Is latency better on fiber?

For longer distance transmission, fiber cable offers lower latency for the whole network and can be an optimal choice.

In terms of technology, 5G uses radio waves for sending and receiving data while Fiber optic communication uses light to transmit data through fiber optic cables. Whereas 5G can have downlink speed up to the scale of 20 Gbps and 10 Gbps uplink, practical speed measured on Fiber cables is 100 Gbps .

Light in a vacuum travels at 299,792,458 meters per second, which equates to a latency of 3.33 microseconds per kilometer (km) of path length. Light travels slower in fiber due to the fiber’s refractive index, which increases the latency to approximately 5 microseconds per km.

While Fiber optic cable is substantially faster than 5G for the time being , the technology of 5G is only in its infancy and will improve as it gets implemented. 5G has a potential speed of 20 Gbps, while fiber optics boasts upwards of 100 Gbps or more.