A fiber optic cable splitter, particularly a PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) splitter, works by dividing a single optical signal into multiple outputs, or combining multiple signals into one. Inside the splitter, light entering from the fiber core is guided through waveguides, which split it evenly across multiple output fibers. This splitting process distributes signal power across each output port, creating uniform signal strength but resulting in some insertion loss per output. PLC splitters are highly reliable for passive optical networks (PON), where they allow one fiber to serve many endpoints without active power.