When attenuation rises, you see reduced data speeds and higher error rates. Attenuation in fiber optics is the gradual loss of light signal strength as it travels through a fiber cable. You fix this by cleaning connectors, checking bends, and using loss budget calculations. Every network has a "loss budget". Fiber optic cables have many advantages, but one of the downsides just like with copper cable, is that it can experience what is called attenuation. This can be due to a variety of factors: scattering and absorption, intrinsic. As the distance light travels through an optical fiber increases, the light's strength decreases; this phenomenon is known as “fiber attenuation. Optical fiber is our first. Fiber Optic Measurement Units: "dB" and "dBm" Whenever tests are performed on fiber optic networks, the results are displayed on a power meter, OLTS or OTDR readout in units of “dB.