What is one characteristic of multimode fiber compared to single-mode fiber?

Multimode fiber is characterized by its ability to support multiple propagation modes. This means that light can travel along different paths or modes through the core of the fiber at the same time. The design of multimode fiber, with its larger core diameter, facilitates this behavior, allowing for the transmission of multiple light rays. This characteristic enables multimode fiber to effectively handle a larger amount of data over shorter distances, which is particularly useful in applications like local area networks (LANs) where shorter cable runs are typical.

In contrast, single-mode fiber has a much smaller core that allows only one mode of light to propagate, resulting in lower modal dispersion and making it more advantageous for long-distance communication where bandwidth and distance are more critical. The other choices relate to aspects like bandwidth, distance capability, and attenuation, which differ in capabilities between multimode and single-mode fibers but are not defining characteristics of multimode fibers specifically.