Fiber optic cable is a high-speed data transmission medium. It contains tiny glass or plastic fibers that carry beams of light. Digital data is transmitted over the cable with fast pulses of light. The receiving end of a fiber optic transmission converts light pulses into binary values that can be read by a computer. Because fiber optic cables transmit data through light waves, they can transfer information at the speed of light. Unsurprisingly, fiber optic cables provide the fastest data transfer speeds of any data transmission medium. They are less susceptible to noise and interference than copper wires or telephone lines. However, fiber optic cables are more brittle than their metallic counterparts and therefore require more protective shielding. While copper wires can be spliced and repaired as needed, broken fiber optic cables must be replaced frequently.