Fibre optic cable is an advanced type of network cable, offering significantly improved performance in terms of bandwidth and data carrying than traditional metal conductor versions. Optical fibre cabling is used to transfer information via pulses of light, which pass along one or more - indeed, anything up to a couple of hundred in some cases - transparent glass or plastic pipes. Each of these strands is little wider than an average hair, and will normally be surrounded by a further layer of cladding (also in glass or plastic, but constructed at a different density to the main inner strand). Wrapped around the cladded fibres, there’s also a sheath made up of a couple of layers of insulated casing. This usually comprises a protective wrapper, known as a buffer tube, followed by a final outer jacketing designed to protect the multi-stranded cable as a whole.