Data, Voice & Fiber Optic Cabling Infrastructure Design

BLOWN FIBER SOLUTIONS
Air-blown fiber is a method of installing fiber optic cables that relies on the flow of compressed air easing the fiber all the way to its destination - sometimes 1 mile away. A set of rollers or caterpillar drive typically feeds the fiber into the microduct.

It was difficult to justify 24 fibers down a residential street if only 3 houses needed immediate connection. With blown fiber systems like fiberflow, a low-cost microduct route is installed, and fiber only added as and when it is needed, creating a fiber-lean solution. And when a new connection is required, there is no need to re-dig the street, just select an empty microduct and blow fiber in.

fiberflow Blown fiber takes the form of an ultra-lightweight single bundle of optic fibers designed for the access network or campus. The fiber bundle is blown into a miniature duct system, using airflow, that takes it all the way to the customer premises without splicing along the way.

Installation of cables underground has often subjected them to high pulling forces, as they are pulled into ducts by pulling machines. Since optical glass cannot survive more than a few percent elongation, it has to be protected from high pulling forces. Even forces that do not cause fiber damage can reduce fiber lifetime significantly, and this makes low tension, low strain fiber installation all the more important if the fibers are not going to fail in their first year or so.