Warren Hicks

According to Warren Hicks, manager of marketing strategy and development for private networks at Corning Cable Systems (www.corningcablesystems.com), "It used to be very common to do fusion splicing at the building entrance to transition from outdoor-rated to indoor-rated cable, because the NEC specifies that outdoor-rated cable can only come 50 feet into a building due to its flame rating."He adds, "The advent of plenum-rated indoor/outdoor cable has driven that transition splicing to a minimum.
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Hicks believes that longer distances in the outside plant could mean that sticking with standard outdoor-rated cable and fusion splicing at the building entrance could be the more economical choice.

"It's important to do the math," he says."If it's a short run between building A and B, it makes sense to use newer indoor/outdoor cable and come right into the crossconnect; however, because indoor/outdoor cables are generally more expensive, if it's a longer run with lower fiber counts between buildings, it could ultimately be cheaper to buy outdoor-rated cable and fusion splice to transition to indoor-rated cable, even with the additional cost of splice materials and housing."

Hicks continues, "It often comes down to who's driving the boat.If it's the contractor, and he has access to a fusion splicer, he may take the time to do the calculation and determine which option is less expensive, because that can mean a higher margin for him.If the end user is driving it, they may decide they don't want the loss associated with the transition splice and choose the indoor/outdoor cable."

While fiber-to-the-desk applications remain rare, it is another situation that may call for fusion splicing in the premises environment.

"If you want to go the full 300 meters in a fiber-to-the-desk application, you have to either fusion splice or do an interconnect; however, an interconnect can introduce 0.75dB of loss while the fusion splice is typically less than 0.02dB," Hicks explains.
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"MTP/MPO connectors are difficult to terminate using the epoxy-polish method; however, we offer a no-epoxy, no-polish MTP/MPO connector that is built around our Unicam technology," says Hicks.
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"If I already own a fusion splicer and space isn't an issue, I may choose to fusion-splice factory-terminated pigtails to achieve lower loss," says Hicks.
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Adds Hicks: "We foresee fusion splicing decreasing, because ultimately, customers that can't deal with slack are going to demand field-installable connectors.

"The benefits of Corning Cable Systems' three new FITH solutions: LANscape Media Zone Solution, LANscape Media Station Solution and LANscape Media Wireless Solution, will significantly impact this developing segment of the telecommunications market," said Warren Hicks, manager of Marketing Strategy and Development for Corning Cable Systems."Corning Cable Systems LANscape Solutions for FITH offers end-users a value-added network infrastructure that is essential to meet the demanding needs of today's higher bandwidth requirements."

The LANscape Solutions for FITH is part of the Corning Cable Systems LANscape Solutions, a complete offering of optical fiber products, services and support for cost-effective upgrades supporting growing bandwidth requirements, including tip-to-tip products and design-through-installation services.For more information on Corning Cable Systems LANscape Solutions products or services, please contact a customer service representative at 1-800-743-2675, toll free in the United States or (+1) 828-327-5000, international or visit our Web site at www.corning.com/cablesystems.

Corning Cable Systems is an industry-leading global manufacturer of fiber optic and copper telecommunications system solutions for voice, data and video network applications.