3M has introduced the Clear Track product family of fiber to the home (FTTH) cabling and installation products for in-building fiber cable deployments. The Clear Track line answers the demands for easy, unobtrusive indoor fiber deployment, according to the company.
The Clear Track line benefits deployments in both single- and multi-family units by simplifying the installation process to a few hand-held tools, according to 3M. The line includes:
- 3M Clear Fiber Drop Cable
- 3M Clear Track Fiber Pathway
- 3M 900 μm Clear Fiber
- 3M Clear Track Fiber Installation Tool
- 3M One Pass Mini Surface-Mount Wall Outlet.
In practice, technicians can use the all-dielectric FTTH Clear Fiber Drop Cable to transition from outdoors, where ruggedness is required, to indoors, where aesthetics are desired, without the need for a splice or connection point, says 3M. Installers can pull the drop cable easily through conduit because of its low friction, low profile design, the company adds.
Once inside, installers can peel open the flat, jacketed cable to expose a single 900-μm clear buffered ultra bend-insensitive fiber (ITU-T G.657.B3) that's ready for indoor routing with the 3M Clear Track Fiber Pathway. The pathway is used to route the single fiber strand to the desired outlet or terminal while remaining virtually invisible, 3M asserts. The pathway features 3M's proprietary clear tape adhesive backing. It installs directly to most walls without staples, heat guns, glues, or leaving behind a bulky raceway, the company says.
Installers can use the Clear Track Fiber Installation Tool, a hand-held rolling device that requires no power source, to secure the Clear Fiber in the Clear Track Fiber pathway. And the One Pass Mini Surface-Mount Wall Outlet, available with SC/APC or SC/UPC adaptors, offers a low-profile way to complete the Clear Track FTTH connection near an ONT or customer premise equipment.
3M will exhibit the Clear Track line this week at the 2016 FTTH Connect Conference and Expo in Nashville, TN, in Booth #730.
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