Clearfield Inc. recently announced the availability of the CraftSmart Deploy Reel Test Access Point (TAP) Box and Home Deployment Kit (HDK). The company says this introduction extends its “field-proven fiber management expertise and leading-edge fiber connectivity performance all the way to the home.” It stated that using the TAP saves an average of 30 minutes per deployment.
“The HDK option offers the Deploy Reel TAP kitted with the home equipment cable and angled wall faceplate for the final connection into the home,” the company explained. “These products satisfy a pressing need for industry network operators to quickly convert homes passed to homes connected, yielding immediate return on their fiber investment.”
The Deploy Reel TAP Box’s design features a rounded profile “to provide a safe bend radius for ample storage on the reel of up to 50 feet of excess fiber drop cable coming from the terminal and up to 100 feet of 3mm FieldShield FLEXdrop cable that the field technician can deploy into the home,” Clearfield said.
This all-in-one flexibility with the reel allows the technician to pay out the exact amount of cable from the curb into the home. This attribute is the 30-minute time saver versus traditional installation methods, Clearfield explained. The company cites a customer deployment study, which surveyed more than 150 installations using the FieldShield Deploy Reel FastPass method. That study showed time savings between 35 and 38% versus the baseline installation method for outside and inside work performed.
“Every minute saved in the process of connecting homes speeds up the time in which an entire community can leverage the economic benefits enabled with fiber broadband,” said Kevin Morgan, Clearfield’s chief marketing officer. “At Clearfield, our product development and design approach starts with the field technician in mind and focuses on ways we can improve their ability to quickly, efficiently, and effectively connect more homes—a benefit and competitive advantage that any network operator can appreciate.”
Clearfield debuted the CraftSmart Deploy Reel TAP Box and Home Deployment Kit at Fiber Connect 2024.
