FIXED LINE ACCESS

ISSUE-V: MARCH 2011

_____________________________________________________________

CABLE, HOUSE WIRING PVC

(TINNED COPPER CONDUCTOR
INSULATED, TAPED AND PVC SHEATHED)

GENERIC REQUIREMENTS
No. TEC/GR/TX/WIR-009/05/MAR-11
(SUPERSEDES GR. NO GR/WIR-09/04. OCT 2005)

© TEC

TELECOMMUNICATION ENGINEERING CENTRE

KHURSHID LAL BHAVAN, JANPATH
NEW DELHI-110001
INDIA

All Rights Reserved and no part of this publication may be produced, stored in retrieval
systems, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, Mechanical,
photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without written permission from the
Telecommunication Engineering Centre, New Delhi.
 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TELECOM ENGINEERING CENTRE
K.L. BHAVAN, JANPATH, NEW DELHI-110 001

Product:- CABLE, HOUSE WIRING PVC (TINNED COPPER CONDUCTOR

INSULATED, TAPED AND PVC SHEATHED)

History Sheet

SI. Number/Name Description

No.
1. ITD Spec No. S/WS-114D, Jan 1982 Initial Version
2. GR No. G/WIR-09/01 GR at Sr. No. 1 above was renumbered
3. GR No. G/WIR-09/02. DEC 1995 GR at Sr. No. 2 was revised
4. GR No. G/WIR-09/03. MAR 2004 GR at Sr. No. 3 was revised
5. GR No. G/WIR-09/04. OCT 2005 GR at Sr. No. 4 was revised
6. GR No. TEC/GR/TX/WIR- This is a revision of GR at Sr. No. 5
009/05/MAR-11

1
 CONTENTS

SL SUBJECT PAGE NO.

No.
1. REFERENCE 3
PART –I

2. GENERAL 4
3. APPLICATION AND PRODUCT 4
DESCRIPTION

4. INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS AND THEIR 4

REQUIREMENTS

5. COMPLETED CABLE REQUIREMENTS AND 5

TESTS

PART-II

6. TESTS 10

7. PACKING AND DELIVERY 11

8. MARKINGS 11

9. QUALITY REQUIREMENT OF THE 11

MANUFACTURING SYSTEM

10. TABLE-I 12

11. TABLE-II 13

12. TABLE-III 14

13. TABLE-IV 15

14. TABLE-V 16

15. ABBREVATIONS 17

2
 REFERENCES

This document requires reference to the latest standards of the following:

SI. Standard Description

No.
1. IS: 694: 1990 PVC insulated cables (for voltages up to 1100 volts)
with copper conductors
2. IS: 8130: 1984 Conductors for insulated electric cables and flexible
cords.

3. IS: 9938: 1981 Recommended colours for PVC insulation for LF

wires.

4. IS: 13176: 1991 PVC insulation and sheath of Telecommunication

cables.

5. ISO: 9001: 2008 International Quality Management System

3
 GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
DEPARTMENT OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
TELECOM ENGINEERING CENTRE
K.L. BHAVAN, JANPATH,
NEW DELHI-110 001

GENERIC REQUIREMENTS
FOR
CABLE, HOUSE WIRING PVC
(TINNED COPPER CONDUCTOR INSULATED, TAPED AND PVC
SHEATHED)

No. TEC/GR/TX/WIR-009/05/MAR-11

(This supersedes GR. No. G/WIR-09/04. OCT 2005)

PART-1
1.0 GENERAL:

1.1 Scope: This document contains the construction and generic requirements for
cable, house wiring that are necessary to meet the minimum operational needs of
Service Providers/Purchasers.

1.2 Reference Documents: The standard references made in this document are given
in the chapter of references.

2.0 APPLICATION AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTION:

2.1 The cable house wiring is generally used for wiring at Subscribers’ premises. It
consists of tinned copper conductors (of either 0.50 mm or 0.63 mm diameter)
PVC insulated, taped, PVC sheathed and meeting the requirements as detailed in
this document. The cables shall be of four different sizes of 2, 4, 8, & 20 wires.

3.0 INDIVIDUAL COMPONENTS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS:

3.1 Conductor:

3.1.1 The conductor shall consist of a solid wire of annealed high conductivity copper,
smoothly drawn, approximately circular in section, uniform in quality. The
conductor shall conform to IS: 8130: 1984. The conductors shall be uniformly
tinned and shall meet the requirement of clause 4.2.

4
3.1.2 Joints in the conductor shall be kept to a minimum and fulfill the following
conditions.

3.1.2.1 The tensile strength of a 25 cm length of conductor containing a joint shall be not
less than 90% of that of an adjacent sample of same length not containing a joint.

3.1.2.2 The electrical resistance of a 100 cm length of conductor containing a joint shall
be not more than 101.25% of that of an adjacent sample of conductor of same
length not containing a joint.

3.1.3 The diameter, resistance and weight of the conductor shall be as shown in Table-I

3.2 PVC INSULATION AND SHEATH:

3.2.1 The tinned copper conductors shall be insulated with PVC conforming to Type-2
insulation, Table-3 of IS: 13176: 1991 and shall meet the requirements specified
therein.

3.2.2 The PVC of sheath shall conform to Type TM2 of IS: 13176: 1991 and shall meet
the requirements specified therein.

3.2.3 The insulation shall be uniform and smooth. The radial thickness of PVC
insulation on conductor shall be as indicated in Table-I. The outer diameter of
insulated conductor shall be as indicated in Table-I. The minimum thickness of
PVC sheath and maximum external diameter of cable shall be as per Table-III.
The thickness of insulation and sheath and shall be measured in accordance with
IS:13176: 1991.

4.0 COMPLETED CABLE REQUIREMENTS AND TESTS:

4.1 Annealing test: Samples of bare conductor 25 cm long taken from completed
cable, when slowly and steadily stretched shall give an elongation before break of
not less than the figures indicated in Table-I.

4.2 Solder Bath Test:

4.2.1 A test piece consisting of suitable length of wire shall be taken from the cable-one
end shall be stripped off insulation to expose at least 15 mm of tinned conductor.

4.2.2 The solder bath used for the test shall be sufficient volume to ensure that the
temperature of the solder remains constant while introducing the conductor.
Precautions shall be taken to maintain a uniform temperature of 270°C+ 10°C
throughout the mass of solder and also to ensure that the conductor shall not be
heated by direct radiation prior to insertion into the bath.

5
4.2.3 The surface of the bath shall be kept clean and just before immersion of the
conductor, a piece of solder 12 mm long and 1.6 mm diameter shall be dropped
into the middle of the bath. The solder shall be 60/40 tin-lead alloy with a non-
activated resin core. No other flux shall be used for this test.

4.2.4 Immediately, after the above solder piece has melted, the stripped end of the
conductor shall be immersed to a length of approximately 10 mm into the bath for
a period of 2 + 0.5 seconds.

4.2.5 The conductor shall then be examined for quality of solder coating. Free flowing
of solder with wetting of the conductor end evidences good quality.

4.3 Soldering Test:

4.3.1 Samples of the wire 30 cm long shall have the insulation removed from the
conductor for a distance of 2 cm from one end. They shall be bent to form a
90°bend with an inner radius of about 1 cm the heel of the end being 13 mm from
the bared conductor. Not less than 5 minutes after bending the sample, resin
methylated spirit flux shall be applied to the bare conductor, which shall be
dipped vertically to a depth of 7 mm into molten solder bath held at a temperature
between 250°C and 270°C.

4.3.2 The wire shall remain immersed in the molten solder at the stated temperature and
depth for 15 seconds. The PVC shall not split or otherwise show unsuitability for
use on soldered connections.

4.4 COLOURS:

4.4.1 The insulation/sheath shall be coloured as indicated elsewhere in this GR. The
colour shall be identifiable under normal lighting conditions and shall generally
conform to IS: 9938: 1981. The colour of the insulation/sheath shall comply with
provisions and tests of IS: 13176: 1991 and shall suffer no degradation when
subjected to Ageing Test.

4.4.2 The colour shall be incorporated in PVC insulation and sheath.

4.5 CABLING

4.5.1 Single Pair Cables:

4.5.1.1 Flat Construction: Two insulated conductors of the colours specified for Pair
No. 1 in Table II shall be laid up side by side to form a pair.

6
4.5.1.2 Round Construction: Two insulated conductors of the colours specified for Pair
No. 1 in Table II shall be uniformly twisted together with a right hand lay of
about 6 cms. to form a pair.

4.5.2 Multi Pair Cables:

4.5.2.1 The pairs formed in accordance with clause 4.5.1.2 shall be laid up to form a
compact and symmetrical cable. The lays of the pairs shall be so chosen that
cross-talk is minimum. The colour of wires for 1, 2, 4 and 10 pair cables shall be
as per the colours indicated for pairs 1 to 10 respectively as given in Table-II.

4.5.2.2 The layers in cables shall be stranded with a suitable left hand lay.

4.5.2.3 For cables having 4 pairs or 10 pairs, the first named pair shall be in the centre of
the cable, and the order of the stranding when viewed at the clockwise end shall
be in accordance with Table II.

4.5.2.4 The cable thus formed shall be tightly lapped with a PVC tape of 0.13 mm
thickness applied with a 30% overlap.

4.5.2.5 Alternatively, two lappings of 0.013 mm thick polyethylene teraphthalate tape

may be applied with a 30% overlap on each tape. The two lappings shall be laid in
opposite directions.

4.5.2.6 It should be possible to unwind the tape/tapes without damaging the insulation or
the wires.

4.5.2.7 The tape need not be provided for single pair cable.

4.6 EXTERNAL PROTECTION:

4.6.1 The external protection shall consist of a PVC sheath as specified in clause 3.2.
The sheath shall be of grey colour in respect of multi-conductor cables.

4.6.2 The sheath shall be uniform, smooth and shall be tightly extruded to the
dimensions given in Table III. The sheath may be annular but must fit tightly on
the core and must be applied in such a manner that no undue residual strain is left
in the material.

4.6.3 The PVC sheath shall not adhere to any underlying core protection or to the
insulation of the conductors.

4.7 RIP CORD:

7
4.7.1 A non-metallic suitable rip cord shall be laid up longitudinally under the sheath. It
shall provide an effective means of slitting the sheath longitudinally to facilitate
removal of sheath.

4.7.2 The rip cord may be omitted for two wire cable.

4.8 ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE OF CONDUCTOR:

The electrical resistance of the conductors shall be measured on finished cable

and after applying temperature correction factor in accordance with IS:8130:
1984, the measured value at 20°C shall be in accordance with Table-I.

4.9 HIGH VOLTAGE TEST:

4.9.1 This test shall be carried out before the measurement of the insulation resistance,
described in sub-clause 4.10 and shall be carried out on a complete length of
finished cable.

4.9.2 3 KV DC or 2 KV RMS at a frequency of 50 Hz shall be applied between each

conductor and the remaining conductor bunched and earthed. The voltage shall
be applied gradually and maintained at the full value for one minute. There
should not be any break down of the insulation.

4.9.3 The PVC insulated conductors while being extruded shall be spark tested in
accordance with IS: 694: 1990. Faults shall be repaired in an approved manner or
cut out. The test voltage shall be 3000 volts RMS.

4.10 INSULATION RESISTANCE:

4.10.1 Test on Insulated conductor: Sample length (10 meters) of the PVC insulated
conductor shall be immersed in water for not less than one hours at 50°C. 500 V
DC shall then be applied between the conductor and the water, the conductor
being charged negatively. After steady electrification for one minute, the
insulation resistance shall be measured The value shall not be less than 5 Meg.
ohms per kilometer.

4.10.2 Tests on completed cables: The insulation resistance between each conductor in
the finished cable and all the remaining conductors bunched and earthed when
measured at 500 V DC at room temperature and corrected to 50°C shall not be
less than 50 meg ohms per km. Temperature correction factors for conversion of
measured value to 50°C are indicated in Table IV.

4.11The product shall conform to latest version of QM-333 (“Category E”) - “

Standard for environmental testing of Telecom equipment” SD: QM 333 ISSUE
MARCH 2010.

8
4.12 IDENTIFICATION MARKINGS: The PVC sheath shall be prominently
embossed on the outside with the following information at intervals not exceeding
30 cm to enable identification of the product. The embossing shall be distinct and
of such size that it is easily visible to naked eye.
a) Conductor diameter
b) Service Provider/Purchaser cables
c) Name of the Manufacturer
d) Lot number
e) Year of manufacture

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 PART – II

5.0 TESTS:

5.1 Type Tests:

5.1.1 All the tests mentioned in this document shall be carried out on 5 standard coil
lengths for conformance to the GR before according type approval. Bulk
manufacture and supply shall start only after issue of Type Approval. The Type
Approval Certificate shall clearly indicate the type/grade/source of PVC
compound.
5.1.2 Fresh type approval shall be obtained whenever raw material PVC
compound type/grade/source is changed.

5.2 Acceptance Tests:

The following acceptance tests shall be carried out on standard coil length as per
the Sampling Plan given in Table-V.
1) Visual inspection: Construction, finish, colour, marking & packing

2) Diameter of the conductor (Table – I)

3) Weight of the conductor (Table-I)

4) Resistance of conductor (Table-I)

5) Annealing test for conductor ((Cl. 4.1)

6) Radial thickness of PVC insulation (Clause 3.2.3)

7) External diameter of insulated conductor (Table-I)

8) Colour Coding (Clause 4.5, 4.6 & 4.4)

9) High Voltage test (Clause 4.9)

10) Insulation Resistance (Clause 4.10)

11) Thickness of PVC sheath (Clause 3.2.3)

12) External diameter of cable (Table-III)

13) Length of coil (Clause 6.5)

NOTE: The Service Provider/Purchaser at his discretion can change the

acceptance and sampling plans.

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6.0 PACKING & DELIVERY:

6.1 The cable shall be delivered in coils as detailed below:-

No. of wires in cable Length per coil (in meters) Internal dia of coil
2 and 4 100 or 200 15 cm. to 20 cm.
8 and 20 200 20 cm. to 25 cm.

6.2 A tolerance of ± 5% of the standard coil length of the cable is permissible.

6.3 Each coil shall consist of a continuous length and shall be closely wrapped with a
canvas or in brown paper applied with a suitable overlap. The coils shall be
securely packed in wooden cases to prevent damage in transit.

6.4 The non-standard lengths of any order shall be restricted to 5% of the supply and
any such length shall not be less than 20 meters.

6.5 Check of length: The length of the sample coils (selected for check of length) shall
be measured. The length of the cable in the coil shall conform to the claim of the
manufacturer and to clause 6.1 and 6.3. The coils measured for length may be
weighed. The weight of coil of standard length may be arrived at based on this.
Sample check of any other coil for length may be done by weighing that coil.

6.6 Sealing: The ends of each length of completed wire shall be sealed in an approved
manner to avoid pilferage and tempering.

7.0 MARKINGS ON THE PACKAGE:

7.1 The following markings shall appear on the packing of each coil:

(a) Cable House Wiring-PVC–TEC No.TEC/GR/TX/WIR-09/05/MAR-11

(b) Manufacturer’s Name
(c) Year of manufacture
(d) Lot number
(e) Length of the cable, diameter of conductor in mm and number of wires in the
cable

8.0 QUALITY REQUIREMENTS:-

8.1 Quality requirements of the manufacturing system: The item shall be

manufactured in accordance with International quality standards ISO 9001:2008
for which the manufacturer should be duly accredited. A quality plan describing
the quality assurance system followed by the manufacturer would be required to
be submitted.

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 TABLE - 1

DETAILS OF CONDUCTOR & INSULATION

Diameter of Weight of Maximum Minimum Radial Maximun

Conductor (mm) conductor resistance elongation thickness dia. of
Minimum Nominal (kg/km) of of of PVC insulated
conductor conductor insulation conductor
at 20°C (%) (mm) (mm)
(Ohms/
km)
0.49 0.50 1.75 92.20 15 0.20 1.00
+0.05
- 0.02
0.62 0.63 2.80 59.40 20 0.25 1.25
+ 0 .05
- 0.02

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 Table – II

Pairs Colour of insulation

Colour of a-wire Colour of b- wire
1. White Blue
2. ˝ Orange
3. ˝ Green
4. ˝ Brown
5. ˝ Grey
6. Red Blue
7. ˝ Orange
8. ˝ Green
9. ˝ Brown
10. ˝ Grey

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 Table – III

MAKE – UP OF COMPLETED CABLE

Nominal No. of wires No. of pairs Minimum Maximum Construction

diameter of in cable in cable thickness of external
conductor PVC sheath diameter of
(mm) (mm) cable (mm)
0.50 2 1 0.50 3.5x3.0 Flat
0.50 2 1 0.50 3.50 Round
0.63 2 1 0.50 4.0x3.50 Flat
0.63 2 1 0.50 4.00 Round
0.50 4 2 0.65 6.0 Round
0.63 4 2 0.65 6.0 Round
0.50 8 4 0.65 6.0 Round
0.63 8 4 0.65 6.50 Round
0.50 20 10 0.75 8.50 Round
0.63 20 10 0.75 9.00 Round

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 Table – IV

TEMPERATURE CORRECTION FACTOR FOR INSULATION RESISTANCE

Test Factor Test Factor

Temperature°C Temperature°C
10 0.0010 31 0.0800
11 0.0012 32 0.1000
12 0.0016 33 0.1200
13 0.0020 34 0.1400
14 0.0026 35 0.1700
15 0.0033 36 0.1950
16 0.0042 37 0.2250
17 0.0047 38 0.2600
18 0.0063 39 0.3000
19 0.0080 40 0.3400
20 0.0100 41 0.3800
21 0.0120 42 0.4300
22 0.0150 43 0.4800
23 0.0180 44 0.5400
24 0.0200 45 0.6000
25 0.0260 46 0.6700
26 0.0310 47 0.7500
27 0.0370 48 0.8200
28 0.0460 49 0.9100
29 0.0550 50 1.0000
30 0.0640

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 TABLE – V

SAMPLING PLAN WITH AQL 6.5% AND INSPECTION LEVEL I OF IS: 2500

No. of coils in the lot No. of coils to be selected Permissible No. of failures
2 to 15 2 0
16 to 50 3 0
51 to 150 5 1
151 to 500 8 1
501 to 3,000 13 2
3001 to 10,000 20 3

16
 ABBREVIATION

cm Centimeter

DC Direct Current

DOT Department of Telecommunications

°C Degree Centigrade

GR Generic Requirements

Hz Hertz

IS Indian Standard

kg Kilogram

km Kilo metre

kV Kilo Volt

mm Millimeter

IR Insulation Resistance

Ώ Ohm

MΏ Megohm

RMS Root Mean Square

% Percentage

PVC Poly Vinyl Chloride

17