conduit. Costs associated with the
pathway are there regardless of
which fiber installation method is
chosen. For this scenario, consider
an industrial facility that is in its
infancy and is anticipating that future
expansion will be needed as its manufacturing
processes increase. Blown
fiber systems have been adopted by
many vertical industries, including
corporate campuses, airports, broadcasting
studios, universities, healthcare
facilities and many government
and military installations. An industrial
scenario is chosen as an example
due to its often challenging installations,
such as hazardous conditions,
smart manufacturing’s move to IoT
that requires advanced networks and
sensors for communication and
automation, and the necessity to
keep operations up and running
24-7 with little or no costly downtime
or disruptions.
The pathway in this industrial
scenario is ladder tray that has been
installed between the network rooms
and control rooms at a 20-foot height
(approximately 6.1 meters). The plant
currently has one MDF where all the
core equipment is located, and the
customer has requested homerun
fiber runs from each of the required
locations in the plant. There are
44 I ICT TODAY
three IDFs in the plant, and the customer
has requested 48-count SMF
to each; additionally, the two separate
control rooms require 6-count
SMF to each. If conventional cabling
had been chosen, a 48-strand SMF
cable would have been installed from
the MDF out to each IDF and to each
of the control rooms.
When using the blown fiber
solution, an indoor-riser 19-tube
cable is installed from the MDF out
to a central location within the plant
where a TDU would be placed. Each
of the 19 tubes from this TDU location
becomes a pathway for a fiber
bundle. From the TDU at the central
location in the plant, an indoor-riser
7-tube cable is installed out to each
of the three IDFs; a TDU is placed in
each IDF location. From the TDU at
each of the IDFs, an indoor-outdoor
special applications 2-tube cable is
installed out to the two separate
control rooms and is terminated
directly into the equipment by
splicing to a pre-terminated pigtail.
The indoor-outdoor tube cable is
used because the tube cable is going
outside before entering the control
rooms. A 48-count SMF bundle is
blown from the MDF out to each of
the TDUs in the IDF locations; then
a 6-count SMF bundle is blown from
the MDF to each control room, each
passing through the TDU in the
central location where the tubes are
coupled. As a result of this installation,
five of the 19 tubes in the MDF
have been used; one of the tubes was
used in the 7-tube cable in each IDF
and one tube was used in the 2-tube
cable in the control room. With this
solution, this facility can add additional
fiber to any existing location
by having fiber bundles blown in
with very few or no disruptions to
the facility in the process. The labor
required to add fiber conventionally
would be much greater as access to
the pathway would be needed again,
requiring several technicians and lift
equipment, thereby increasing safety
risks and disruptions to the plant and
its operation.
ADDRESSING
CUSTOMER CONCERNS
There are some concerns regarding
the blown fiber solution. One is
whether it meets certain manufacturing
cable standards. It must be kept
in mind that blown fiber is considered
a field installable cable. The
various types of tube cables comply
with different ratings as previously
discussed, and the overall products
in the system comply with EIA/TIA
If the network infrastructure is anticipated to be more static
with few upgrades or expansions, then conventional cabling
would most likely be the preferred solution.