Ribonnet Air Blown Fiber System

Aerial Air Blown Fiber System
Commercial Description
22101-2/FGB101254
Rev C
© Ericsson AB 2008
All rights reserved. The information in this document is the property of
Ericsson. Except as specifically authorized in writing by Ericsson, the
receiver of this document shall keep the information contained herein
confidential and shall protect the same in whole or in part from disclosure
and dissemination to third parties. Disclosure and disseminations to the
receiver's employees shall only be made on a strict need to know basis. The
information in this document is subject to change without notice and
Ericsson assumes no responsibility for factual inaccuracies or typographical
errors.
22101-2/FGB101254 Rev C  Ericsson AB 2010 2 (23)

www.ericsson.com Cables & Interconnect Commercial in confidence
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Contents
1 Introduction ................................................................................4
1.1 General ........................................................................................4
1.2 The Ribbonet® System................................................................5
1.3 The Micronet System ...................................................................6
1.4 Benefits of Air-blown Techniques ................................................7
2 System Overview........................................................................8
2.1 General ........................................................................................8
2.2 The “5th Pole” Concept .................................................................9
3 System Components ...............................................................12

3.1 Duct Assemblies ........................................................................12
3.2 Fiber Joint Closure.....................................................................13
3.3 Duct Joint Closure......................................................................13
3.4 Fittings .......................................................................................14
3.5 Air-Blown Fiber Units and Micro Cables ....................................14
4 Installation Techniques ...........................................................15

4.1 Aerial Air-blown Installation........................................................15
4.2 Installation of Main Distribution Cabling.....................................17
4.3 Installation of Drop Cabling........................................................18
4.4 Installation Requirements ..........................................................18
5 Benefits of Ericsson Aerial Air-blown System ......................18

5.1 Competing Solutions..................................................................19
5.1.1 Helical and SZ Cable .................................................................19
5.1.2 Pre-terminated Distribution System ...........................................19
5.2 Advantages with the Ericsson Aerial ABF System.....................19
5.2.1 Less Splicing..............................................................................20
5.2.2 Short Drop Lengths....................................................................20
5.2.3 Less Fiber Joint Closures / FATs ...............................................21
5.2.4 Subscriber Connection Balancing..............................................21
5.2.5 Efficient Splitter Utilization .........................................................22
5.2.6 Zone Changes ...........................................................................22
5.2.7 Overall Financial Savings on the System ..................................23
6 Acronyms & Abbreviations.....................................................23
7 References................................................................................23

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Abstract
This document describes Ericsson’s aerial air-blown fiber system for FTTx
networks based on the Ribbonet® and Micronet cabling systems. The solution
consists of pre-connected air-blown drop fiber units and air-blown distribution
cables; all distributed in an aerial hybrid multiduct assembly along the access
area.
The technique has several major advantages compared to alternative aerial

cabling solutions: Key benefits are low installation cost, quick installation,
scalability and low visual impact. The system and its inherent benefits are
described.
1 Introduction
1.1 General
High cost of the civil works for underground build is a major concern of any
FTTx deployment. Heavily built up areas and areas that are located on hard
rock terrain are typical areas that are very costly to install. In such areas aerial
solutions is the preferred option, especially in cases where an existing aerial
infrastructure already is in place, e.g. over-head power distribution or
telephony.
Three types of aerial cable technologies are commonly used:

Figure 8 self supporting where the cables have an external bearer wire as
the strength member attached to the cable and the bearer wire is
suspended directly from the pole fixtures. This is typically used in rural and
low density areas
Lashing – the aerial cable is lashed to a separate steel messenger wire

using a lashing wire. Multi-cables can be attached to one guy wire. This is
typically used in high density areas.
ADSS – All Dielectric Self Supporting – where the cable has an Aramide
yarn strength member. The cable is used for long haul aerial networks and
typical deployed along power lines due long span capability.
This document describes another option for aerial installation, utilizing aerial
figure-8 and ADSS microducts in combination with air blown fiber and micro
cables. The technology combines the benefits of air-blown techniques with the
cost benefits of aerial installations.

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Air-blown fiber (ABF) and micro cables have been proven to be very efficient
for fiber access network applications such as Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH). The
air-blowing systems keeps cable installation time to a minimum compared with
conventional techniques, and thus helps shorten the time to revenue.
Furthermore, the air-blown systems enable a “dynamic” network where fibers
quickly and easily can be added, removed, replaced or re-routed without
expensive civil works.
Ericsson’s air-blown solutions for FTTx consist of two fundamental cabling

systems: the Ribbonet® ABF system and the Micronet air-blown micro cable
system. The aerial system described in this document consists of parts from
both Ribbonet® and Micronet. To get a good understanding of the aerial
solution it is beneficial to understand the Ribbonet® and Micronet systems
first. The systems will be described briefly in the following sections. For a
comprehensive description, refer to the Micronet and Ribbonet® System
Descriptions [1], [2].
1.2 The Ribbonet® System

Ribbonet® is Ericsson’s established ABF system, specially developed for drop
networks in FTTH applications. The air-blown installation is carried out with a
hand-held tool that reduces cable installation time to a minimum.
Figure 1 Ribbonet® pre-terminated fiber units
The main components of the system are:
Ribbonet® fiber units

An Enhanced Performance Fiber Unit (EPFU) is a bundle of 1-8 optical
fibers covered by acrylic plastic. The bundle forms a unit with a diameter
of approximately 1-1.5mm. The EFPU is blown through microducts from
the end-user premises to the first splice point nearby. The EPFU blown
fiber is designed to offer the best optical characteristic and blowing
performance.

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Pre-terminated fiber
The use of pre-terminated blown fiber is the optimal solution for FTTH
installations. It minimizes the disturbance of end-users premises, since
there is no need to bring equipment and tools for fusion splicing or fitting
of connectors at the end user locations. It also ensures a high quality
connection with minimum insertion loss and attenuation. Any handling of
fibers and connector in the home is thus avoided. The pre-terminated
blown fiber is available in different lengths - from 30 meters to 1000
meters.
Ribbonet® Microducts/Multiducts
The infrastructure from the end-user to a Fiber Distribution Hub (FDH) or
Fiber Access Terminal (FAT) is built upon microducts which guide the
blown fiber to the correct location. These microducts have a diameter of
5mm. Microducts are bundled together forming multiducts for fast, easy
installation. There are different versions of the ducts for indoor and
outdoor use, for direct burial in trenches as well as for aerial installations.
Multiducts are available in different sizes from 1–24 microducts. In this
document, the ducts used for aerial applications will be described in more
detail.
Ribbonet® installation tool

The Ericsson fiber-blowing tool is required for the installation of fiber units
in the Ribbonet® system. This unique, easy-to-handle lightweight tool is
designed for optimal performance using the Ericsson Enhanced
Performance Fiber Unit (EPFU).
1.3 The Micronet System

Ericsson Micronet is a blown micro cable system and basically offers the same
advantages as Ribbonet®, but is preferred in situations where a high fiber
count is required. Typical applications are for feeder and distribution network
sections of in FTTx applications or in Metro networks.
1 Primary coated fiber

2 Fiber bundle
3 Central strength member
4 Marking on fiber bundle
5 Filling compound
6 Sheath
Figure 2 Micronet Micro Cable

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The main components of the system are:
Micronet Fiber cable

The micro cable in the Micronet system is used for the connection from
the FDH or FAT to the nearest fiber node (Central Office) or existing fiber
network. The cable contains 4-96 fibers and can be installed in small
ducts (outer diameter ≤10 or 12 mm), which are deployed in existing
ducts, directly in the ground or in aerial duct assemblies, see below.
Micro/Multi-ducts for Micronet

The microducts for blown installation of micro cables in the Micronet
system are either 10 mm or 12 mm in diameter. These are delivered as
single units to be put into larger cable ducts, or in bundles with up to 7
pieces of microducts. Duct assemblies for aerial installations are also
available.
1.4 Benefits of Air-blown Techniques

Air-blown solution for micro cable and fiber units are all based on the idea of
separation of fiber from core infrastructure works. Basically a network of plastic
microducts is installed in advance of any fiber installation. The benefits of this
are:
The civil works installers do not need special fiber optic training
Splicing is shifted from fiber to plastic microducts that are easier to
connect than fibers
Damage to fibers is minimized due to blowing and also through removal
of fiber from civil infrastructure activity; this improves quality and reduces
wastage
Flexibility to accommodated changes in the field and errors in design
Overall less fiber splices in the network
Lower total cost and low risk
A comprehensive list of benefits is found in the document Quantitative Benefits

– Ribbonet Air Blown Fiber System [3].
Aerial air-blown installations have suffered in the past with regard to the
esthetics and practical installation issues. Large bundles of ducts were needed
to be installed between poles. In this document Ericsson’s solution for aerial
installation of fiber using air-blown techniques is described. The solution
combines the benefits of air-blown installation together with low visual impact
and ease of installation. The system and the benefits are described in more
detail in the following sections.

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2 System Overview
2.1 General
The solution is based on a combination of pre-connected air-blown Ribbonet®
drop fiber units and air-blown Micronet distribution cables, all distributed in an
aerial Hybrid Multiduct (MD) assembly along the access area.
Drop ducts are connected to the MD using Duct Joint Closures. Pre-terminated
Ribbonet® fibers are then blown through the drop duct and the MD to a Fiber
Joint Closure or FAT where the fibers are spliced to the fibers in the Micronet
cable.
Figure 3 System Overview
The system is characterized by the following:
One infrastructure only

A single duct assembly can be used along a pole line for both the
distribution and drop sections of a FTTH network. By sharing the same
infrastructure for distribution cables and drop cables in fiber access
installations, considerable cost savings can be obtained. The installation
cost for a single assembly is obviously lower than installing separate
cables for feeder and drop sections of the network in parallel.

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Incremental fiber deployment.

The system fully utilizes the benefits of incremental installation, allowing
new fiber to be installed quickly and at low cost when needed. Thus, it is
possible to postpone costly investment in fiber for the future, “pay as you
grow”
One solution for all FTTx topologies

The solution is equally suitable for Passive Optical Networks (PON) as
well as Point to Point Networks (P2P). In fact different topologies can
share the same physical infrastructure. A PON network can easily be
migrated into a P2P network without high investment in civil works and
installation of ducts.
Minimal visual impact

A general baseline for all products in this concept is small dimensions
and low visual impact. The visual impact of aerial pollution is a key factor
in the acceptance or rejection of such solutions by the community.
Communities no longer allow installations that impact on their visual
rights.
Quick and easy installation

Air-blown solutions enable fewer fiber splice and connection points.
Furthermore, a more reliable solution is achieved compared to a solution
with optical connectors.
2.2 The “5th Pole” Concept

A preferred implementation of the aerial system is shown in Figure 4. This is a
typical residential area consisting of Single Family Units, SFU.
Figure 4 Pole line with distribution terminal closures on each 5th pole.
In this scenario, only one fiber joint closure on every 5th pole is required. From
this small closure, 20-24 homes are served.

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The network connecting the joint closures towards the FDH (with splitters
when a PON topology is chosen) is referred to as the Distribution Cabling.
The Drop Cabling from the end user is carried out by installing single drop
ducts connected to the main duct, see Figure 5. One simple duct joint, typically
serves 4 subscribers from the closest pole. Note that no fiber splicing is done
in the duct joint.
Figure 5 Installation example – Aerial installation of FTTH network with air-

blown fiber and cable
As described, this design enables a single duct assembly for feeding of a long
distance of poles. The number of fiber splices will be kept to a minimum since
splicing between air-blown fiber and air-blown micro cable is only required on
each 5th pole.
Mid-span access is carried out in the fiber joint closures. The installation of the
distribution cable is carried out according to the installation sequence shown
below in Figure 6.

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Empty duct
Micro cable in duct
Blown Fiber in duct
Figure 6 Installation sequence
A. The 10mm ducts to be passed at each fiber joint closure is cut at the
closure and a section of a temporary duct is attached as a loop to make
a continuous duct path.
B. The micro cable is blown in one shot, passing several fiber joint
closures.
C. The temporary loop at each closure is removed, a mid span is carried

out and excess fiber is coiled into each closure.
D. Finally, the drop section is installed with air-blown fiber from the end
user to the nearest fiber joint closure.
Note that the drop section and distribution micro cable section shares the
same multiduct assembly along the pole line. To reach all customers in the
described scenario, the distribution cable needs to be installed up to 1000
meters and the drop cable only up to a maximum of 200 meters.

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3 System Components
3.1 Duct Assemblies
Figure 7 Aerial distribution duct (left) and drop ducts (right)
The duct assemblies are made in different configurations, see examples in

Figure 7. The ducts are self supporting, either as figure-8 or with under sheath
integrated strength member, ADSS.
By combining both 10 mm ducts for micro cable (distribution cable) and 5 mm

ducts for air-blown fiber (drop) in the same assembly, an installation of an
access network with only one duct assembly between poles is possible.
The tight protected duct assemblies consist of a number of microducts with

5/3.5 and 10/8 mm ducts (OD/ID). The ducts have an inner low friction surface
that enables air-blown installation of fiber units or fiber optic micro cables. The
available configurations are chosen for perfect match with Eriksson’s aerial air-
blown system for fiber access networks.
The duct assemblies are dielectric and self supported. This makes the ducts
suitable for aerial applications along power lines.
Duct assemblies have markings showing the tube length. The individual
microducts are identified by their color and position in the bundle.
Figure 8 Examples of aerial multiduct assemblies

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Figure 9 Example of a self supporting drop duct with 1x5mm inner duct.
3.2 Fiber Joint Closure

A fiber joint closure for this application is unique in many aspects. It must be
able to handle several different features, such as; ducts (both for blown fiber
units and for micro cables), fiber management and splices, mid-span storage
of micro cable fiber units and storage of blown fiber units. It shall be pole
mounted. Finally, all of this has to be squeezed in to a small package, see
Figure 10. Esthetics is very important. The closure must be visually discreet. In
principle the closure does not exceed the width of the pole and as such is
visually hidden from most views of the pole.
Figure 10 Example of fiber joint closure with two main duct assemblies
terminated.
3.3 Duct Joint Closure

A duct joint closure is needed to branch out single ducts from the main duct
assembly to any premise requiring service. The duct joint is of a span mounted
design. It enables typically four ducts to be accessed at every pole span,
enabling access to the four premises serviced from that particular pole. The
duct joint that provides for this distribution from the main duct assembly is a
key design feature.

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Figure 11 Example of a duct joint closure with four single duct assemblies
jointed to one multiduct assembly.
3.4 Fittings
The aerial duct support fittings are of the wedge clamp type and very easy to
install, see Figure 12. They are easily mounted to the duct assembly without
any cutting or splitting. The fitting is very gentle to the ducts due to the length
and shape of the wedge and provides for quick and easy installation.
For each type of duct assembly suitable fittings have been selected and
tested.
Figure 12 Tension clamp for multiduct assembly.
3.5 Air-Blown Fiber Units and Micro Cables

An air-blown fiber unit, EPFU (Enhanced Performance Fiber Unit), consists of
a number of fibers or ribbons encapsulated in two layers of UV-curable
acrylate. The outer layer accommodates small glass beads on the surface to
enhance the blow performance. For details see [1].

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The EPFU is used as a “drop cable” from the end user termination point to a
distribution point.
To minimize installation time and total cost of installation, the EPFU is

delivered pre-terminated with optical connectors factory-fitted in one end. The
pre-terminated EPFU is delivered on small polystyrene reels and is available in
different lengths, see section 1.2.
The micro cable, Figure 2, is mainly designed for use in access and
metropolitan networks. Here, the micro cable is used as “feeder cable” from the
distribution point.
The micro cable consists of up to eight bundles of fibers with 4 to 12 fibers per
unit. This enables a fiber count from 4 to 96 fibers. The versatility of this cable
design has enabled a very compact and small fiber cable that can be installed
in ducts with a diameter of 10 mm. For details, see [1].
4 Installation Techniques
4.1 Aerial Air-blown Installation

Generally, aerial installed cables are the cable type subjected to the toughest
conditions after installation. Snow, ice, temperature differences and wind will
affect the cable. In a worst case all of it at the same time.
The span length for the air-blown concept is typically 30-60 meters, but limited
to maximum 60 meters. One reason is that the fibers are installed with no
excess length in the tube, which gives fiber strain at any extra cable load (in
contradiction with traditional optical cables). However, there is no fiber strain at
the installation load case. Another reason is that for longer spans the figure-8
shape tends to be more sensitive to galloping effects at certain wind speeds.
Due to the relative short span lengths the concept is best suited for the access
network.
The system has been installed and verified in three continents under three
different environmental conditions. Load calculations, including parameters
such as maximum wind and ice loads, temperature changes and span lengths,
show that the fiber strain in neither of these conditions reaches a level
corresponding to a decreased fiber life time. However, if unexpected loads
would occur and the fiber is damaged due to e.g. a falling tree, it is easy to
remove the fiber and replace it with a new one.

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The aerial air-blown system is easy to install. The combination of light weight
duct assemblies and quick install fittings allows the system to be installed with
very few tools. The dielectric design of the duct assemblies enables installation
along existing power distribution lines. It can be installed as standard ADSS
cables, pulled out on installation rollers. Since it is often quite short distances
and low weight it can also just be pulled out on the ground and afterwards
lifted up pole by pole. Due to the low weight the duct assemblies can even be
tensioned by hand. Ordinary tensioning tools can of course be used as well.
Figure 13 Installation of aerial multiduct assembly.

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4.2 Installation of Main Distribution Cabling

The main multi duct assembly is installed along a street. In selected poles it is
terminated in joint closures.
After the tube ends are installed in the closure a temporary tube is connected
between the terminated duct ends, which makes it possible to install the micro
cable a longer distance, see Figure 16.
Figure 14 Temporary connection tube attached to duct ends in fiber joint

closure.
The micro cable is installed by blowing technique, using compressed air

supported by additional mechanical pushing, see Figure 17.
Figure 15 Micro cable blowing tool
The temporary tubes in the joint closures are then removed immediately giving
the correct over length of micro cable for mid-span access. At this point, one or
more of the fiber bundles in the cable are branched.

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4.3 Installation of Drop Cabling

Aerial single ducts are installed as drops from the nearest pole to a wall socket
at the customer premises. If necessary, the duct can easily be jointed to an
indoor duct. Each single duct is then connected to a specific tube in the main
duct assembly by a duct joint.
The pre-terminated EPFU is blown from the customer to the fiber joint closure;
see Figure 18, where it is spliced to the branched fiber bundle in the micro
cable.
Figure 16 Installation of pre-terminated EPFU.
4.4 Installation Requirements

Experiences show that aerial air-blown installation performance is comparable
with the performance in an underground installation. It is under good
conditions possible to blow a 24 fiber micro cable at least 2000 meters and 96
fiber cable 1000 meters. This is in a normal installation case more than
enough. In cases where longer distances are needed for the main distribution
cable, cascade installation can be performed.
The drop fiber distance, from the customer to the fiber joint closure, is typically
maximum 100-200 meters long which can be installed in just a few minutes.
Normally blown fibers can be installed up to 1000 meters without problems,
see [2].
5 Benefits of Ericsson Aerial Air-blown

System
In this section the aerial air-blown technology is compared with cable based
technologies available on the market such as spliced Helical and SZ cables
and the Pre-terminated Distribution system.

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5.1 Competing Solutions
5.1.1 Helical and SZ Cable
Many traditional fiber cables have a helical core which requires the cable to be
completely cut at each drop to extract sufficient fibers slack lengths to perform
splicing. The splice also needs to be performed at ground level so sufficient
cable slack is required at each drop to bring the joint closure down to ground
level.
This creates three problems:
1. Many splices in a string of drops cause high attenuation at the drop in

the sequence. This is a problem when deploying PON networks with
high split ratio.
2. Visually unsightly cable loops at every drop point (every 2-3 property
boundaries)
3. Costly tension brackets at every drop.
Using an SZ groove in the cable core allows fibers to be dropped without

cutting the core and the fibers in the cable which do not need to be dropped.
This is referred to as mid-span access. Using SZ core the 3 problems above
are eliminated. SZ cables are available in figure-8 and Lashed versions. Still,
the SZ cables has some major disadvantages compared to air-blown solutions,
see below.
5.1.2 Pre-terminated Distribution System
The Pre-terminated Distribution system has been developed by Corning and

typically used in United States. It involves use of factory terminated drops with
connectors and precut cable length against detailed design data.
The main problem is that it requires precise measurement of drop position with
each factory manufactured section being applied to a specific location. For
most environments, this is not practical due to general poor precision in design
process which will result in errors in cable length measurements and the
logistic sophistication needed to match the delivery correct lengths to correct
locations. The materials cost is also very high.
5.2 Advantages with the Ericsson Aerial ABF System

All ABF (air-blown fiber) systems have a number of advantages as described
in section 1.4. In addition to this, additional advantages apply to the Ericsson
aerial air-blown system. These advantages are compared with the competing
solutions and described briefly below.

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5.2.1 Less Splicing
The ABF technology minimizes costly splicing as follows:
Fewer splices in distribution network

Microducts and air-blown micro cables allow fiber bundles to be blown
point to point delivering the required number of fibers without cutting of
fibers.
Only one splice to connect subscriber drops

When connecting a subscriber, pre-terminated fibers are blown from
inside the home to the FAT location through a series of connected
microducts, but only one splice is required in the FAT.
Drop Cable typically requires 2 splices (at the FAT and at the entrance to the
building in transition from outdoor to indoor) plus a field terminated connection.
5.2.2 Short Drop Lengths
Drop Cable requires compromise between drops length against number of

FATs. The more FATs there are the shorter the drop length can be. The FAT
location becomes a difficult choice low penetration level. This situation is also
relevant with copper networks and you can see the result of the long drops in
congest aerial cable infrastructure along many streets. This situation should be
avoided for new FTTH networks. Average drop length has been stated as
100m by many operators.
With the ABF system the microduct can be accessed at any point along the
path by a simple duct joint. The actual FAT for fiber splicing may be located at
convenient physical location less 900m away from the subscriber position. The
drop length is the distance from the Fiber Terminal Box inside the subscriber
premises to the duct access point, which should be directly in front of the
subscriber’s property.

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5.2.3 Less Fiber Joint Closures / FATs
By using microducts at the access points the number of fiber joint closures of
FATs can be significantly reduced from traditional drop cable solutions and
pre-terminated distribution systems. Many of the fiber joint used with drop
cable are replaced with simpler microduct joints at access points.
The number of subscribers served by one FAT can typically be as follows
1. Aerial Drop Cables: 4-6 subscribers
2. Underground Drop Cable: 2 subscribers
3. Aerial ABF: 20-24 subscribers
4. New Underground ABF: 48 subscribers
5. Existing underground: 10 to 48 subscribers depending on duct

size
The key effect of this difference in the number of FAT is that the ABF
network can deliver lower homes passed cost the Drop Cable network.
This is especially significant with low subscriber penetration levels where the
impact of the homes passed cost is amplified.
5.2.4 Subscriber Connection Balancing
Subscribers connect to the network randomly in time and location. When

designing a network we dimension a certain long term penetration expectation.
With ABF, provided there are sufficient number of microduct available on the
path, subscribers can be connected in any sequence to any of the available
microducts. This is especially relevant if the network has been designed for
low penetration where all available microducts will be accessible until deplete
independent of the location of the subscribers along the path.
Any free duct can be
used, but preferable 9x5mm+1x10mm
closer to FAT to minimize Microduct distribution cable
fiber length
FAT FAT
-A -A
Wasted micro-duct section

EPFU blowing
• 1 micro duct termination per home direction
passed for 100% penetration
•16 remote micro-duct connections
possible, plus up to 8 direct drops from
FAT-A.
Figure 17 Subscriber connection balancing

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5.2.5 Efficient Splitter Utilization
The FAT nodes with ABF are larger than Drop Cable FATs. This allows ABF
systems to have greater flexibility with regards to splitter strategies in PON
networks. Some examples:
Larger splitters (16, 32, 64 way) can be placed closer to the subscriber
saving distribution fibers
Smaller splitters (4, 8 way) can be deployed incrementally with a high

probability of filling due to larger number of homes passed per FAT. The
utilization of OLT can be maximized by a stage splitter configuration.
1st subscriber
in FAT
8
FDC 8 FAT-A 1
Connectorized
4
1st splitter to fill
1f 8
8
2nd splitter to fill

8 FAT-A2
To Exchange 1f 8
4
12 f
16
etc 8
4 fibers per FAT 8 FAT-A3

4
8
FAT-A4
8
Figure 18 Splitter utilization
5.2.6 Zone Changes
Commonly, SFU lots may be redeveloped into MDUs. With microduct installed
to the SFU initially, to increase capacity to serve the new MDU we simple need
to replace the Fiber Units from 1 fiber to 4 fibers. No additional infrastructure
work is required. The same feature also gives the flexibility to upgrade and
change fiber cables in future.
Redevelopment
Same duct used
Figure 19 Zone changes

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5.2.7 Overall Financial Savings on the System
The CAPEX savings for the aerial system compared to a conventional helical
aerial cable varies with penetration rate. Normally, the aerial air-blown solution
is approximately 25-30% lower in homes passed (non-connected homes)
down to 10-15% with 100% penetration.
The OPEX cost is more complex to estimate, but during the lifespan of the
network the savings can be substantial (50-70%) due to ease of upgrade and
repair, see reference [3].
6 Acronyms & Abbreviations
ABF Air-blown Fiber
ADSS All Dielectric Self Supporting
EPFU Enhanced Performance Fiber Unit
FAT Fiber Access Terminal
FDH Fiber Distribution Hub
FTTH Fiber-to-the-Home
FTTx Fiber-to-the-x, where “x” can be “H”=Home, “B”=Building etc.
MD Multiduct
MDU Multi Dwelling Unit
P2P Point To Point
PON Passive Optical Network
SFU Single Family Unit (detached houses)
7 References
[1] 28701-1/FGB101254
Promotional Material – Micronet System Description
[2] 28701-2/FGB101254
Promotional Material – Ribbonet® System Description
[3] 1/22110-FGB101254
Quantitative Benefits – Ribbonet® Air Blown Fiber System

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Aerial Air Blown Fiber System

22101-2/FGB101254 Rev C  Ericsson AB 2010 2 (23)

3 System Components ...............................................................12

4 Installation Techniques ...........................................................15

5 Benefits of Ericsson Aerial Air-blown System ......................18

6 Acronyms & Abbreviations.....................................................23

22101-2/FGB101254 Rev C  Ericsson AB 2010 3 (23)

The technique has several major advantages compared to alternative aerial

Three types of aerial cable technologies are commonly used:

Lashing – the aerial cable is lashed to a separate steel messenger wire

22101-2/FGB101254 Rev C  Ericsson AB 2010 4 (23)

Ericsson’s air-blown solutions for FTTx consist of two fundamental cabling

1.2 The Ribbonet® System

Figure 1 Ribbonet® pre-terminated fiber units

The main components of the system are:

Ribbonet® fiber units

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Ribbonet® installation tool

1.3 The Micronet System

1 Primary coated fiber

Figure 2 Micronet Micro Cable

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The main components of the system are:

Micronet Fiber cable

Micro/Multi-ducts for Micronet

1.4 Benefits of Air-blown Techniques

A comprehensive list of benefits is found in the document Quantitative Benefits

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Figure 3 System Overview

The system is characterized by the following:

One infrastructure only

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Incremental fiber deployment.

One solution for all FTTx topologies

Minimal visual impact

Quick and easy installation

2.2 The “5th Pole” Concept

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Figure 5 Installation example – Aerial installation of FTTH network with air-

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Figure 6 Installation sequence

C. The temporary loop at each closure is removed, a mid span is carried

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3.1 Duct Assemblies

Figure 7 Aerial distribution duct (left) and drop ducts (right)

The duct assemblies are made in different configurations, see examples in

By combining both 10 mm ducts for micro cable (distribution cable) and 5 mm

The tight protected duct assemblies consist of a number of microducts with

Figure 8 Examples of aerial multiduct assemblies

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3.2 Fiber Joint Closure

3.3 Duct Joint Closure

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Figure 12 Tension clamp for multiduct assembly.

3.5 Air-Blown Fiber Units and Micro Cables

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To minimize installation time and total cost of installation, the EPFU is

4.1 Aerial Air-blown Installation

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