When the IEEE first introduced Power over Ethernet (PoE) to the marketplace in 2003, it created quite a buzz throughout the electronics world over newfound systems possibilities and project cost savings. For security integrators, the ability to use a single Cat-5 cable to pass power and transmit data meant IP cameras and other edge devices could now be readily deployed. No longer were power supplies and related infrastructure needed to be installed in tandem at the site of these deployments.

Fiber optic cable plays a starring role in helping integrators deploy some video systems, especially those with long distances from the camera to the headend. Fiber optic links allow for massive bandwidth capacities and immunity from Electro-Magnetic Interference (EMI) and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). Security integrators can achieve cost savings by leveraging the vast amounts of unused optical fiber (“dark fiber”) that already exists in most large facilities, buildings and campuses.