May 8, 2007 -- AFL Telecommunications has released its OFI-FTTx, a rugged, hand-held optical fiber identifier designed to identify the presence or absence of an active optical network terminal (ONT) on FTTX F2 fibers at the fiber distribution hub (FDH).
The tool provides in-service detection of upstream (1310-nm) activity on FTTx networks. According to AFL, with the tool, during a test, the F2 fiber does not have to be removed from service; thus the OFI-FTTx can verify whether a splitter pigtail at the FDH is connected to an active circuit before it is disconnected for fault location or re-use. The OFI-FTTx can help verify FTTx network records and recover splitter pigtails and F2 fibers that are connected at the FDH but, in fact, are available for new customers.
When applied to a splitter pigtail at the FDH, the OFI FTTx will report either that the ONT is 'Active' or 'Not Detected'. Time to complete each test is typically one second. The OFI-FTTx is compatible with 2- or 3-mm jumper cable, which can contain either standard singlemode fiber, such as AFL's SMF-28e, or bend insensitive fiber (BIF), such as AFL's BendLite.
The OFI-FTTx is powered by two standard AAA alkaline batteries, provides a low battery indication, and can typically be operated 800 times before battery replacement is necessary. Target applications include facility recovery (i.e. harvesting unparked splitter legs and F2 fibers not connected to subscribers) and troubleshooting (i.e. real-time confirmation of OLT to ONT connectivity at the FDH).
