Multimode fibers OM1 to OM5 vary in speed and data capacity. OM1 works at 1 Gbps, but OM5 handles up to 400Gbps. Pick the fiber based on your network's needs. OM3 and OM4 are aqua, and OM5 is. Multi-mode optical fiber is a type of optical fiber mostly used for communication over short distances, such as within a building or on a campus. It still uses LEDs as its light source, but its core, when compared to OM1, is smaller. This Applications Engineering Note (AE Note) discusses the criteria for properly selecting the optimal multimode fiber (MMF) for enterprise applications. OM3 and OM4 stand out for their suitability in data centers, supporting 10Gbps over 300 and 400 meters, respectively. This article walks through the major multimode fiber standards—OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4, and OM5— to highlight their differences and typical use cases. While single-mode fiber (SMF) dominates long-distance and carrier-grade infrastructure, multimode fiber remains the most cost-efficient and practical choice for enterprise buildings.
[PDF Version]