Need some bandwidth on the go? Google Fiber said today it is offering its subscribers in Kansas City, KS, the ability to hook into its fiber-to-the-home network (FTTH) from stations attached to the utility poles on which it has strung fiber cable. Google called it “fiber to the pole.” Of course, today is April Fool's Day, so it is a limited-time offer.

AFL has introduced North America to the Fujikura 70S fusion splicer, which it says it the second of five new products that will be introduced this year. The 70S shares many features with the existing FSM-60S model fusion splicer, but offers much faster splicing in the field and new easy-to-use features, the company claims.

Corning Inc. has released the latest addition to its family of singlemode optical fibers, Corning SMF-28 Ultra fiber. The fiber and cable maker says the new, premium singlemode optical fiber is the first in the market to combine the benefits of very low attenuation and improved macrobend performance in the same fiber (see “Bend matters, Part 1: A look at macrobending”).

Clearfield Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) says its FieldShield Fiber Delivery and Protection System enables network operators to deploy fiber-optic cable into areas that had proved unreachable with conventional approaches. The FieldShield family, which includes such novel elements as pushable fiber, will address applications in both the outside plant as well as within enterprises and data centers.

After showing it off at last fall’s SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, CommScope has announced the official commercial launch of its E2O (Electrical to Optical) hybrid cabling system. The cabling system combines optical fiber with coax to meet the needs of cable MSOs who are still relying on coax, but know they’ll need fiber deeper in their networks in the future.

Swiss company Huber+Suhner AG says its new fiber-optic connector will double the density of optical fibers per rack and improve fiber handling in central offices and data centers. Launched at the FTTH Conference 2013 in London, the new connector is designed to significantly reduce space requirements, helping to control costs and improve efficiency.

Prysmian Group has introduced RetractaNetXS, a direct buried retractable fiber-optic cable. The new fiber cable is particularly well suited to fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments, Prysmian says.

OFS has unveiled its AllWave FLEX and AllWave FLEX+ Bend-Optimized Single-Mode Fiber that features a 200-μm coating. The coating enables a narrower fiber than those using conventional 250- μm coatings. OFS will use the fiber in fiber-optic cables with higher fiber counts and in microcables, beginning with its new MiDia 2FX microcables.

Jiangsu Sterlite Tongguang Fiber Co. Ltd. (JSTFCL), a joint venture of Indian fiber manufacturer Sterlite Technologies Ltd. and Chinese fiber-optic cable provider Jiangsu Tongguang Communication Co. Ltd. (TGCl), has begun to produce optical fiber itself at its facility in Haimen, Jiangsu Province, China.