Fiber optic communication systems use light pulses to transmit information over long distances via optical fibers. An optical receiver is a device that converts light signals traveling through fiber optic cable back into electrical signals that electronic equipment can process. Most systems operate by transmitting in one direction on one fiber and in the reverse direction on another fiber for full. Discrete fiber optic receivers are photodiodes in an adaptive housing used to receive a signal over a fiber optic cable. The device contains no drive circuitry. Fiber optic receivers are differentiated by data rate, receivable power, voltage supply and current consumption.