What are the characteristics of outdoor optical cables

Outdoor fiber optic cable

When are they needed?

Outdoor fiber optic cables may be rare in home or personal applications, but are very common in larger and more commercial environments. This particular type of fiber optic cable is required because of its resistance to external conditions that can sometimes be extreme.

Outdoor fiber optic cables are primarily used to cover the harshest weather conditions: high temperatures or potential fires, heavy rain or storms, heavy snow and high humidity. Regardless, the key here is to secure data transmission, often over long distances.

Other factors to consider include exposing these cables to toxic substances and even animals that can damage the outer layer of the cable. This explains the strength and thickness of some of these cables: they only need to ensure that the core of the cable is not affected, while the outside of the cable can be damaged.

Outdoor fiber optic cable

Types of outdoor optical cables

The most common outdoor cables are loose tube, ribbon, aerial and armored cables:

Loose tube cables typically consist of an array of multiple optical fibers housed in a small plastic tube. These fibers surround the central cable and wrap around it. This configuration allows it to contain many fibers in one connector, so the resulting fiber count cables tend to be large.

Ribbon cables are often one of the densest cables in telecommunications because of the rows of optical fibers inside them. Also, they stack on top of each other. Their most common application is in power plants, so they tend to be filled with gel to keep water out.

Armored cables are often used in areas prone to animal pests, especially rodents, because the metal armor is usually placed between the two jackets. That's why they exist in factory applications for a number of reasons. These cables can withstand a lot of stress, so they are the first choice when installing in rock or other similarly challenging soils. These cables are also frequently used in data centers as they are often installed underground so concerns about these cables being crushed need to be allayed. Due to their metal armor, these cables must be properly grounded, so installers cannot ignore this.

Aerial cables are installation solutions that require large height placement. This special situation means that the cable has a special ability to resist permanent tension, which is caused by the cable's own weight, and continuous oscillation caused by strong wind and ice loads. Some of these cables are also called self-supporting cables because they are usually made with heavier jackets and stronger metal reinforcements.