Corning White Paper Addresses 50-Micron Fiber

May 9, 2001 A white paper from Corning (www.corning.com/opticalfiber), organized in question-and-answer format, addresses issues surrounding the use of 50-micron multimode fiber. It includes historical observations, including why North America embraced 62.5-micron multimode fiber over 50-micron; as well as what recent technological changes have brought 50-micron fiber back into favor. The paper addresses 50- vs. 62.5-micron fiber comparisons including cable strength, compatibility, and cost. Corning also makes recommendations for which multimode fiber type to use in certain installations.