One of the biggest challenges that colleges and universities face is the ever-increasing demand for bandwidth. With the BYOD mentality that most campuses face today,

the ability to provide easy access to information and to communicate no matter where you are is essential. Campus life no longer dictates reliable Internet service just in the classroom. Now it is required everywhere. As the amount of data and file sizes increase, as well as the need for real-time video and OTA capabilities, the need for increased bandwidth becomes critical. Not to mention the growing need for network and campus security to protect people and property. These increased demands are driving the need for innovative copper and optical fiber cabling technologies that are able to ensure reliable performance and faster data rates.

By implementing a Passive Optical LAN system, higher education facilities can reap the benefits of a streamlined, high-bandwidth network architecture while saving both time and money. Universities cannot afford the downtime associated with rewiring in order to provide greater bandwidth to their students.  Passive Optical LAN systems utilize single-mode fiber optic cable.  Single-mode fiber optic cable provides the greatest bandwidth compared to any other communications medium available on the market today.  At a very economical cost compared to a traditional network infrastructure, Passive Optical LANs minimize the need for future cabling upgrades.

Not only can Passive Optical LANs support telephone, data and video services but they can also service security, building automation systems and wireless services.   Other structured cabling solutions necessitate more cables and/or electronics to support the services now required on a modern campus.   The added savings of not having to install the necessary plethora of cables to support these additional electronics, shows that Passive Optical LANs are a much more inexpensive solution (both in capital and operational costs), saving the college both up front and year over year costs. And because of the utilization of single-mode fiber, they can expect their investment to payoff for years to come.

OCC’s newly developed Passive Optical LAN takes all those benefits and amplifies them to provide a reliable system that allows for effortless installations. Easy to install and manage, OCC’s POL offers a versatile system that affords substantial improvements in overall CAPEX and OPEX savings as well as streamlines current and future upgrades.

To learn more about OCC’s Passive Optical LAN system, watch this short 2 minute video on all the unique benefits POL has to offer: Click here.

With the exceedingly prevalent use of data, the growth of wireless access points, IP-enabled devices and building automation systems has jumped exponentially.  Cameras and other security equipment are now being connected to the network as these devices move from analog to digital or Ethernet based.

This growth has created a need to change the way typical horizontal links and channels are configured for these applications. Devices such as wireless access points mounted in non-traditional locations (in the ceiling or high up on the wall) are not attached to the network using standard faceplate, jack and patch cord configurations.  The traditional method is being replaced with direct attachment where the horizontal cable is terminated with a field installable plug and then plugged directly into the equipment.

Currently, installers in the field are utilizing modular plugs that are intended for patch cord construction to terminate Cat5e and Cat6 horizontal cabling. This practice is difficult, time consuming, yields unpredictable performance results and is not recommended by the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) 568 standards. Also, these plugs do not accommodate the larger conductors utilized in Cat6A cabling. The increasing data rates of wireless access points and other devices now require a Cat6A cabling link to support 10G Ethernet.

While the TIA-568 communications cabling standard does not currently support direct attach links, the growing demand for field installable plugs has many industry standards such as TIA-862-A, Building Automation Systems Cabling Standard looking to recognize the direct attach method of termination.   However, the need for a robust, easy to install field terminable plug for this market segment that provides true performance is imperative.

OCC has addressed this need with the introduction of a Category 6A Field Terminable Plug.   With OCC’s new plug, terminations are simple and require no specialized tools.  They support high-performance 10 Gigabit networks and meet the TIA-568-C.2 Category 6A component performance requirements.  In addition, they are supported by OCC’s 25-year MDIS Direct Attach System Performance Warranty when used as an end-to-end OCC copper cabling solution.

For more information about OCC’s Field Terminable Plug, click on the links below:

• Product Information

Typical applications for harsh environment fiber optic cable assemblies in the Oil and Gas market include above-surface (or “top-side”) monitoring and controls for oil and gas rigs, both land and sea based, as well as Geo-seismic exploration equipment. In all cases, the user needs a strong and dependable fiber connection that can be deployed quickly and reliably. Multi-pin hermaphroditic connectors, along with flexible and durable deployable cables manufactured by OCC can be deployed in the most extreme environments where rig operators or exploration teams are working, and all fiber connections can be mated and re-mated with relative ease because of the connectors’ design.

COTS-83526 fiber optic assemblies are widely utilized in the market because multiple manufacturers produce various versions. Often used in deployable military applications, they offer up to 12-channel connectivity with robust and reliable connections in the field for multiple mating cycles. OCC’s COTS-83526 connectors are easily mated to competitor versions, but they offer superior Kevlar retention for better strain relief. OCC’s COTS-83526 connectors can also capture ground wires and cable braids, which are often used by drilling companies for cut resistance, at the receptacle.

EZ-Mate fiber optic cable assemblies offer users up to 24-channel connectivity, and because of their unique design, they can be “blind-mated,” meaning the user can simply twist each end together until they feel the plug mate.  Mini Hermaphroditic (MHC-II) fiber optic assemblies offer a similar ease of deployment, but because of their smaller footprint, they can be used in higher-density applications.

Each OCC harsh environment connector utilizes a “physical contact” method of mating fiber channels between termini, and is environmentally sealed for superior mechanical and environmental performance. Their IP-68 rating gives these systems the ability to operate in dirty and wet environments for extended periods of time, and they can easily be cleaned and prepared for re-use if the termini become contaminated in the field. In fact, just like OCC tight-buffered cables, these connectors are designed for use specifically in the dirtiest and wettest of environments and to perform consistently for their users as expected. These connectors are designed to be exposed and survive the oils and chemicals that are likely to be found in oil and gas extraction sites.

Many competitor’s offer expanded beam connectors that mate fiber channels without using a physical contact between termini. Instead, a lens inside the connector expands the light from each fiber channel and sends it over to the corresponding channel on the mated plug or receptacle, where it is refocused and sent into the fiber core. Competitors typically claim these connector systems are better to use in the oil and gas industry because they are easier to clean when they become contaminated. While expanded beam connections are perhaps somewhat easier to clean, they are not very tolerant of dirt or water, including vapor from condensation, rain or fog, being present during operation. In addition, they must be completely dried prior to being placed back in service. In fact, the presence of dirt on a typical expanded beam connection can cause much higher attenuation than similar amounts of dirt on “physical contact” connections like EZ-Mate or COTS-83526. Oily films, constantly present in oil and gas areas, are often difficult to remove from expanded beam lenses. Even fingerprints on lenses can have a negative impact on expanded beam performance. Finally, we have found that expanded beam connectors may not hold up to physical abuse as well as other “physical contact” connectors and are much more susceptible to loss due to shock and vibration, a likely occurrence in seismic exploration applications. Also to note, higher channel counts that allow many fiber links to be connected in one operation generally become very expensive when attempting to use expanded beam.

OCC’s line of hermaphroditic, environmentally sealed connectors and rugged fiber optic cable are ideal for the harsh rigors that fiber optic cable assemblies will experience in the oil and gas industry. Perhaps most important is the fact that OCC offers a vertically integrated solution of cable and connector assemblies for these applications, which means the entire solution can be tailored particularly to an operator’s specific needs.

For more information about OCC harsh environment cable and connectors specifically designed for the Oil & Gas market, contact an OCC Sales Team member – click here.

OCC’s MARS cable reels are the industry’s first lightweight cable deployment reel system designed specifically for the demanding needs of harsh-environment fiber optic installations. The MARS reel is a lightweight, modular system constructed of an impact modified polymer that is easily transported and is ideal for applications where cable needs to be deployed and retrieved quickly and stored efficiently.

The MARS reel system has recently been issued National Stock Numbers (NSN’s) from the United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). The NSN indicates a review and approval for use within the military’s logistics supply chain. US military services, the Department of Defense (DoD), disposition services, federal agencies (such as GSA, FAA, DHS, etc.), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and many governments around the world use NSNs. To achieve this status, the MARS reels underwent strict qualification testing to the U.S. Army CECOM Specification A336463A, resulting in the following:

• Performance: The cable reel stores and allows for the deployment and retrieval of fiber optic cable assemblies in a variety of environmental and mechanical conditions without damaging or affecting performance of these assemblies.
• Materials: The reel flanges are made from light-weight, durable, and non-porous material that meets the fiber optic cable assembly requirements specified in CECOM drawings A3159863, A3159864, and A3302584. The flanges and handles, excluding the attached
hardware and drum, are fabricated from non-conductive materials. All parts are non-rusting.
• Finish: Colors include, but not limited to, Black, (Desert) Tan 33446 and Olive Drab 34088 as identified in table 3 of FED-STD-595. The finish is lusterless, non-reflective, and fade-resistant.
• Field Transportable: The reel is designed to enable ease of transport by grasping the flange frame at multiple points with a single bare or gloved hand.
• Connector Storage: The reel is capable of securely storing fiber optic connectors within the drum of the reel without need for tools for removal or storage of the connectors.
• Operation: The reel design easily supports deployment or retrieval of fiber optic cable in either manual or automated modes. A folding handle is available for manual cable retrieval. The modular design allows operation on a simple axle or with any number of cable reel accessories. MARS accommodates either round or square drive acles and reeling machines.
• Stacking: The reels are capable of being vertically stacked securely to a height of 5 feet without deforming, distorting or damaging any of the reels.
• Testing: Operating Temperature, Storage Temperature, Temperature – Humidity Cycling, Cold Drop Test, Flammability and Vibration

In addition to meeting the specification requirements in CECOM’s A336463A, the MARS reels underwent user evaluation by the U.S. Army Signal School at Fort Gordon, Georgia in 2012 to determine if the product could withstand day-to-day use. Signal classes utilized the reel for communications exercises as well as conducted their own endurance and confidence testing. The Signal School evaluators offered high praise for significant weight reduction and increased ruggedness and durability over standard steel reels. The MARS reels are currently specified on multiple U.S. Army and Marine Corps cable assembly drawings and specifications. With the assignment of NSN’s to the MARS family of reels, U.S. and allied defense agencies will be able to specify and acquire the specific model of reel or reels required to satisfy their mission requirements.

As network infrastructures grow to encompass increased building automation, IP devices, and wireless access points, the need for communications components that meet these demands also grows. OCC’s Cat 6A Shielded Solution can provide 10-Gig performance and mitigate the EMI issues that come with running large amounts of cables for higher bandwidth applications. Our high performance cabling and connectivity products ensure the data within the cable will be protected from EMI, resulting in higher speeds and better data transmission.

Features & Benefits:

• OCC Cat 6A shielded jacks, patch panels, UFTP cable, and shielded cable assemblies provide a tuned system that guarantees ISO and TIA Category 6A compliance
• OCC’s new shielded modular jack with tool-less design is easy to terminate and provides reliable field terminations
• OCC shielded Cat 6A patch panels are an all-steel construction that ensures panel rigidity and offer high density configurations
• OCC UFTP Cat 6A cable offers individual shielding for all four twisted pairs ensuring EMI and RF mitigation with guaranteed 10GBASE-T performance
• OCC K6AS jacks and patch panels combined with OCC Cat6A U/FTP copper cabling and Cat 6A shielded patch cords form an end-to-end Cat 6A channel backed by OCC’s 25-year MDIS system performance warranty.

This week’s blog comes from Jamey Calloway, Product Management Specialist

The growth of wireless access points and other IP-enable devices, such as surveillance cameras and building automation devices has created a need to change the way typical horizontal links and channels are configured for these applications. Devices such as wireless access points mounted in non-traditional locations (in the ceiling or high up on the wall) are not attached to the network using standard faceplate/jack and patch cord. The traditional method is being replaced with direct attachment where the horizontal cable is terminated with a field installable plug and then plugged directly into the equipment (See Figure 1).

Another market driving the direct attach method is IP surveillance and building automation systems. Total building automation and controls system is expected to be a $50 billion market by 2018.  Cameras and other security devices are also connecting to the network without the standard faceplate/jack connection point.  The security market is experiencing significant growth as more security devices are migrating from analog to digital (Ethernet based).  These security devices are even being added to the network via the direct attach method in existing commercial space where the computer network is not growing.

Currently, installers in the field are utilizing modular plugs that are intended for patch cord construction to terminate Cat5e and Cat6 cabling. This practice is difficult, time consuming, yields unpredictable performance results and is not recommended by the TIA-568 standards. Also, these plugs do not accommodate the larger conductors utilized in Cat6A cabling. The increasing data rates of wireless access points and other devices now require a Cat6A cabling link to support 10G Ethernet. The latest IEEE 802.11ac wireless standard under development supports a theoretical data throughput of 6.9Gbps.

Clearly, the best method is to utilize Field Terminable Plugs designed specifically for field installation and to support Cat5e, 6, and 6A cabling infrastructure.  These plugs feature a robust design for field installation, require no specialized tooling and the termination procedures are very similar to many tool-less modular jacks in the market. Due to growing demand and emergence of field installable plugs, industry standards such as TIA-862-A, Building Automation Systems Cabling Standard and BICSI-005D, Electronic Safety and Security (ESS) System Design now recognize the direct attach method of termination.

As the global PC market continues to decline (3.5% global market decline in 2012) and wireless-only devices, such as tablets (expected to grow 70% in 2013) and smart phones continue to grow, the demand for direct attached connectivity will also expand in order to support the wireless infrastructure for these devices. It is undeniable that the future enterprise networks will be a combination of wired and wireless connectivity.  It is imperative that industry standards and practices keep pace with a changing market.

To keep pace, OCC plans to release a Field Terminable Plug this coming fall 2013. While these products are still in development, it is important to recognize the growing demand for field terminable hardware and the applications where our pending product line will fit.

The oil and gas industry has seen explosive growth in the technology they implore to find, drill, extract, and process these fossil fuels; which makes for a multitude of opportunities for OCC products. If you have questions about specific applications or products to meet the oil and gas industry, please contact us today for assistance!

Becoming a registered user on OCC’s website can give you several great benefits you won’t receive by just perusing our website.  Even though all of our product brochures, industry brochures and other forms of literature are available on our website for anyone to see, did you know that you have to be a registered user in order to download or print any of those documents?  That means as a customer, you can get the information that you need faster and with little hassle– and more importantly, without having to contact your sales rep!

Another feature of becoming a registered user is having access to the OCC’s Events Page.  As many of you know, OCC exhibits at several major trade shows each year.  By becoming a registered user, you can see all the upcoming shows that OCC will be exhibiting at during the course of the year and can take advantage of visiting us at these venues

Lastly, after you go through the process of becoming a registered user and is approved, every time you log-in to the OCC website you will see a personalized screen with the current ISR and OSR for your particular region—making contacting your rep simpler than ever!

More access to OCC’s content, information on where OCC will be throughout the year, and a personalized ‘Contact Us’ page are just some of the reasons why you should become a registered user with OCC.  Our Marketing Department is also constantly updating and expanding the information that is available to our registered users and has many new features that will be added over the next couple of months.  Check back soon for more information!

This week OCC is wrapping up the recent Fall BICSI 2012 Conference in Anaheim, CA. While this show tends to be the smaller of the two conferences that BICSI hosts each year, it did not go without OCC gaining significant attention to the new products we were showcasing.

The first product we showcased was our new Procyon copper solution. The biggest draw to the Procyon copper solution at the conference was its simplistic approach to high-density connectivity. With 48 ports in one rack unit coupled with pre-terminated cable assemblies, the Procyon copper solution was viewed as the simplest copper system to deploy in the data center. Every time we opened the Procyon cabinet, we reinforced OCC’s value to the customer: providing high performing products, reduced labor costs and ease of installation and access.

Our second featured product constantly drew a lot of attention and kept our sales team busy. The new 4G Cellular Distribution system (CDS) certainly brought a lot of people to the booth. It was perfect timing to introduce our new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) product. This was the first BICSI conference where DAS has taken center stage including a technical forum where the audience filled the room beyond capacity. OCC focused on selling the simplicity of our CDS kit, which consists of the CDS unit, antennas and surge suppression. A single customer summed up the general response from the attendees…’I did not know OCC could so easily solve our coverage problems’. In addition, we can supply the cable assemblies, making OCC a one-stop shop for the entire system. Similar to the Procyon solution, OCC promoted the value of the CDS product and how effectively it works within most environments.

Overall, while the show was less attended than most BICSI conferences, the overwhelming response to the products OCC showcased can be easily recognized.

-Submitted by Stephen Porach, Business Development Manager, Enterprise

Bill Smith is an OCC Business Development Specialist and Member of Society of Broadcast Engineers with over 20 years’ experience in technical sales in the communication industry

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Supporting some of the largest sports productions in the U.S., NEP Supershooters has been using OCC fiber optic cable for their remote production vehicles and studio productions for over 10 years. Unique because of their ability and expertise to work in the broadcast industry from inside the studio to remote locations in major cities around the world, NEP uses a broadcast deployable fiber cable from OCC that more than exceeds their requirements for HD and 3D TV and digital audio. OCC’s cable attaches to production trucks that connect directly through media convertors or NID boxes. These cables allow the voice, data and video signals to route directly from the event to engineering team for final production.

You will find NEP In the mountains, on the coasts and everywhere in between bringing current events in our homes. Skiing, auto racing, golf, surfing, Major League Baseball, rock concerts and even the Olympics are a few of the diverse venues and events NEP has covered. NEP depends on the reliability and performance of OCC’s fiber cable to supports their technical requirements for excellence.