Intel says optical cables for Thunderbolt available later this year

The speedy Thunderbolt interface is still in its infancy, with one of its limitations being that it has only been able to make use of copper-based cables to transfer data. But an Intel spokesperson has revealed that optical cables are finally in the works for later this year.

What difference will optical make? While you can use copper cables to transfer data up to about 6 meters with sufficient bandwidth, optical cables can extend that distance to tens of meters -- particularly useful for more enterprise-based applications. It may also promise increased bandwidth in the future over copper, according to Intel, which could come in handy because Intel just announced that Thunderbolt will support PCI Express 3.0.

The one downside to the optical cables is that they are unable to power your Thunderbolt peripheral. Copper cables offer up to 10 watts of power, which allows them to power devices without a separate power supply.

Switching from copper to optical will be seamless with existing Thunderbolt connections, whether they are found on Mac computers or third-party devices.

There's no public timeline for when optical cables will be available, nor any pricing details, though you can imagine optical will cost more than copper cables.

Would the switch to optical cables make you any more interested in using Thunderbolt devices? If not, what would it take for you to buy one for your computer? Let us know in the Comments section below.