OPTICAL FIBRE

Fibre Optics are becoming ever more essential to ensure high performance levels within any communications network design. 

Fibre Optics can be installed to the desktop retaining greater speed than copper cabling, but this is generally not applied at this stage due to the cost implications associated with such an installation and due to the durability of the fibre cable segments.

Fibre Optic segments are generally used as backbone links that link Local Area Network distribution cabinets, or as direct links to essential network interfaces to maximise traffic delivery.  This requirement is generally fulfilled using multimode fibre cable which, as the name suggests, is designed to support many modes or rays of light which makes it ideal for different network needs.

Multimode fibre cable is available in several core sizes, which are appropriate to different network designs.  Fibre core size is measured in microns and multimode fibre is specified by it’s core size.

Principle among multimode fibre are 62.5/125, 50/125 and now 50/123 OM3.  DWM can install multimode fibre optic cable as part of an appropriate network design.  Fibre Optic cabling can be terminated and presented in many different ways (ST, SC, MTRJ etc) depending on customer preference and available budget.

DWM are equipped to perform direct terminations or splice terminations as required.

Another form of Fibre Optic cabling that can be applied and integrated into a network design by DWM is singlemode fibre optic cable, which is generally installed over long distances due to it’s small concentrated core size, however this is becoming more prominent as part of infrastructure design due to performance demands.

All fibre optic cabling installations that are undertaken and completed by DWM are tested, documented and archived by our Engineering teams.  Equipment used for analysing and documenting a fibre optic segment installed by DWM are Optical Time Domain Relectometers or OTDR’s as they are commonly known. DWM use FLUKE OTDR test equipment.  These testers are maintained and calibrated regularly.