Hello everyone,
Today, I will write about pre-terminated cabling systems.
Great progress in the development of PON ODN networks and the connection of subscribers came with the introduction of pre-terminated cabling systems. Optical cables have factory-installed connectors.
There are different variants of optical cables with pre-terminated connectors, different lengths and types of optical connectors. They are adapted to the conditions in which they are used, so they exist for indoor and outdoor applications. Such solutions eliminate or reduce the need for fusion splicing. In addition, fusion splicing is sometimes virtually impossible.
These are most often optical cables for data centers, headends, then drop optical cables with one optical fiber and breakout or distribution optical cables for building. Pre-terminated optical cables for data centers and headend are different types of simplex, zipcord and ribbon cable with MPO/MTP optical connectors.
Optical cables for data center
Optical cables with SM or MM fibers are used for data centers. These cables are used with factory- installed optical connectors. SM fiber cables have no restrictions on distance and bandwidth in the data center. And just one or two fibers are enough - so simplex or zipcord are used. MM fiber cables are usually types OM3 or OM4. For over 10 Gbps, 12 or 24 fibers ribbon cables with factory-installed MPO/MTP optical connectors are used. Classical fusion splicing in such cases is practically impossible.
Figure 1. MPO/MTP cable, OM4
Drop optical cables with factory-installed connectors
Drop optical cables with factory-installed optical connectors allow users to connect much faster. Usually, these cables have one or two fibers. The optical fiber is SM, standard G.657 (usually G.657.A2 or best G.657.B3). The connectors are SC/APC, rarely SC/ PC. Fusion splicing is significantly reduced and thus time is gained. There are different lengths. It is possible to pass through channels and pipes, and drop optical cables and optical connectors are waterproof.
Figure 2. Drop optical cable with factory-installed connectors
This is the end of this article. I hope you learned something new!
Thank you!
