NetworkExtension with Optical Fiber Cables

Fiber optic ribbon cables are taking over the market at an enormous speed. They help network operators to multiply the number of fibers in existing channels in a surprising way.

Tested Fiber Optical Cables - New Benefit

Fiber optic ribbon cables have been around since the 1980s. They tend to be seen as specialty products for telecom companies. The demand for higher bandwidth and limited channel space has created an unprecedented demand for the use of ribbon cable technology.

Ribbon cables consist of several fibers lying next to each other in ribbon form in an adhesive matrix. This reduces the cable diameter compared to single fiber cables. The glass fibers are still 125 μm in diameter. However, it is constructed with only a 200 μm buffer. This allows cables to be constructed with 30-40% more fiber with the same cable outer diameter.

Additional Benefits

• Larger number of cables can be placed in the existing channels
• Four, six or twelve fibers can be connected simultaneously. And that speeds up the work.
• Fiber reserves and connectors require less space in the connection panel.
• Roll tape technology enables densely packed fiber cables.

Splicing modern flat strips can still often cause problems. R&M recommends using fibers of the same size overall – either 250 µm or 200 µm. This simplifies the operation of the coupling device. A two-person splicing team can complete splicing an 864-fiber ribbon cable in four hours.

For example, the R&M ST-08 splicer will accept 32×12 ribbon fiber splices (384 fiber splices) or 48 single fiber splices. This represents an increase of a factor of 8.