OFS says it has integrated Go!Foton's Midspan Clamshell Hardened Terminal (MCHT) into its FTTx connectivity ecosystem. The MCHT is designed to enable hardened connectivity without the need for hardened connectors, providing IP68 protection for each connection within optical drop cable deployments.
The water-sealed MCHT, which can house a splice tray, optical splitter, or other passive components, is designed to support efficient add/drops, including fiber cable splicing as well as post-splicing drops with pre-terminated MCHT pigtails. Technicians can access the F2 drops port without opening the main splicing chamber, which OFS says enables faster and thereby potentially safer customer additions than traditional closures. Simplicity of ordering, inventory, and installation also can save costs compared to multiport service terminal (MST) alternatives, according to OFS. The MCHT terminal can be deployed below-grade, pole-mounted, or for messenger applications and uses the SCA connector.
The MCHT's isolated ports enable new subscribers to be added without disturbing other active users. Small in size and available in four-port and eight-port configurations with both external and concealed mounting options and a variety of cable stub lengths, the MCHT can be used in 5G, small cell, rural, and DAS networks.
"By hardening the individual drop connection chamber rather than the actual connectors themselves, the MCHT can offer hardened fiber terminal functionality using widely available, standard fiber drop cables and connectors,” said Go!Foton CTO Dr. David Z. Chen. We are excited that OFS has chosen to employ the mid-span element of Go!Foton's innovative mid-span terminal platform in its global network architecture."
"The Midspan Clamshell Hardened Terminal helps to simplify and expedite network installations for our global solutions customers," added Dan Hendrickson, director, NAR Network Systems PLM & R&D for OFS. "Fundamentally most of our customers prefer traditional industry connectors. The CHT mid-span enclosure allows installers to add and drop cables with traditional connectors in the field while securing connections without opening an enclosure. This simplified approach to building out the network is what OFS strives to deliver in each element of our solution."
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