Fiber optics cheaper than copper
Corning, one of the largest fiber optic cable manufacturers, has an article on why fiber optics is actually than copper.
From the article:
Over recent years, optical telecommunication technology has matured, while the performance requirements for premises networks have increased dramatically. The ever-increasing bandwidth requirements have driven significant increases in the cost of copper network systems, while technological maturity has led to relative declines in the cost of optical systems. In the light of these changes, the historical economic arguments against using fiber in the premises should be reexamined.
These days we demand increasingly higher performance from the premises network, but at the same time we expect “plug and play” installation, declining installation costs, and an increasing network lifecycle. Today the performance and cost advantages of optical fiber relative to copper technology in relation to modern premises networks applications are evident.