The disclosed embodiments include an optical fiber having a graphene coating, a method to apply a graphene coating onto an optical fiber, and a fiber optic cable having a graphene coating. In one embodiment, the optical fiber includes an optical core that extends along a longitudinal axis. The optical fiber also includes a carbon based coating that covers the optical core along the longitudinal axis. The optical fiber also includes a layer of graphene formed on a first surface of the carbon based coating. The layer of graphene is formed from a laser induction process that includes focusing a laser beam at the carbon based coating to photothermally convert the first surface of the carbon based coating into graphene.