Fiber and ethernet cabling often serve different roles inside a commercial network. Fiber is commonly used for backbone and higher-bandwidth distribution, while ethernet copper cabling is commonly used for endpoint and work area connectivity.

General Comparison

Topic	Fiber	Ethernet Copper
Typical Role	Backbone and distribution infrastructure	Distribution and higher-bandwidth transport
Common Locations	MDF to IDF, floor-to-floor, room-to-room backbone links	Desks, phones, access points, printers, and local devices
Upgrade Context	Distribution and higher-bandwidth transport	Endpoint connectivity and everyday network access