| BUYER, BEWARE |
Offshore-manufactured Communications Cables Fail NFPA Minimum Fire Safety Code, Fail TIA 568-B Standard
Offshore-manufactured communications cable products could present significant and catastrophic fire risk and buyers of these cables should be cautious, announced the Communications Cable and Connectivity Association, Inc. (CCCA), a non-profit corporation that serves as a resource to support current and future needs of the networking, IT and communications industries.
CCCA, in response to concerns from the industry, commissioned an independent laboratory to analyze whether nine randomly selected offshore samples of these products met U.S. minimum requirements for performance and safety.
Test results showed that none of the samples fully met all of the minimum requirements and eight of the nine samples failed to meet the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) minimum code requirements for low flame spread and/or smoke safety requirements for installation in commercial buildings, schools and multi-tenant residences. Additionally, nine of the nine sampled cables tests failed to fully comply with TIA 568-B industry minimum requirements for physical and electrical performance (as specified for Category 5e/6 cables).
Read more about the test results at the link below.
Independent Testing Uncovers Serious Fire Safety Concerns |
| WHITE PAPER |
Fusion Splicing Today's Single Mode Fibers
Today's installers are using new technologies to more efficiently splice fiber for Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments. Despite these advances, there are still many aspects of splicing of which network practitioners must remain aware.
To address these issues, Superior Essex and OFS have created a White Paper that provides designers, contractors and installers with an overview of fusion splicing and highlights areas.
The paper outlines what should be expected when performing splice loss measurements and offers guidance and rules of thumb for establishing acceptance criteria. Read the White Paper at the link below.
Fusion Splicing |
| STANDARDS UPDATE |
TIA TR-42 to Publish ANSI/TIA 1005
The Industrial Cabling Sub-committee received approval to publish ANSI/TIA 1005, Telecommunications Infrastructure Standard for Industrial Premises, at the October TIA TR-42 TR-42.9 meeting held in Vancouver, BC. TIA-1005 was created to address new structured cabling concepts for industrial installations. Specifically, it addresses the potential exposure of cable to hostile environments, and special cabling system requirements.
The standard recently passed final review and should be released in 2009. This means plant engineers, automation professionals and electricians can expect a new standard for creating an interoperable infrastructure for voice and data communications cabling in manufacturing environments.
In other meeting news, the TR-42.7 subcommittee agreed to send the Draft of proposed TIA 1152, Standard for Field Test Equipment and Measurements for Balanced Twisted-Pair Cabling, out for committee ballot. If approved, it will be published as TIA-1152.
The next full meeting of TR-42 will be February 2-6, 2009.
TIA |
| YOU'RE SO PREDICTABLE |
Superior Essex knows that being predictable has its advantages. In fact, predictability is exactly what you want when it comes to trusting your premises optical fiber cable manufacturer to: 
- Consistently deliver high-performance cables on-time.
- Guarantee cable performance from 25 years through the life of the installation.
- Provide prompt expert technical support.
- Offer value-added services from veteran telecommunications specialists who can help you choose a complete cabling solution for your application — at no additional cost.
That's why when contractors and installers say we're predictable, we respond, "Thanks for noticing!"
You're So Predictable
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| PRODUCT FOCUS |
FTTP Tight Buffered Indoor/Outdoor Drop,
Series W7
Superior Essex has introduced the first Series W7 Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) cable that is rugged enough for outdoor environments, yet flexible enough for tight bends within residences. It is available in universal and toneable designs that are suitable for aerial, direct bury or conduit installation.
The patent-pending design uses a 3.0 mm OFNR rated simplex tight buffer cable as the core of a GR-20 OSP rated FTTP small flat cable, while a waterblocking thread prevents water penetration.
The key benefit of this cable is that it can be installed from the pedestal to the indoor ONT (Optical Network Terminal) with no intermediate termination. This means significant installation savings can be realized by avoiding splicing or termination on the outside or inside wall of the residence. Further savings are realized by using an indoor ONT that does not require an electrician to install.
To learn more about the all new FTTP Tight Buffered Indoor/Outdoor Drop, Series W7, cable, click the link below.
FTTP Tight Buffered I/O Drop, Series W7 |
| ASK THE EXPERTS |
RoHS Compliant Cables Manufactured by Superior Essex
Q: My upcoming project mandates that I use RoHS compliant cables. Are cables manufactured by Superior Essex RoHS compliant; do you have supporting documentation; and where can I find it?
A: Yes, Superior Essex manufactures RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant products. These cables can be easily identified by the appearance of a RoHS logo located near the standards compliance box of our print and online product specification sheets. (Keep in mind that the most current information is available online.)
The Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives are aimed at reducing the hazardous materials content in electronic products as well as increasing the recycling efforts for these products and became effective July 1, 2006. RoHS specifically bans or restricts the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDE).
General information on RoHS compliance is available on our Web at RoHS Compliance as well as on the RoHS website.
To obtain a stand-alone documents for a specific part number(s), contact your inside sales manager. He or she can provide the documentation.
If you have other questions concerning RoHS compliant cables manufactured by Superior Essex, please contact Technical Support at 877.263.2818 or via email at the link below.
TechSupport@SPSX.com
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