FIBRE NETWORKING HAS CHANGED

On-site termination has been superseded with machine polished direct terminated connectors

A Survery of UK Data Installation Companies comparing the costs of different methods to install three 24 Core OM3 LC Tight Buffered Patch Panel to Patch Panel links showed a saving of up to 35% when using a Pre-terminated Solution.

When just looking at the product cost and the direct labour costs, our survey showed that pre-terminated fibre solutions came out less expensive.

This survey didn’t include all the other costs associated with on-site termination such as equipment costs, training costs, consumable cost, extra days on-site.

Technical Support

Terminating On-Site:
Epoxy and Hand Polish

Product Costs from Distributer

1105m 24 Core OM3 Tight Buffered LSZH Fibre Cable (35m per link) @ £20

Labour Costs: Installing Pre-term

Measuring and cutting the cable / Pulling the cable / Stripping the cable / Preparing the epoxy / Applying the connector \ Scribe and polishing / Inspecting (both visual and with a microscope) / OTDR Testing

Estimated at:

2 men x 2 days @ £200 per day

Best Case Total Product Cost: £345.00
Best Case Total Labour Cost: £800.00
Total Cost: £1145.00

Installing
Pre-Terminated Fibre

Product Costs from Complete Connect

LC-LC 24 Core OM3 Tight Buffered Pre-terminated fibre assembly with pulling socks (fully tested) 30m @ £205

Labour Costs: Installing Pre-term

Pulling the cable / Inspecting (both visual and with a microscope) / Light Source and Power Meter Testing

Estimated at:

2 men x 1/2 day

Best Case Total Product Cost: £615.00
Best Case Total Labour Cost: £200.00
Total Cost: £815.00

Splicing
Pigtails

Product Costs from Distributer

105m 24 Core OM3 Tight Buffered Fibre Cable – (35m per link) @ £210
LC simplex pigtails x 144 = £0.90 each
Splice protectors x 144 = £18

Labour Costs: Splicing 144 pigtails

Measuring and cutting the cable / Pulling the cable / Stripping the cable / Cleaving and Splicing pigtails / Inspecting (both visual and with a microscope) / OTDR Testing

Estimated at:

2 men x 1/2 days

Best Case Total Product Cost: £357.00
Best Case Total Labour Cost: £600.00
Total Cost: £957.00

Why is Pre-Terminated Fibre so much cheaper to install?

  • Speed of terminations

    We can terminate at a faster rate than any on-site method so our labour cost per termination is much lower.

  • Set up Costs

    The set up time and cost with on-site terminations are avoided with pre-terminated fibre. This further lowers the cost per termination. Our dedicated termination stations allow the maximum throughput of terminations per day and add to the lowering of the cost per termination.

  • Connector costs

    Terminating connectors directly on to the fibre core is cheaper than splicing the equivalent pigtails.

  • Termination consumable costs

    Due to the volumes of terminations being carried out we gain from economies of scale on all consumable products.

  • Access to products

    If something unexpected happens then we have all the products in stock to remedy the situation. There is no wasted time or extra site visits.

  • Cutting and preparing the cable

    We can also measure and cut cable more easily which also reduces the cost.

  • Speed of Testing

    With a dedicated testing area and multi-fibre test equipment we can test each fibre much more quickly than any on-site single fibre testing.

Why is the performance better with a Pre-Terminated Fibre?

We terminate a connector directly onto the backbone fibre using epoxy and hot oven.
When combined with a mult-stage, precision abrasive machine polish this produces a higher performing lower loss connection compared to either hand polishing or splicing pigtails.

What are the numbers above based on?

We terminate a connector directly onto the backbone fibre using epoxy and hot oven. When combined with a multi-stage, precision abrasive machine polish this produces a higher performing lower loss connection compared to either hand polishing or splicing pigtails.

In 2011 we surveyed a number of UK installation companies in order to compare the costs of the different fibre termination methods against using a pre-terminated solution. The 2 cheapest methods when looking at product and labour, but excluding the cost of any non-consumable equipment were splicing and epoxy/polish. We compared these methods against a pre-terminated factory solution. The average price for the various methods against our pre-terminated fibre are shown. For splicing and epoxy/polish costs we took an average price of the cheapest 25% of installer quotes.

Notes on pricing above:

  1. Assuming good clean environment on site
  2. Labour charge on for a fully trained sub-contractor/employee
  3. Costs similar in all situations (e.g. pulling fibre) are ignored
  4. Costs of products used in all situations (e.g. patch panels) are ignored

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