November 29, 2007 -- OFS has debuted its new EZ-Bend optical cable technology for multiple dwelling unit (MDU) and in-home wiring applications. The EZ-Bend technology is designed to address the need to speed and simplify installations by allowing cables to be bent and routed in ways never before feasible using traditional optical drop cables.
Service providers need drop cables than can support many tight corner bends and stapling. The EZ-Bend technology enables in-residence optical cable installation with the same practices used for copper or coaxial cables, OFS says. Cables using EZ-Bend technology are designed to be stapled in place using copper cable installation tools and routed around sharp corners. Its bending loss performance represents up to a 100-fold improvement over conventional singlemode fiber (SMF) cables, the company says.
OFS asserts that EZ-Bend technology enables 0.1 dB video signal loss for one turn at a 5-mm radius. EZ-Bend technology integrates a new bend-optimized fiber design in a new double-protected cable construction. This patent-pending technology is the first to provide such performance within a proven solid-glass fiber construction while being fully compatible with existing installed fibers, OFS claims.
"EZ-Bend technology will further help improve 'fiber to the MDU' profitability and performance by providing simple, easy-to-install, backwards-compatible optical connection to the subscriber, while bringing the best-in-class optical performance to our customers," says William Kloss, president, telecommunications marketing and sales, Americas, at OFS.
OFS will provide EZ-Bend technology in the V-Linx drop cables used in its recently released V-Linx Spool & Play Solution for MDU deployments. The V-Linx drop cables are planned to be commercially available in 2008.