At the 2012 FTTH Conference & Expo in Dallas, TX (Sept. 23-27), fiber-optic network products supplier OFS has introduced its HomeRun Indoor MDU Cabling Solution, designed to reduce installation steps and connections, enabling faster, easier, lower loss, and less expensive fiber deployment in multiple-dwelling unit (MDU) buildings.
The OFS HomeRun platform uses drop cabling bundled in the factory with a low friction sheath enabling 6 or 12 compact drop cables to be easily pulled up a riser and down a hallway in a single step. Traditional solutions require difficult field bundling and pulling of large diameter multiple drop cables assemblies up a riser and down a hallway, or installing two segments of smaller connectorized cable in the riser and hallway, notes the company.
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The HomeRun platform begins with a 7 or 10 mm diameter mini-cord breakout cable containing six or 12 EZ-Bend fibers in 1.6 mm cords in a single low friction sheath. One end of the cable is terminated with SC or LC Connectors that are plugged directly into the FOX Solution 144 FDH, 64 min-FDH, or Slimbox terminal. The other end is pulled up the riser and down the hallway past each living unit. The solution can be installed in moldings or above suspended ceilings. It is optimized for garden style low rise MDUs. Future versions can be installable directly on walls in a hallway.
At each living unit, the outer sheath can be removed with simple tooling and a 1.6 mm cord, terminated with an OFS mechanical or fusion splice mounted connector, and plugged into the OFS Slimbox interconnection module. From that point the living unit is ready to accept a fast and easy service connection using an EZ-Bend Invisilight 4.8 mm or 3.0 mm drop fiber into the residence to the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) location.
The HomeRun solution features OFS's ultra-bend-insensitive EZ-Bend Fiber, which offers less than 0.1 dB of added loss at 1550 nm for 1 turn at a 5 mm bend radius, and is fully compatible with the installed base of fibers. The use of EZ-Bend fiber assemblies allows for sharp bends and conformal routing to reduce visual impact and fit in the confined spaces typical in many MDUs and residences.
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