Fiber Deep is the Way to Fiber Optic Networks

Fiber optic cables allow for much faster signal transmission along a cable than current coaxial electronic transmission. However, until now the conversion from coaxial to fiber optic systems has been prohibitively expensive. Namely, fiber deep conversion gives the operator the efficiency of fiber optic cables without having to repeat the heavy construction of the original process of laying the cables.

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The conversion does not require:

• Trenching
• Boring
• Pavement cutting
• Property damage
• Backfilling and soil compaction
• Permits
  

Refilling Coaxial Cable Cores

When replacing the coaxial cable with fiber optic cores, no big construction project damages property, trees, sod, and irrigation systems or sewer lines. There is no soil or silt runoff — no conflicts with your customers about easements.
A biodegradable fluid is used when the cable core is ejected. The polyethylene cable core and the aluminum center conductor are recycled. A hybrid fiber coaxial upgrade is refitted overall cable architectures, glass, micro-nodes, or FTT.

Example of how it is Done

A 2,000-foot length had to be installed along a utility-congested, tree-lined roadway to add capacity to a severely congested cable node to improve the service for 300 plus customers. The service was initially maintained by a temporary fiber cable which had to cross the 4-lane parkway, three two-lane streets and sidewalk. The installers found an abandoned .750 coaxial cable which could be used for core ejection on part of the route. This coaxial cable began with an above ground housing then went under the 4-lane highway and a two-lane street. The installers ejected the core of the coaxial cable and installed a temporary microfiber cable in the vacant cable shield using fiber blowing equipment. The temporary cable was routed along side streets. Service was cut briefly and passed to a new cable node during the maintenance window. The operator then ejected the core from a 1,600-foot cable which weaved along the route. It took some stops and starts, but this created a vacant shield into which the optical microfiber could be installed. The lengths of the shield were then joined into one continuous conduit. The fiber was blown through the entire length, creating a fiber optic service. The short cable was coiled up for reuse. The ejected polyethylene was collected for recycling.

The New Technology

Fiber optical cabling is not necessarily an all-or-nothing process. Lengths of the coaxial cable can be replaced with fiber-optics, and the new fiber-optic cable can be connected to the coaxial cable using special converters. Meanwhile, the new process involves connecting small, quiet electric pumps to the coaxial cable and using the pumps to push out and extract the old copper or aluminum cores and insert lengths of fiber in the old cable sheaths. Originally, these coaxial cables were not intended to be upgraded. But these new processes made it possible to use the old cable as a hollow pathway for the fiber optics. Technicians direct a non-toxic, non-flammable fluid into the small space between the cable’s inner core and its hard outer sheath. The fluid is brought up to pressure and that squeezes the core to a smaller diameter so it can be pulled away and out of the sheath leaving the hollow pathway to be refilled. The technique works on many kinds of cable including some power cables. The more pressure that can be exerted on the core, the faster the process works. The process varies with the strength of the outer sheath and the compression properties of the core. Some 500 feet of P3-type coaxial cable (a widely used grade of coaxial cable) can be extracted in about 10 minutes.

Big Data and Smart Data means organized intelligence that can help executives make profitable business decisions. Learn how to apply it on our blog post From Big Data to Smart Data: An Intelligent Transformation.