Do fiber optic cables use lasers or regular light?

[DieCommie]

Do fiberoptic cables use lasers, or regular light? (or can they use either depending on the situation)

 

[mgb_phys]

Fibre optics will carry any light depending on the wavelength they are designed for.
Telecoms applications generally use lasers, they are high power, have a well controlled wavelength and you can switch them quickly.

 

[DieCommie]

Thank you.

I thought they used lasers, but couldn't find a source for that.

 

[Redbelly98]

They can use either, as mgb_phys said.

Here is an example where regular visible light is transmitted by fibers:
http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/DisplayProduct.cfm?productid=1355