Comparison of field measurements and statistical estimation of link PMD coefficients in optical systems

Prediction of polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) values of installed links based on manufacturers´ data on the delivered short cable sections are biased by the instruments´ sensitivity, thus overestimating power penalties. Field distributions of link PMD coefficients display an unexpected long tail toward high PMD coefficients indicating that the hypothesis of random concatenation of fibers in standard procedures for PMD evaluation is not being obeyed in the field. Better instrument sensitivity is required for correct predictions and we suggest that the link simulation methods shall be revised to account for the color pattern in fibers splicing in cable deployment.