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Testing dark fibre

How do I test dark fibre?

Fibre characterisation needed iconQuality control approved icon OTT

Full fibre characterisation is recommended for any dark fibre contract. Fibre characterisation involves a comprehensive suite of tests on the optical fibre to reveal how well it will perform.

Performing all the fibre characterisation measurements to produce accurate and reliable results is a skilled task. The analysis and interpretation of the test results in order to report on the quality of the fibre infrastructure and the ability of the link to support different applications and technologies, requires a lot of detailed knowledge and understanding.

ITU-T-G-650-3 standard

Fibre characterisation is defined in ITU G.650.3

“A comprehensive suite of measurements that is carried out on an optical fibre cable link to determine the key performance attributes of that link which may affect current or future applications that operate over that link. Fibre characterization also allows the quality of the optical fibre cable link to be assessed, including the identification of the type and grade of fibre installed. Full fibre characterization includes connector end face inspection, insertion loss measurements, return loss measurements, OTDR testing, chromatic dispersion testing, polarization mode dispersion measurement, and spectral attenuation.“

You can learn how to carry out that testing on the Certified Fibre Characterisation Engineer course.

Richard Ednay, OTT technical Director and developer of the globally recognised Certified Fibre Characterisation Engineer (CFCE) course, wrote the definition of fibre characterisation that is in ITU G.650.3

I'd like to become a CFCE

The Certified Fibre Characterisation Engineer (CFCE) training program is delivered under license by OTT’s approved partners in the UK, Ireland and USA. Please complete the form to be put in contact with your nearest partner.

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