Blown Fibre

Blown Fibre

Blown Fibre is a technology developed by British Telecom. It utilises a lightweight fibre unit and is installed using a flow of compressed air. As such, the force exerted on the fibre is uniform throughout its length and this force is significantly less than the maximum force present in optical fibre cable that is pulled. Accordingly, significant reinforcement of the fibre is not required, making the fibre lighter and faster to deploy. This opens up a new market for point-to-point fibre connectivity, rapid deployment opportunities and reduced investment requirements for the same technology.

Key Benefits

Deferred installation costs.
Rapid deployment.
Point to point Fibre, less splices, lower db losses.
Simple, easy design.
Network flexibility.
Space saving in over crowded duct networks.

Blown Fibre Tube Types Sample

DIRECT INSTALLATION (DI) INTO DUCT

The 'basic' FibreFlow™ tube assembly has a wrap of soft temper aluminium as a water barrier. It is soft temper so that under moderate stretching, it will not fracture. The outer surface of the aluminium is adhesive covered, to bond it to the inside of the sheath.

The sheath is MDPE, 1.6mm nom thick, has good flexibility and moderate toughness, such that it is ideal for use installed inside a pre-installed duct or subduct. Thus we have a product with low weight, great flexibility, and low cost. It is in effect, an EMPTY fibre optic cable.

One advantage is that this product can be installed easily using standard cable practice, with very low installation force (these lengths can often be pulled in place by hand, ideal for low-tech countries) and there is no tensile risk to fibres, since they are installed later.

Outside Plant and Inside Plant Network Design Sample

Outside Plant
See Large Picture

Inside Plant
See Large Picture

Home