“The brief was simple: to offer TPG a cable with the highest possible fibre count, with a diameter small enough to fit inside a 32mm subduct with an internal diameter of just 28mm,” says Jack Clements, Technical Sales Manager Australia. “The result was a cable that exhibits the highest fibre density in the world, with 2112F contained with a 24mm diameter sheath. This was also the highest fibre count cable ever manufactured by Prysmian, leveraging Flextube technology to great effect.”
Termite-ready fibre
“The Calais plant is our centre of excellence for manufacturing Flextube cable. However, most cables they make require no more than 800 or so fibres. For the 2112F cable the entire factory had to be re-arranged and additional equipment employed in order to construct the new design. This really pushed the limits of Flextube technology - how much fibre can you possibly squeeze inside the cable sheath? The result was the highest density fibre cable in the world. An outstanding feat of engineering and a process that pushed the boundaries of cable manufacturing technology.”
“The cable also required a connectivity solution to manage the cable termination and store over 2,000 fibre splices in a single enclosure. For this, we turned to our colleagues in Bishopstoke, UK. The Prysmian Connectivity team had just launched a new modular cable joint with a capacity that could be expanded up to 2688 fibres. Perfect timing, as itenabled us to offer a complete solution tailored to the customer’s requirements.”
“In Australia we have a requirement for a nylon jacket to be added to all cables. This smooth, hard surface protects the cable from attack from termites. It also reduces friction during cable hauling. The challenge with the 2112F cable was to maintain a small enough cable diametre to allow for the additional nylon jacket whilst also ensuring the cable would fit inside a conduit with an internal diameter of 28mm.”
“This project required the combined efforts of myself, Alice Codenotti the Commercial Account Manager and Matteo Pandolfi, the New Zealand Technical Sales Manager specialising in Connectivity, to consider all aspects of the project and ensure all needs could be met. It’s my job to translate our customers’ needs/requirements into technical solutions but this was very much a team effort, with strong collaboration. Not only locally but also internationally within Prysmian Group. Together we collaborated with our affiliates in France, Italy and the UK to formulate and develop the final solution.”
2,000 fibres in one go
“A strong technical partnership with the customer was key to the success of this project. For TPG, the ability to install over 2,000 fibres in a single cable reduces the cost of installation per fibre. Flextube also reduces the installation time by approximately 40 – 50%. Time savings in the field of this extent translates to significant labour savings and reductions in deployment timescales.”
“We installed Prysmian’s 1728F cable last year and this year we’re up to 2112F in a single cable. The technology continues to develop and at TPG we’re keen to utilise the latest cutting edge products to respond to the evolving needs of our customers,” said Reggie Naik, General Manager – Fibre Operations at TPG Telecom.
“Being able to install over 2,000 fibres in one go brings us major advantages in terms of installation costs per fibre and utilisation of our infrastructure. It also helps us secure capacity in high demand areas, helping us to future proof our fibre network.” Said Liz Goyeneche, Network Design and Planning Manager at TPG Telecom.
PRYSMIAN FLEXTUBE
FlexTube® is an optical micromodule cable which can be built into many different designs for both internal and external use. Compared with conventional loose tube cable, Flextube offers unparalleled fibre density, allowing more fibres to be installed in existing infrastructure so network owners can fully utilise their assets. The cable is also lighter, more flexible and quicker to prepare and terminate and the cable design can be scaled up to offer extremely high fibre counts.
Find out more on prysmiangroup.com