WCA November 2011

Flexible bend insensitive riser cable for fast FTTH deployments

By Grzegorz Tosik, Paweł Kołodziej and Magdalena Mirynowska of Corning Cable Systems

Abstract Nowadays a Fibre to the Home (FTTH) network plays a crucial role in developing the information society. The increasing popularity of FTTH deployments observed over the last few years has resulted in millions of homes already passed, but in comparison the homes connected market penetration is still relatively small (2.9% of households in US, less than 4% in Europe, and approximately 25% in Asia [1] ).

Pulling grip

Floor box

❍ ❍ Figure 1 : Riser cable assembly

Tether

Tap point

Pulling grip

Break out cable at floor level

Basement box

Cable Extension (5m)

❍ ❍ Figure 2 : Typical MDU Architecture

The next growth opportunity in FTTH that enables acceleration of market penetration is coming from Multi- Dwelling Units (MDU) deployments. In typical MDUs the fibre is brought to the floor level and shared by several dwelling units. Network deployments in challenging MDU environments are different than in any single-family house and require an adequate technology. Additionally, as deployments increase, customers will have trouble finding enough skilled splicing technicians to realise large roll outs. To meet today’s market demand Corning designed a FTTH MDU solution (ASCEND™) which uses an advanced riser cable assembly named OptiRise™. Riser Cable Assembly solves major deployment issues and enables MDU installations to be faster, easier and more reliable. The fibre optic cable consists of network access points which are pre-installed at customer-specific locations distributed along the length of the cable. The system is manufactured and tested in the factory, then packaged and shipped to the customer for immediate deployment.

Floor 2

Floor 1

Tap point first floor

Basement Connectorise pigtails

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Wire & Cable ASIA – September/October 2007 Wire & Cable ASIA – November/Decem 11