ELLEN MANNING NETWORK OPTIMISATION
To get the best out of your optical fibre networks requires a multi- stage planning and performance assessment, embracing type, connection and the cleanest possible connections, writes Ellen Manning.
The fibre’s glass core remains the same size, says Edwards, but advanced coating technology enables the thickness of the glass core coating to be reduced enabling the ideal combination of greater fibre density but with smaller cables. Corning is also working to help speed up installation times – a big priority for subscribers and therefore carriers - making its cables quicker to open, access and splice. One way is through its binderless FastAccess technology, a combination of Corning’s FastAccess Technology jacket and an innovative technology used to bind cable construction through the manufacturing process, eliminating the use of binder yarns and waterblocking tapes, enabling up to 70% faster cable access. SPLICE OF THE ACTION Achieving more compact, e cient cabling is a step in the right direction, but if the quality of splicing and connectors joining them together can’t keep up, the network will inevitably su er. At Fujikura, staying up to the minute with the latest innovation in the fibre cable itself helps ensure that its fusion splicers will produce seamless connections, says Brian Leonard, European Product Line Manager, Connectivity. “Each time any supplier changes how it manufactures fibre, as a fusion splicer manufacturer we obtain samples of each of those fibres and we then have to characterise it. We have a profile alignment system: two cameras in di erent axis investigate the profile of the fibre and can characterise the fibre type and in some cases who the manufacturer is; the system then applies the right power and timing to create the best fusion splice possible.”
ELLEN MANNING I n a world with an insatiable industry are ever-increasing. From manufacturing the most e cient fibre cables and splicing them together, to deploying them into networks and keeping them clean, the technical support people behind the world’s optical fibre infrastructure are constantly innovating to keep up with the ever- growing demands. appetite for lightning-fast data rates, whether it be to run huge data centres, broadband services or global mobile networks, the demands on the optical fibre Dr Merrion Edwards, Director of Global Market and Technology Development, Optical Fibre and Cable at optical fibre manufacturer Corning, says innovation is constantly underway to cater for growing demands, delivering higher speeds as well as going “deeper into the network”. For Edwards, providing higher speeds
you basically move the fibre into areas of the network which are an awful lot more congested and have a lot more connection points. So to address the congestion you need to be delivering smaller cabling.” SIZE MATTERS That is where Corning’s MiniXtend cable comes in – being up to 50% smaller and 70% lighter than standard cabling. The optical fibre itself can also be made smaller. Very high fibre density MiniXtend HD cables contain fibre that is just 200 microns in outer diameter instead of the traditional 242 microns.
Innovation is constantly underway to cater for growing demands, delivering
always requires synergy between electronics development and fibre
development. If one is lagging behind, she says, it’s a bit like an archer having a great bow but no decent arrows. “For the fast piece it’s always basically a marriage between the electronics and the optics,” she told Optical Connections. To get deeper into the network, means looking at the cabling and making it more compact and easier to install, says Edwards. “When you go deeper
highers speeds as well as going deeper into the network
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| ISSUE 9 | Q2 2017
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