Amid growing demand for high-speed fiber networks connecting facilities in a "campus" environment, Graybar, a North American distributor of communication/data and electrical equipment and components, described its new VIP Fiber assurance program as a vital step for customers who purchase and deploy multimode fiber networks.
Graybar's VIP Fiber program, touted as the distribution industry's first independent comprehensive laboratory test for multimode fiber-optic cabling systems, was created to test components for their performance and interoperability in advance of installation and deployment. Products from 11 leading industry suppliers have recently passed the program's rigorous testing and certification procedures, which are conducted independently by ETL SEMKO testing laboratories, one of the world's largest product testing organizations.
Based on preliminary data released by industry analyst Frost & Sullivan, the premises fiber-optic cabling market in the United States is projected to grow steadily to $240 million by 2005.
"This market is driven by a variety of factors," said Alpa Shah, research director, Enterprise Communications & Carrier Networks, Frost & Sullivan. "They include future bandwidth demand (for more video-type applications), more standards supporting fiber architectures, lower price differential between fiber and copper-based systems, projected increases in commercial buildings being wired for fiber-optic networks, and an uptake of fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-curb."
Designed for backbone fiber solutions and higher speed networks, the VIP Fiber program measures performance beyond the TIA/EIA 568B.3 cable and connector specifications. Under the VIP Fiber testing program, the cable and are randomly selected by ETL SEMKO from Graybar's off-the-shelf inventory, and tested quarterly to ensure consistent quality.
Graybar is headquartered in St. Louis, MO.