of phasing out copper.