May 14, 2004 Dallas, TX -- Alcatel's new 6841 Optical Ground Wire (OPGW) functions as a drop-in communications cable replacement for conventional overhead "ground wire" or "static wire" that spans the tops of high-voltage electrical utility transmission lines to provide electrical grounding protection from lightning strikes. However, it also functions as optical cable that enables secure reliable optical communications for SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) network control and other high-value services.
Using the 6841 OPGW, power utilities, telecommunication carriers, and government agencies can leverage aerial electrical transmission right-of-way into a high performance, scalable communications network at low incremental cost during rebuild, upgrade, or extension to the power grid, say company representatives.
From its North American Service Center in North Carolina, Alcatel custom engineers OPGW cables for each route to provide an optimal match of electrical and mechanical properties with the same diameter, span, and handling characteristics as the existing ground wire.
The Alcatel OPGW designs use stainless steel or aluminum tubes along with aluminum-clad steel and aluminum-alloy wires to provide electrical grounding protection, mechanical strength, and optical fiber protection. Alcatel uses advanced technology such as laser-welded stainless steel tubes, ColorLock fiber coating, certified hardware, and guaranteed zero fiber strain to provide long-term reliability.
Alcatel 6841 OPGW aerial cables are available with optical fibers that best match current and future applications, including Alcatel TeraLight Ultra and Metro fibers, a range of patented ITU G.655 dispersion-shifted optical fibers that have established numerous bandwidth and distance records for both 10- and 40-Gbit/sec applications; and?Alcatel Enhanced SingleMode Fiber (ESMF), an ITU G.652d optical fiber that provides additional wavelength spectrum with guaranteed performance across the O, E, S, C, L, and U-bands from 1260 to 1625 nm.
Alcatel's OPGW cables are part of a complete portfolio that enables utilities and communications operators to leverage existing rights-of-way into flexible and cost-effective optical networks.