Abstract

Beginning in 1984 an extensive long-haul single-mode optical-fiber network will be installed by AT&T Long Lines. Operating at 1310 nm and 432 Mbit/sec, the system will have typical regenerator spacings of ~30 km. To achieve these long repeaterless spans, low-loss single-mode fiber stranded cables have been developed. The design concept,¹ based on a filled stranded fiber unit, was first demonstrated in a system experiment conducted in Atlanta during the fall of 1982.² Using the stranded fiber unit as a basic building block, economical core configurations have been developed. Sheath designs meeting various installation requirements have also been developed. Prior to full scale production, cable designs and manufacturing processes have been verified by commercially fabricating and installing eleven 24-fiber single-mode cables. These cables constitute one complete regenerator span in a long-haul route in Harrisburg, Pa.

© 1984 Optical Society of America