Lots of fiber is aerial. When you are driving down the road it is easy to spot aerial fiber. Just look for what people call "snowshoes" which are the spools you see along fiber aerial plant where they coil up the extra cable that allows them to drop the plant to ground level so in case repairs are needed so the fiber can be spliced.Fiber can be hung on utility poles (in some places fiber is a mixture of above and below ground). I would think fiber is generally more reliable than cable, but both are susceptible to the same physical disruptions.
The networking characteristics of each technology may be a better way to decide. Fiber usually has symmetric speeds, more consistency throughout the day, and has lower latency.
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