Installing fiber optic cable in your building is the best way to gain advantage of the high-speed communications needed for modern business. If your offices are in an old building, you need rewiring and installation that should be entrusted to a company that specializes in fiber optic cable.

Why Installing Fiber Optic Cabling Requires Special Handling

Fiber optic cable, which is made of glass, requires different handling than more rugged copper wiring. Considering that wiring a completed and often aged structure requires extensive cable pulling, bending, and joining, an experienced installer must do this carefully to keep the fiber optic intact. Good installation follows a well thought-out design plan that takes advantage of the capabilities of fiber optics while respecting the architecture of the building.

The older a building is, the more challenging it is to install telecommunication systems and upgrades or additions to heating, air conditioning, and plumbing systems. Historic buildings are the most difficult to wire, while even buildings constructed 20 or more years ago are challenging, as there have been many upgrades to technology over the years. When space is limited within the walls, communications wiring may share the space with other utilities or may need to be run under false ceilings, surface raceways, or under carpets.

What Your Fiber Optic Installer Will Consider

There are several principles involved in installing fiber-optic cable that must be respected:

• The cable has a value for its maximum tensile loading and maximum bend radius, so the installer is careful not to stress, crush, or overbend the cable. To prevent stress, he will protect it by using conduit, boxes, and interfaces to lessen pressure on the wiring, even when a cable tray rack is used to manage multiple runs of cable.

• When guiding cable around corners, the installer may put it in a protected box or conduit with a radius at least 10 times the diameter of the cable. When pulling cable through angled elbow fixtures, he should refrain from pulling it from end to end and instead use a technique known as ‘back feeding,’ which means he feeds it out of both sides of an open pull box and leaves a loose coil of wire in the middle to gently pull from.

• Cable that is run horizontally or vertically is put in conduit if there is no need for flexibility. The run of conduit should be no more than 100 feet between pull points or junction boxes, with no more than two 90 degree bends. When adding cable that will be pulled through the conduit, a fish tape or pull cord will make installation easier, while not putting too much stress on the cable.

• The easiest way to install cable in a completed building is to run it under a dropped ceiling or a raised floor, which may contain a panel that allows access to the wiring. The cables are usually supported by racks or at least hooks or rings to prevent stress.

Leave Your Dallas/Fort Worth Cable Installation To Mid Cities Data Comm

For careful planning and accurate installation of fiber optic cabling that meets industry standards such as TIA/EIA97-526-7 or -14 from the Electronics Industries Association/Telecommunications Industry Association 569, National Electric Code, local fire code, and other safety regulations, choose Mid Cities Data Comm for service in Dallas/Fort Worth and throughout Texas and the Southwest. For information or installation, contact Mid Cities Data Comm at (817) 447-2877.