Draka's BendBright-XS meets new G.657 ITU categories for bend-insensitive fibers

Oct. 23, 2009
OCTOBER 23, 2009 -- Draka Communications announced that its bend-insensitive BendBright-XS fiber fully complies with the ITU's new G.657.A2 sub-category, which brings 100% compliance with G.652.D, as well as a hundredfold improvement in bending performance.

OCTOBER 23, 2009 -- Draka Communications, a global supplier of cable and optical fiber products, announced that its bend-insensitive BendBright-XS fiber fully complies with the ITU's new G.657.A2 sub-category, a key component of the recently updated ITU recommendation. The A2 category brings 100% compliance with G.652.D, as well as a hundredfold improvement in bending performance.

The A2 sub-category raises the level of fiber consistency throughout access networks, says Draka, from the point-of-presence (PoP) to customer premises. According to the company, this will result in reduced footprints for outside plant (OSP) cables and connectivity, more resilient indoor cabling, and end-to-end availability of full fiber bandwidth from 1,260 to 1,625 nm in PON or point-to-point configurations. The high-level fiber standard is expected to help futureproof FTTH access network infrastructure roll-outs.

"Draka welcomes the latest ITU-T decision to update G.657 in line with today's market developments," says Jan-Willem Leclercq, vice president, business development for Draka Communications. "BendBright-XS has always provided double compatibility with both G.657.A and G.657.B categories, assuring customers of state-of-the-art bending performance in total compliance with regular G.652.D singlemode fiber. Today, sub-category A2 validates our belief that ultimate bend-insensitivity should not come at the expense of sacrificing any of the parameters that have contributed to the success of G.652.D."

With access networks extending all the way to single-family homes and multidwelling units, the industry has supported the need for robust, easy-to-install optical fiber that can endure the rigors of traditional copper cable installations. Draka says its BendBright-XS has a patented design that eliminates the technical complications of splicing and connectivity. This year BendBright-XS output approaches a record million kilometer mark, the most deployed bend-insensitive fiber worldwide.

The updated ITU-T G.657 recognizes that improved bending performance will further reduce costs for operators rolling out fiber to the home (FTTH), while still addressing current market concerns for end-to-end fiber consistency. This new ITU recommendation preserves fully the original A and B category structure for total backward compatibility with the previous G.657 version. The former A class is subsequently renamed to A1. An additional A2 category is created with a tenfold better bending performance than A1, bringing the A category to the level of the previous B category performance with full G.652.D compliance. The former ITU-T G.657.B class fiber is renamed B2. A new sub-category B3 acknowledges the need for tighter bend radii (down to 5 mm) for extreme applications in the B class, which demand exceptional bending performance yet do not impose G.652.D compliancy. B3 authorizes fibers with a lower mode-field diameter, or of a different construction.

BendBright-Elite, Draka's ultra-bend-insensitive fiber, is fully B3 compliant, while still meeting G.652.D standards. BendBright-Elite is targeted toward specialty applications and those indoor applications requiring extreme bending performance. Offering a 5-mm radius, BendBright-Elite secures against mechanical failure under extreme bending constraints and hostile environments by doubling the proof-test level during fiber production.

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