Clearfield recently introduced the Aerial Fiber Distribution Hub (FDH) into its StreetSmart portfolio. “Purpose-built for strand-mount applications in all outside plant environments, the StreetSmart Aerial FDH can be placed directly on a strand in the same space as other aerial enclosures, eliminating the bulk of the engineering, permitting, construction, and material time and costs associated with ground- or pole-mounted FDH options,” the company said. The video at the bottom of this page details the benefits of being able to aerial-mount rather than pole- or ground-mount the FDH.
“Service providers are rapidly increasing their investment in fiber infrastructure and FDH’s play an integral role in delivering broadband services to consumers,” said Kevin Morgan, Clearfield’s chief marketing officer. “At Clearfield, we are continuously working to remove obstacles for fiber deployments and provide cost-saving tools. This solution showcases our commitment to engineer solutions that meet the needs of service providers to deliver unmatched services to their subscribers.”
The company further explained that to answer the growing demand for broadband services, network designers and operators are continuously evaluating more cost-effective, practical, and less-disruptive deployment techniques as they actively plan for new fiber rollouts. Aerial fiber deployments pose an attractive advantage, Clearfield says, because they eliminate the need for network planners and engineers to design and build the network around available ground- or pole-mounted passive optical network (PON) cabinet locations. “With Clearfield’s Aerial FDH, network designers and engineers can build efficient and cost-effective networks more quickly, delivering faster time-to-market and time-to-revenue potential for fiber services,” Clearfield said.
Patrick Pierce is a senior network engineer with Mid-State Consultants. He stated, “More than ever, broadband connectivity is playing a vital role in stimulating economies and enabling communities to remain connected regardless of location. Clearfield clearly understands the challenges we face in advancing our fiber network goals. Having a cost-effective, craft-friendly aerial deployment option will enable us to move more quickly through the network planning and deployment stages, to service activation.”
The Aerial FDH includes four individual hinged covers that allow fiber technicians to access and manage up to 288 fiber ports. The feeder cables are preterminated and housed separately, and securely away from the ports located in the front of the enclosure—compact in design and able to withstand the harshest outside plant environments, Clearfield points out. It is Telcordia GR-3125, GR-326, GR-20 and GR-409 compliant, and can hold up to nine splitter modules. This capacity allows the service provider to add splitters as needed and to grow-as-they-go, which minimizes investment in capital equipment related to the turn-up of circuits.