R&M’s Field-Mountable FO Connectors now for Universal Use

R&M, the globally active developer and provider of cabling systems for high-quality network infrastructures, based in Wetzikon, Switzerland, is setting a new standard for field-mountable FO connectors. R&M’s FO Field 2.0 connector now covers all cable types. Possible uses range from Fiber to the Home (FTTH) through FO cabling for offices, hospitals, malls and industrial companies to infrastructures for Smart Buildings, Smart Cities and Internet of Things (IoT). With the mounting set from R&M, it will not take skilled installers more than a minute to wire the connector on a building site.

R&M’s field-mountable FO Field 2.0

The innovative clamping technology of the FO Field 2.0 connector not only fixes the jacket but, for the very first time, now also the optical fiber inside. That makes the mechanical connection significantly more stable and more resistant than comparable solutions. The favorable transmission properties and attenuation values are retained completely and permanently.

Furthermore the FO Field 2.0 can be rewired. The optimized mechanical stability makes it possible to use the connector in a much wider application range than was possible with earlier solutions. Depending on the cable type, cabling links can now also be realized in what is referred to as the “uncontrolled” range (-25°C to +70°C).

Due to the sophisticated assembly technology, optical fibers can now be connected faster and at less expense than was previously the case. It takes 30% less time to install an FO outlet in an apartment than splice cabling. The connection costs per subscriber fall by up to 20%. These figures were revealed in application tests carried out by R&M customers in Central Europe.

Favorable attenuation values

Even the hard 900 µm buffered fibers with a jacket made of high density polyethylene (HDPE) can be assembled securely. The connector supports singlemode and multimode fibers in the versions 125/250 µm, buffered, tight or semi-tight fibers with a jacket of 600 to 900 µm, cable jackets made of any material with diameters of 1.4 to 3 mm. R&M specifies the categories OM2, OM3, OM4 and OM5 for multimode cabling. The mechanical and optical properties correspond to the quality of prefabricated and factory-tested pigtails and patch cords. The FO Field LC and the FO Field SC meet the requirements of the performance levels Grade Cf/1 (APC) and Grade Cf/2 (PC), respectively with insertion loss of, typically, 0.25 dB and return loss over 60 dB.