OFS Launches Industry's First Double Jacket, Gel-Free ADSS Cable at 2014 FTTH Conference

First-to-Market Cable Enables Faster Deployment and Reduced Installation Costs

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Jun 23, 2014, 06:00 ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- FTTH Conference, Booth 401 -- OFS, designer and manufacturer of leading edge fiber optic network products today announced the launch of the industry's first completely gel-free, double jacket PowerGuide® DT All-Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) cable to be showcased at the FTTH Conference held June 23-25 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.

OFS' PowerGuide DT cable enables faster deployment and helps lower installation costs through reduced cable preparation time, with a span length capability of up to 1,500ft (460 meters) and fiber counts from 2 up to 288 fibers. This cable's flexible buffer tubes allow for ease of routing and management within closures as compared to similar gel-filled cable products, but are rugged enough to pass the stringent IEEE 1222 sheave test for installation durability. The 100% gel-free construction may allow for light duty attachment hardware costing on average 40 percent less per pole than comparable gel-filled cables on a typical 250 foot span due to lower loaded tension.

"In response to customer demand, we are pleased to add this totally gel-free cable product offering," said Eric Whitham, OSP Cable Product Manager for OFS. "The introduction of the double jacket version of our PowerGuide DT cable line is a significant milestone in the industry and more importantly can offer substantial savings on installation time and costs to our customers."

The PowerGuide DT ADSS cable is a double jacket ADSS design optimized for power distribution networks, FTTH deployments and for self-supporting aerial use, direct use in ducts, aerial-to-duct transitions and aerial-to-underground installations The PowerGuide DT cable is the newest member of the OFS PowerGuide ADSS product line which includes PowerGuide ShortSpan DT cable, one of the world's leading ADSS cables for distribution applications and a key component of OFS' FOX Solution® for Home and Business.

Totally gel-free PowerGuide DT ADSS cable offers the following benefits as an effect of removing gels and filling compounds:

Enables substantial savings on installation time and labor costs. Field technicians can experience up to 80% time reduction for cable end preparation, when compared to similar gel-filled ADSS cables.
Significantly lowers overall cable weight for easier handling and lower operating tensions on the poles.
Allows faster splicing with higher first pass yields due to cleaner work environment
Minimizes or eliminates the need for special solvents, resulting in less waste and more environmentally-friendly cable.

About OFS
OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, connectivity, FTTx and specialty photonics solutions. Our marketing, sales, manufacturing and research teams provide forward-looking, innovative products and solutions in areas including Telecommunications, Medicine, Industrial Automation, Sensing, Government, Aerospace and Defense applications. We provide reliable, cost effective optical solutions to enable our customers to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's digital and energy consumers and businesses.

OFS' corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and includes technology powerhouses such as AT&T and Lucent Technologies. Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

SOURCE OFS