July 21, 2004 Research Triangle Park, NC -- Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, today introduced what it claims is the industry's first and only "flexible," 100% gel-free Indoor-Outdoor Ribbon Cable.
Featuring a cross-ply strength element sheath, the new indoor-outdoor cable eliminates preferential bend directions, allowing the cable to bend in every direction for greater flexibility when installing in tight premise locations and in more complex fiber pathways. The Sumitomo cable features a bend diameter that is over 40% smaller than that of competitive gel-free indoor-outdoor ribbon cables, contends the manufacturer, providing users with approximately twice the flexibility for quicker and easier installations.
The riser-rated cable eliminates the need for installers to switch from an outside plant to a premise cable; it can be installed from the last termination in the outside plant environment into the building, allowing for a seamless, splice-free fiber flow. By incorporating water-blocking yarns into the patent-pending cable design, Sumitomo has removed the need for gels in both the cable's core and central tube, further reducing the installers' cable preparation time and labor costs--resulting in increased productivity, significantly lower project costs, and faster deployment, says the company.
The indoor-outdoor flexible gel-free cable can be used for both direct buried and lashed-aerial applications and has a tensile strength of up to 600 lbs. The cable is UL and OFNR listed for up to and including riser flammability requirements and has met Telcordia GR-20 and GR-409 standards, as well as ICEA 640 requirements.