# What is the total length of optic fiber on the planet and how fast has it been growing?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-total-length-of-optic-fiber-on-the-planet-and-how-fast-has-it-been-growing/723535>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 26, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-total-length-of-optic-fiber-on-the-planet-and-how-fast-has-it-been-growing/723535 "2015-06-26T14:43:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Gozu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gozu/32/6615_2.png) [@Gozu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-total-length-of-optic-fiber-on-the-planet-and-how-fast-has-it-been-growing/723535/1 "2015-06-26T14:43:05Z")

</div>

I realize there are different classes of fiber, from oceanic intercontinental fiber to consumer (fiber to the home) fiber, so it’s ok to just answer one category or another.

I’m interested to know how fast these wires have been growing since the 80s, and what we can predict from where they’re headed in the future.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\
**Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-total-length-of-optic-fiber-on-the-planet-and-how-fast-has-it-been-growing/723535/2 "2015-06-26T22:30:55Z")

</div>

I’m interested in this topic too. It went from being expensive and rare to something I use everyday at work over the last decade or so.

The [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Optical_fiber#History) [pages](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber-optic_communication#History) aren’t too informative on the history of fiber optic costs and the timeline and extent of its roll out. Apparently the first transatlantic fiber cable was installed in 1988 though.