OCTOBER 11, 2007 -- APA Cables & Networks (search for APA Cables & Networks), developer of fiber management products and wholly owned subsidiary of APA Enterprises, today announced its Clearview Cassette, designed for modular cost containment for any fiber management application. According to the company, service turn-up time is reduced and installation is easier due to continuity in components for both inside and outside plant environments.

This patent-pending technology will be introduced throughout the APA Cables & Networks' central office and outside plant product line, providing improved fiber management from 12-port wallboxes to 864-port cross-connect cabinets and everything in between, say company representatives.

The evolutionary design ensures that all the basic principals of fiber management are satisfied without exposure to environmental hazards or human interaction. Traditional central office fiber management offers a fixed bulkhead design and costly radius and physical fiber protection inside an overall housing. With the Clearview Cassette, by contrast, all sub-components, including in-cassette splicing as well as modular optical components, fully nest into the cassette main housing to support any application or fiber type desired, says APACN. Integrated cassette components are added or removed depending upon application and configuration needs of the environment. The basic rules of fiber management become modular and are moved and placed into the environment and configuration as needed.

"The Clearview Cassette was designed to address the limitations and concerns our customers expressed to us regarding traditional solutions," explains Johnny Hill, vice president of product development and management for APA Cables & Networks. "Our customers asked for a product that would allow them to incrementally grow their networks, in both inside and outside plan environments, while optimizing and protecting signal performance."

APA Cable & Networks calls the Clearview Cassette "the foundation of [its] modular and scalable fiber management products." Designed for 'grow as you go' cost containment, the Clearview Cassette allows for the rollout of central office and outside plant fiber management 12-ports at a time--aligning and scaling capital investment with subscriber revenue, note company representatives.

Inside the Clearview Cassette, all 900-um fibers on the subassembly are slack stored on the lower level and bend-radius protected. For patch-only configurations, the sub-unit is routed and tied off in front of the exit point. For patch and splice configurations, the 900-um tight buffered assembly is routed from the first level to a second level via the splice try ramp and further slacked stored within the tray.

The Clearview Cassette utilizes a clear outer housing allowing for quick and easy first-step troubleshooting of unacceptable light conditions, reports the company. Tool-less snap-together nesting covers and a removable 12-pack adapter plate allow for easy access to terminated sub assemblies for maintenance and cleaning.

Every APACN fiber management product is designed with the same principles of fiber access protection and route diversity, enabling the technician to utilize the knowledge gained on one deployment in all other OSP as well as central office environments.

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