The function of the drop-in cable is to introduce a part of the optical fiber in the main optical cable to the user access point. Its main features are: the laying distance is short, generally not more than 1 km; the number of fiber cores of the optical cable is not large, generally less than 24 cores, It is used to distribute the optical fibers in the main optical cable to the sparsely distributed end-users; the optical cable can be easily split and connected to improve the construction efficiency.
There are two main types of laying environments for incoming optical cables: underground wiring and overhead wiring. Among them, underground wiring is divided into pipeline laying and pavement slotted shallow laying; overhead wiring is to use utility poles to introduce optical cables into end users' homes. Regardless of the routing method, pre-terminated drop cables should be used for quick routing and connection.
Types of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) drop cables
According to different laying environments, fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) drop cables can be divided into pipeline optical cables, direct buried optical cables, and overhead optical cables:
Duct fiber optic cable
As the name suggests, pipeline optical cable is the optical cable installed directly in the pipeline. This kind of optical cable generally adopts non-metal inner/outer sheath, and some are also equipped with double sheath: a low-smoke halogen-free (LSZH) inner sheath and a Layer PE outer sheath. The pipeline optical cable adopts the design of 1-36 cores (commonly 12 cores), usually loose tubes, small jackets, and other structures.
direct buried cable
There are generally two types of direct buried optical cables: non-metallic direct buried optical cables and armored direct buried optical cables. The advantage of the armored direct buried optical cable is that it is durable and resistant to rodent bites and insects, but the price is slightly higher. The price of non-metallic direct-buried optical cables is much cheaper, and the strength of many non-metallic direct-buried optical cables is almost comparable to that of armored direct-buried optical cables. The number of cores in the direct buried optical cable varies from 1 to 12, and the more common one is the 2 to 4 core direct buried optical cable.
Aerial fiber optic cable
Some overhead optical cables on the market can be said to be the continuation of feeder cables or distribution cables, such as optical fiber composite overhead ground wire (OPGW) and fully self-supporting optical cable (ADSS). Among them, optical fiber composite overhead ground wire (OPGW) is mainly used to connect the power cord. In addition, overhead optical cables also include figure-8 optical cables, butterfly optical cables, etc. These optical cables are equipped with reinforcing elements, which are compact in structure and small in size, and are suitable for self-supporting between pole-pole and pole-building. Overhead laying. The number of fiber cores in the aerial optical cable varies from 2 to 48, usually in the structure of a loose tube and a small jacket.
