Data cabling – choosing the right fibre optic solution

Fibre Optic Cable is manufactured for both indoor and outdoor applications. Indoor cables are flexible, and tough, containing multiple Tight Buffered or Unit Cord fibres. These types of cables lend themselves to direct termination.

Optical fibre in outdoor applications requires more protection from water ingress, vermin, and other conditions encountered underground. Outdoor cables also need increased strength for greater pulling distances. Loose Tube fibre optic cable best meets these requirements.

Fibre Termination choices include fusion splicing of pre-terminated pigtails, or the direct termination of connectors. The pre-terminated pigtails are a length of fibre cord with your choice of optical connector factory terminated at one end. These pigtails are then fusion spliced in to the installed cable. Loose Tube cables should be fusion spliced.

Direct terminated connectors like the 3M Hotmelt are designed for termination of indoor cables. Popular connector types are ST, SC, and more recently the more compact LC.

Termination Enclosures, or Fibre Optic Breakout Trays (FOBOT) as they are sometimes referred to, house the fibre terminations and provide access for patching to your communications equipment or other cables. They are often given little attention by designers, and can subsequently be a source of irritation when it comes to termination and ongoing use. Care should be taken in selecting the right FOBOT for the application. (See Picture)

Verification Testing ensures the installation of the cable and the terminations have been carried out correctly. Simple light source / power meter tests give the end to end loss at selected wavelengths. However, it is the OTDR Tester that provides a graphical view of the loss versus distance of the fibre. By testing with an OTDR, any fusion splice or connector interface along the length of a fibre link can be inspected individually to ensure it meets specification.

Let the staff at Elam help you realize the best outcome for your network. Take advantage of their extensive range of equipment, installation and testing capabilities.

• Singlemode and multimode installations
• Indoor and Outdoor cabling
• Fusion splicing
• Direct Termination
• Optical Fibre testing
• All installations guaranteed and supported with written test results
• Elam has completed projects with 2000 terminations