Optical fiber cables
Confused and not sure where to start? We are here to help walk you through the various options for optical fiber cables. During our consultation we will ask the right questions to help make the right selection for your needs today and tomorrow.
Multimode Optical Fiber Cable
Our industry identifies multimode fiber by the core diameter (size of the actual glass) and the bandwidth of the fiber cable.
- OM-1 was a 62.5/125 micron fiber which was for 10Base-FL Ethernet and was popular in the 1990s. It typically has an orange jacket and is rated up to 33 meters for 10-Gigabit Ethernet.
- OM-2 was the replacement for OM-1 but had a 50/125 micron core. The jacket color is still typically orange and it is rated up to 82 meters for 10-Gigabit Ethernet.
- OM-3 while still a 50/125 fiber cable it is optimized for use with a laser and the jacket color is aqua. It is rated up to 300 meters for 10-Gigabit Ethernet making it ideal for most applications.
- OM-4 has a higher bandwidth than OM-3 (4700 Mhz*km vs 2000 Mhz*km) but increases the reach of 10-Gigabit Ethernet to 550 meters. Performance comes with a premium price point.
- OM-5 is ideal for large data center applications where high bandwidth and supports wave division multiplexing. It is about 50% more in cost than OM-4
Single-Mode Optical Fiber Cable
This offering is ideal for high speed long distance connections and offers a lower cost cabling solution than multimode it does require more expensive electronics.
- OS-1 was a 8.3/125 micron fiber cable with a optical loss of about 1.0Db per km.
- OS-2 improves on loss factor which is reduced to about 0.40Db per km allowing even greater distances.
Jacketing
The material that makes up the jacket or sheath/covering of the fiber cable must match the intended environment that it will be installed in. The cables may be rated for indoor, outdoor or indoor/outdoor. Indoor cables are further classified either as a plenum (for use in an air return like a ceiling) or riser (a warehouse ceiling is a good example). Outdoor cables may be rated for aerial, duct banks (conduits) or direct burial. Most fiber cables require an additional means of protection such as a innerduct (like a plastic conduit) which adds cost to the project. Other options such as armored fiber can help reduce the installation cost as there is no need for a separate innerduct.
