Furukawa electric achieves world’s first installation of highest density 6912 fiber optic cable

The continuing rapid increase in bandwidth demand has created an urgent need for data centers to increase the capacity of optical fiber networks. Within and between existing data center buildings, it has become necessary to maximize the fiber count in existing conduit to avoid expensive and time-consuming creation of new installations.

Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. (FEC) conducted an experiment in its Mie, Japan facility to demonstrate the installation of a 6912-fiber optical cable with an outer diameter of 1.14 inches (29 mm) in a 696 foot (200m) long conduit with three 90 degree curves and an inner diameter of 32mm. The conduit used was a standard product installed in conventional data center campuses. Engineers confirmed a maximum pulling tension of 84 pounds (372N), well below the maximum pulling tension of 600 pounds (2700N) specified for the cable.

The cable was installed in a 1.25 inch (32mm) conduit with a maximum length of 1,411 feet (430m) in a North American data center campus in 2020 to support live traffic. The high fill ratio in this application is not typically recommended for Outside Plant (OSP) cable installation.  However, in this application, the end-user was willing to accept the installation risk in return for maximum fiber density.  The installation demonstrated that FEC’s 6912 fiber optical cable can be successfully installed into 1.25 inch (32mm) conduit using appropriate tools, work procedures, and optimum installation conditions.

“The FEC 6912 fiber optic cable at least doubled the fiber count possible in a 1.25 inch conduit, compared to competing available designs,” said Ichiro Kobayashi, General Manager of optical fiber & cable engineering department, FEC.

FEC will continue to provide and improve its ultra-high fiber count cabling, featuring small diameter and high density, along with the tools and training necessary to successfully build high capacity networks.

Source:Cable Technology News www.cabletechnologynews.co.uk