Smooth network connectivity is crucial for small and medium-sized businesses. Fiber optic cables are the backbone of a seamless communication network; they offer high-speed connectivity, secure data transmission, and reliability. Fiber optic cable installers integrate fiber optic cabling installation to ensure they are immune to damage from accidental cuts, wear and tear, or environmental factors.

These damages may disrupt daily operations, incur heavy costs, hamper security, and much more. To avoid these damages, it's important to have quick fiber optic restoration, which leads to minimum downtime, smooth operations, and security enhancement. So, if you're wondering how structured cabling contractors handle Fiber Optic restoration, then this article is just right for you.

Table of Content

● Introduction

● How Structured Cabling Contractors Handle Fiber Optic Restoration

● Types of Fiber Optic Cable Damage

● Tools used in Fiber Optic Restoration

● Conclusion

How Structured Cabling Contractors Handle Fiber Optic Restoration

Structured Cabling contractors play an important role in handling the fiber optic restoration. They use multiple techniques, tools, and procedures to identify, repair, and restore optical paths.

Following are steps structured cabling contractors use to handle the fiber optic restoration.

1) Identify and Inspect

The fiber optic cable installers must identify the problem or damage that is visible due to cut or external environment conditions and assess the extent of damage caused in fiber optic cabling installation. The fiber optic installers may use OTDR to inspect the exact location of the break which helps in reducing the area that needs to be dug up which saves time and effort.

2) Gather Tools

Collect the right tools for restoring the fiber optic cables such as fiber optic cutter, video microscopes, fusion splicer, optical loss test set, and OTDR which help in handling the fiber optic cable effectively and efficiently.

3) Cut and Strip

The fiber optic cutter helps to remove any damaged section that it holds also the fiber optic stripper is used to remove the protective coating in the fiber ends.

4) Use Flow chart

The fiber optic installers must use the structured and step-by-step flow chart to analyze the problem design the solutions and restore the optical path which is the perfect solution for the cable issue.

5) Prepare Fiber Ends

It's important to have proper fiber optic cable ends as they are important for fiber optic cabling installation fiber optic installers strip the unnecessary cable, cleave them, and clean the fiber ends as not even minute dust can enter for proper installation of fiber optic.

6) Splice the fiber

The fiber optic cables are delicate so it's important to use the fusion splicer that connects and fuses the fiber ends together for better connectivity and allows the light to pass through with minimal loss.

Types of Fiber Optic Cable Damage

Fiber optic cables are ideal for long connectivity but they are delicate too to handle. Here are some types of damages that may hamper Fiber optic cables and need timely restoration.

❖ Physical damage is having small cuts, breaks, and kinks, in fiber optic cables as damages are clearly seen which may be caused by the external environment.

❖ Environmental damage is another common fiber optic cable damage that may occur due to extreme heat conditions, water overflow, UV exposure, rodent damage, etc. which degrade the cables over time.

❖ Small or micro bends and Large or Macrobands in fiber optic cables lose the signals and impact the network performance significantly.

❖ Connector damage at the end of cables also may disrupt the signal transmission.

Tools used in Fiber Optic Restoration

Fiber optic cable restoration or repairing them from time to time is essential as it frees up the hassle of costly fiber optic cabling installation from scratch in any business.

Following are the tools used in the restoration of the fiber optic cables that result in smooth operations.

➢ Fiber Optic Cutter: They are designed to make precise cuts in the fiber optic cables as these are delicate and they are important for splicing.

➢ OTDR: Optical Time Domain Reflectometer acts as a radar which omits the light pulse down the cable and they reflect when hit to fault or break. OTDRs are essential as they hit back in the exact location where damage occurs.

➢ Fusion Splicer: They use heat to fuse the fiber ends together as fusion splicers create the connection that allows light to pass through with very little cost.

➢ Fiber Optic Stripper: This removes the protective coating in fiber optic cables and exposes them to bare fiber inside as this is a very delicate task that requires precision without damaging the fiber inside.

Conclusion

The issue and failure of fiber optic cable may cause slow data transmission, reduced security, slow internet connectivity, etc. so it's important fiber optic installers fix the damage that occurred with the fiber optic cabling installation.  

The reliable structured cabling contractors must be able to handle the Fiber Optic Restoration as it ensures long-term connectivity, reliability, and network performance. A small mistake in restoring fiber optic cable may lead to disruption, heavy cost, and damage. So handle the fiber optic restoration carefully by selecting the right fiber optic installer handle by structured cabling contractors.