The COVID pandemic made it abundantly clear that the internet has become a utility that our economy relies on for survival, just like it relies on electricity, clean water, and sewers. While high-end copper networks are capable of transmitting low gigabit speeds, they suffer from a range of issues, such as signal degradation, interference, inefficiency, and asymmetrical speeds i. Fiber optic cables can transmit up to gigabit speeds with low power requirements, symmetrical speeds, no electrical interference, while also being impervious to corrosion.
However, that is changing fast as more and more cities install municipal fiber networks another nod to the similarities between the internet and traditional utility services.
Businesses are also seeing the benefits of converting to fiber networks, sometimes even paying to install fiber optics along public roadways just so they can have access. These installations are usually measured in miles rather than feet of cable installed and provide connectivity between major switches or transmitting stations.
This type of installation can include services such as community antenna television networks as well as internet providers. Most OSP installations use single-mode fiber optic cable due to its excellent signal quality over long distances. Premises cabling is what you might think of more commonly where fiber optic cable is installed throughout a building or a campus to provide a local high-speed network.
This type of installation is more likely to use multi-mode fiber optic cabling due to shorter run-lengths and the lower cost of multi-mode transceivers compared to installing lots of single-mode transceivers. There are also situations where fiber optic cable is preferable on a very small scale, such as in an airplane or the International Space Station.
Blown cable installation refers to a method of installing small cables in microducts using compressed air and a machine that pushes the cable into the duct. The cables are not really blown into the duct, but the blowing air floats the cable in the duct and reduces friction so the machine can push the cable into the duct. This method works well in both OSP installation, often with microtrenching to install the ducts, or in premises installations where the duct is installed first and the the cable is blown in.
With today's microcables, it's easy to install high fiber count cables this way since a typical fiber cable is only 8 mm 0. One can even install special ducts that allow blowing in fibers only, not cables, although that not as popular.
Long distances mean cables are spliced together for higher reliability and lower loss, since cables are not manufactured longer than about km 2. Splices are placed in sealed splice closures designed for the particular application buried, pedestal, aerial, etc. Singlemode cable is generally not field terminated, since polishing for low loss and reflectance requires much care and is hard to do by hand.
Connectors generally SC or LC styles on factory made pigtails are usually fusion spliced onto the end of the cable. After installation, i nspect every field-polished connector with a microscope to ensure polishing was done properly. After both ends of a fiber are terminated, end to end loss should be tested and documented immediately upon completion. High loss connectors must be reterminated and it will save time to do it while the installer is still set up on the site.
In OSP cable plants, every fiber and every splice are generally tested with an OTDR and data stored for future reference in case of damage requiring restoration. More on OSP construction and installation Premises Cabling By contrast, premises cabling- cabling installed in a building or on a campus - involves shorter lengths, rarely longer than a few hundred feet, with fewer fibers per cable typically.
The fiber is mostly multimode, except for the forward-thinking user who installs hybrid cable with both multimode and singlemode fibers for future high bandwidth applications. Premises cabling standards, also called structured cabling standards, are covered in the TIA standard for commercial building cabling, installed in a "star architecture" Fiber has become so popular for premises applications that the appropriate industry standard, TIA, allows fiber in the backbone, to the desktop, in zone cabling and centralized fiber cabling.
Centralized fiber cabling uses no copper cables at all and allows siting all the electronics in the main computer room and at the user, not requiring hubs or switches in telecom closets. Centralized fiber cabling therefore needs no power, grounding or AC in telecom rooms, nor in fact, even a telecom room itself, and thereby offers considerable potential for cost savings if properly designed.
During that time, most fiber installations used LANs today combine fiber backbones, Cat 5e or Cat 6 to desktop computer users and fiber or copper to wireless access points, generally following the TIA standard's guidelines. With more users choosing wireless for mobility, not only for laptops but for mobile wireless devices like smart cell phones, desktop wiring is becoming less common and multiple wireless access points more widely deployed. Many telecom rooms which used to be called telecom "closets" before they became filled with LAN electronics, still contain large amounts of copper blue in the photo below and fiber orange.
More on OLANs. Still, many users install hybrid cables with both OM3 and singlemode fibers in backbones since SM fiber is cheap and provides virtually infinite bandwidth for currently unknown future uses. Fiber and Copper Cables in Cable Trays Premises cables can be installed in cable trays, conduit, innerduct or special types of cable hooks.
Installation of the cable must be carefully done to prevent snagging and kinking the cable as it is pulled among the numerous hazards in a typical building installation. Fiber optic cables should not be mixed with copper cables as the heavier copper cables can stress the fiber cables. Sometimes the fiber is hung below cable trays to protect it from masses of copper. Vertical cable runs are common in buildings.
Vertical cables are preferably installed by dropping the cable down rather than pulling them up, using proper hangers and service loops to prevent stressing cables. SANs or storage area networks in data centers are another popular fiber application.
Data centers often run cables under the floor. Most false floor systems include cable trays for fiber optic cables. An armored indoor cables is sometimes used in underfloor applications to protect the fiber from crushing by other cables. Airports and many public buildings have CCTV cameras located too remotely for coax connections without repeaters, so media converters or fiber-compatible cameras are used. Where security is important, like airports, cables are usually run in metal conduit where fiber's small size is a big advantage.
Fiber bandwidth allows multiplexing many cameras onto one fiber too. Now we enter the first stage of the 2-part construction process. The work crew will either call you or knock on your door immediately before starting work on your property.
The crew installs conduit, which is tubing similar to PVC piping designed to protect the fiber optic cable from damage underground. The conduit is installed by digging a thin, shallow trench into your property, leading to your home. There will be some machinery and a few workers on your property during this part of construction. Our team will fill in and seed any places where your lawn has been disturbed.
This stage is the only time we will need to dig or use machinery. We complete the construction process by feeding the fiber optic cable through the conduit already on your property. Then, we connect the cable to a weather-proof box that we will fasten to the outside of the house. Unfortunately, digging a trench to a small neighborhood or a single house gives a much smaller payoff. This is why the last mile of the network is often built with cheaper and less reliable technology.
Unfortunately, this experiment failed spectacularly, with cables becoming damaged and even popping up out of the road, tripping pedestrians in Louisville, Kentucky. Google also had to pay to repair all the roads damaged by the failed installation. Although fiber is currently the best long-term solution for residential internet, many other competing technologies offer connections that, while not as fast or reliable as fiber, are still enough to meet the immediate needs of most internet users.
While these alternatives make sense in the short-term, they can have serious consequences down the road. For example, after the bankruptcy of Frontier Communications , the company noted that one of the major factors that led to its bankruptcy was an underinvestment in fiber. Rather, it was a choice by the company to focus on short-term goals instead of investing in the future.
The city in the US with the current fastest average internet speed is Cedar Falls, Iowa, whose municipal fiber network can deliver speeds over five-times faster than the nearest commercial ISP.
This is also easier said than done. Since installing fiber most often requires laying a new cable and setting up specialized equipment, some fiber providers do not give the option for you to self-install fiber internet.
You must have a technician come to your home to set it up for you, which can be very expensive. These steps are very similar to self-installing other types of internet, but with a few important differences. Unlike coax jacks or phone jacks, which are often plates installed flat against the walls, fiber terminals are typically bigger and blockier. They can range in size from just larger than a juice box to the size of a briefcase and are usually installed in out-of-the-way places like the corner of a room, inside a closet, or even out in the garage.
If your optical network terminal has loose fiber connectors, do not look into the end of the connector as this can cause eye damage. The next step is to connect your network box or gateway to the terminal. Typically, this is done with an Ethernet cable, which should have been provided with the network box. Plug one end of the Ethernet cable into the port on the terminal, then plug the other end into the appropriate port on the network box.
In some cases, particularly with larger terminals, the output of the terminal is wired to one or more jacks throughout the house. In this case, find an appropriate Ethernet jack or in some cases, coax jack inside the house and connect your network box to the jack. Once your network box or gateway has been properly connected to your fiber terminal, connect the power cord to the network box and then plug it into a power outlet.
As with a router, the lights should turn on and start blinking, eventually turning a solid color. This can take much longer for fiber service than other types of internet, sometimes up to 15 minutes.
If the lights on your network box are still blinking after 15 minutes, unplug the power, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. Before you can set up your Wi-Fi network, you must connect a device to your network box or gateway.
This can usually be done with a laptop, desktop, or even a phone. Many network boxes will automatically create a default Wi-Fi network. The information on how to connect to this network is usually either printed on a sticker somewhere on the network box often on the bottom or in the manual.
If your box does not create a default Wi-Fi network during setup, you can connect directly with an Ethernet cable. The final step in setting up your fiber internet is setting your home Wi-Fi network name and password. We have a step-by-step guide to help you through the process.
If a fiber provider is already in your neighborhood, you might be in luck. Running a cable from your house to the curb is the smallest investment an ISP would have to make to connect you to its network and will usually be covered by the installation fee.
If the network is still a few blocks away, some ISPs might be willing to run a cable to your house for a much higher installation fee, but usually you have to wait until its network makes its way to your block.
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