Fiber Optic Products HCS Kablo products, technical specifications and quote options from Fomar.
Fiber optic cabling carries data as light through glass fibers instead of copper conductors. It is immune to electromagnetic interference, avoids ground potential differences and does not suffer the distance-related speed loss seen in copper. Planning a fiber link involves four core decisions: fiber grade (OM2, OM3, OM4 or OS2), fiber count, cable construction (indoor, outdoor, armoured) and termination method (fusion-spliced pigtails or pre-terminated patch cords).
Multimode fibers are built for short reach and operate at 850 nm. OM2 (50/125 um) is common in older installations and adequate for 1 Gigabit. OM3 carries 10 Gigabit up to roughly 300 metres and is identified by its aqua jacket. OM4 shares the same aqua colour but offers higher modal bandwidth, reaching 400 metres at 10 Gigabit and 100-150 metres at 40/100 Gigabit. Singlemode OS2 (9/125 um) works at 1310 and 1550 nm, spans kilometres and is the standard choice for campus backbones and carrier links.
Fiber count should be chosen for the requirement five years out, not today's. Most of the cost of a fiber run is labour rather than cable: trenching, pulling, splicing and termination. Pulling 12 or 24 fibers along a route where 4 would suffice is therefore far more economical than a second pull later. Unused fibers are left as spares inside the tray and terminated when needed.
Cable construction follows the installation environment. Indoor/outdoor LS0H cables can be used both inside ducts and through building entries, meeting indoor safety requirements with their low-smoke behaviour. Outdoor steel-armoured cables are preferred on routes exposed to rodents, underground crossings or mechanical impact. SLT (single loose tube) construction offers a compact solution at low fiber counts, while MLT (multi loose tube) lets fiber groups be managed separately at 24 fibers and above.
There are two termination approaches. The field cable fibers are fusion-spliced to pigtails inside a splice tray, which gives the lowest insertion loss and is standard for permanent infrastructure. Short links between the panel and active equipment are made with patch cords terminated at both ends in the factory. Panel selection plans port capacity, adapter type (SC, LC, ST) and tray space together; LC duplex adapters provide roughly twice the port density of SC in the same 1U.
The most common mistake in fiber installation is violating the bend radius. Bending a fiber beyond its limit creates permanent signal loss that is invisible to the eye and only appears during testing. Slack fiber storage inside trays, cable management behind panels and clamp spacing on vertical routes should therefore be planned at the design stage.