High quality transmission and media products for fiber-to-the-customer

Desirable product design features and performance requirements for fiber-to-the-customer products are reviewed. Such fiber-to-the-customer installations require state-of-the-art electronic and optical systems and a complete collection of well-designed fiber cables, splices, connectors, and closures to configure the outside plant. Since one of the expected long-term benefits in installing fiber into the local telephone network is substantial reduction in maintenance and repair costs, high-quality products that can withstand a wide variety of environmental conditions in underground, buried, and aerial applications are required. To minimize installation times and make lightguide technology an economic alternative for distribution area applications, easy entry cables, passively aligned splices, field-installable connectors, and reenterable splice closures are needed. In addition, the optoelectronics must be very reliable and incorporate full maintenance and operations features