Once again, it’s time for me to travel. As the plane lands on the first leg of my trip, I immediately check my app or look at the flight status board in the airport to make sure my connection is on time. Connections are a key component of my life.
The word “connections” means different things to different people. Also, the quality of those connections are a big deal. Maybe it’s that eye contact with someone, maybe it’s a nice conversation with someone new or maybe it’s holding your significant other’s hand. These are all connections.
Since I travel much of the time, connections may mean getting off one plane and getting on another on time…but it also means I am headed somewhere to “connect” with someone or some company. These connections are completely different…but both, in their own way, are very important.
We’re in the business of connections at Clearfield® too. In this fiber-fed world, quality fiber connections are more and more important as networks are deployed and expanded. Clearfield makes tons of fiber connections each year and they are some of best on the market (.2dB or less insertion loss per mated pair).
This matters because just making a connection doesn’t ensure that the network functions. Quality connections are needed as the demand for higher data rates increases. Back reflection, chromatic dispersion and clean fiber connectors, for example, have a real impact on the network’s overall functionality. What’s more, these connections need deploying in a variety of environments. Maybe it’s a large fiber frame in a data center, or maybe a fiber drop to a single family home. Or just maybe it’s an MPO connection to provide multi-fiber connectivity for a large business. No matter what it is, they all require a quality connection in order to function as designed.
Now, a really exciting development in the fiber connection world is the prefix “pre.” Pre-connectorized is a relatively new term, but it has a major impact on both the quantity and quality of connections possible in your fiber deployments. Try comparing the quality of a connector made out in the field by a technician while it’s windy, dusty or rainy to a connector made in a controlled production environment. Really…no comparison. The challenge is how to take those quality connections and terminate them for a fast installation…and ultimately, to the end user.
We do just that with the FieldShield® pre-connectorized cable assemblies. Providing a factory-terminated, quality connector (whether it is a single fiber connection or a Multi-fiber Push On (MPO) connector) to the end customer that does not require the technician to do anything more than place a housing over it and plug it into the customer’s equipment really is the meaning of a “quality connection.”
Besides best-in-class connections, Clearfield delivers these with a variety of drop styles. If you want a low-cost, entry-level drop that’s still connectorized, look at FieldShield FLATdrop. Or you can choose FieldShield D-ROP and have the added value of an easily restorable solution. Perhaps you want something that can go a little further or something that can fit a higher fiber count. With that, you want the FieldShield Microduct and FieldShield Pushable fiber drops. And even if you want something that can be stapled, has a plenum rating and is a little more flexible, we can give you that with FieldShield FLEXdrop™. Or maybe you just need something that can fix that nagging problem of where to store the slack. Well then…a good choice is our FieldShield StrongFiber solution.
All of these different drop types are really tools for your toolbox. You choose the environment that you are trying to tackle, select the proper drop type and get your customer connection made. And since each of these options comes in a quality pre-connectorized style, it is easier than ever to make connections.
If you want to know more about our connectors, reach out and make connections with Clearfield today. Who knows where your new connection may go!
By Scot Bohaychyk
Scot Bohaychyk—Manager, Product Marketing—has nearly 30 years in the telecommunications industry. Scot’s background includes serving in The White House Communications Agency, providing communications infrastructure support for then-President Ronald Reagan and his White House staff. Scot’s private sector experience includes OSP field and engineering experience, as well as market development and sales work in the fields of blown and pushable fiber for long-haul fiber installations—both in the United States and overseas.