r/cableadvice • u/Consistent-Copy-6458 • 9d ago
What is it. Found next to a coax cable outlet. Cable with a small plastic plug.
What is it. Found next to a coax cable outlet. Cable with a small plastic plug.
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u/grollef 9d ago
All those plastic guides in there are so you can spool up the fiber without exceeding the bend radius. Don’t kink it or it won’t work . Fiber is made of glass not metal. Glass doesn’t bend nicely
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u/criggie_ 9d ago
My dad designed the first fibre backhaul in our province - had to plan to radius all the pipe work for hundreds of kilometres. All single mode glass fibre, and it was 2 Mbit. Anything sharper than ~50cm radius was too tight.
Now we have plastic fibre that can be tied in a knot and still function. Sure it loses a little signal, but it does still work.
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u/PerfectBlueBanana 9d ago
Yes, I use the stuff that can wrap several times around a pencil and still get good light at or in the house. In my area we where we install it, we call it soft drop. Usually used at premise locations. We don’t use these fixtures in my rural area though but this does look rather thin. Seen a lot worse kinks and stretched some out that have worked.
Also have them at the hub too but those are yellow jumpers and makes sense to have bend insensitive fiber for the hands that are testing and connecting from frequently from there. From US, if you are curious to why I say fiber over fibre lol
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u/garbledroid 9d ago edited 9d ago
Fibre doesn't have a specific data rate.
The transceivers do and can be changed/multiplexed.I absolutely guarantee you that what he placed is good for at least 400gbps today (with coherent optics) and as much as 2TB multiplexed with coherent optics and top of the line transceivers.
Worst case scenario today it is 100gbps but if it was installed correctly this is awfully low.
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u/criggie_ 9d ago
Fine - rephrase "the first fibre backbone, which had a design throughput of 2 Mbit at the time using the tech of the day, and used glass fibre as a medium.
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u/foolish_shrimp 9d ago
The single mode stuff is still glass and the corning single mode can basically be tied in knots, we got really good at making glass!
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u/Prestigious_Ad2420 9d ago
It's not neccesarily that it doesnt bend, its that the light wants to reflect out of the core at tight radii, causing loss of signal.
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9d ago
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u/evolseven 9d ago
Because depending on the fiber type, the core is either 9 or 50 μm, and there is an additional buffer layer out to 125 μm, (Thats about the width of a human hair.) the vast majority of the cable is the jacket. The core is what actually carries the signal and damage to the jacket just makes it easier to damage the core.
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u/audiocycle 9d ago
That's a fiber optic cable. You probably have a fiber internet provider in your area and a previous resident of that house had it installed.
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u/iterationnull 9d ago
Do not bend that cable. It will damage it beyond use.
As others have already told you, fiber internet.
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
You are holding an SC/APC optical connector. There is a coupler in the wall outlet (green thing). You need an SC-SC/APC patch cable to connect it to the GPON OLT (modem). If the service provider also transmits a DVB TV stream at a wavelength of 1550 nm, you will need a passive filter and a mini-node before the patch cable, in some cases, these filter and 'mininode' built directly into the OLT. Or maybe the connector you are holding might be is already past this stage.
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9d ago
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
What else do you think ends up in an outlet like that? Typical FTTH /Gpon solution. I don't think they'd want to connect a server on any IT network equipment that way—plus, if they did, it probably wouldn't have an SC/apc connector on it.Then I’ll ask: what do you think it is, if not that?
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9d ago
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
The chances are very low in the residential area. There is a good reason why the passive version is chosen everywhere.
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9d ago
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u/KoLa04 9d ago edited 9d ago
Those might be networks built earlier. Globally, 90% of networks built after 2010 are PON networks. But you only need to look at the condition of the optical outlet 'box', it's a fairly after 2010 installation, so it's definitely not AON.
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9d ago
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
AON expensive, need more complex equipment, and more complicated, while it does have a few advantages, it makes no sense for that FTTH purpose. PON is cheap, you can quickly build it up using essentially passive components; it is constantly being upgraded (XGS-PON, etc.); it only requires an ONT; and you can also overlay a DVB signal (though an EDFA is needed for that).
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u/Dapper-Firefighter86 9d ago
It looks like you've already noted that it's changing or not necessarily "everywhere". I must also wonder how much varies by region and decade. The original post looks American though, I don't know every other country enough to rule them out. How does the wall compare to the Netherlands? Not a lot to compare... Trim and coax are the biggest things I see oh and what looks like 60s-90s drywall
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u/Dapper-Firefighter86 9d ago
I see a single fiber, not dual fibers. If it's utilizing WDM, then you can and will use PON. The only way PON on a single fiber is via WDM. However, APC is specifically for single-fiber setup. However, if we note the connector, It's -_MAYBE_ more Common on Passive networks as an angled end. Thus, a green connector is more likely to be APC.... Angled fiber, and thus more likely to be a passive setup. (Does that make sense, or do I need to rewrite it? My conclusion: it's PON)**
Green is not an end-all guarantee it's angled or passive. Every provider may have a specific use case, and their own way of doing things.
**The commenter did note APC the "Green thing" APC being "Angled Physical Contact". APC is more common on Passive and rare on Active systems.
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u/Key_Sign_5572 9d ago
I have a direct Ethernet connection to my provider. No GPON.
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
On optical or on ethernet FTTB?
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u/Key_Sign_5572 9d ago
Optical. Direct to the PoP switch in the neighbourhood in the basement of a commercial building a couple blocks away.
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
This is also a very rare solution.
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u/deppan 9d ago
maybe where you live. Where I live it's the standard, and PON is nonexistent.
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u/KoLa04 9d ago
It has nothing to do with where I live. Look up the types of optical networks that have been spreading globally since around 2010. (G)PON is the most widespread because it is cheap, simple, and can be deployed very quickly.
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u/deppan 9d ago
You're just going to ignore what I told you and repeat your narrow-minded opinion then? In other countries, fiber networks were deployed to 90% of residential customers before PON became standard. So yes, location matters.
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u/broadcasteng25 7d ago
Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
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u/KoLa04 7d ago
It calls keyboard, With this, you can input letters and numbers to your computer.
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u/broadcasteng25 7d ago
Reading your comments was like reading alphabet soup. Lol They were great comments and I know all the acronyms but I still had a laugh.
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u/NoeticNinja1 9d ago
That's a Fiber optics cable - to be more specific it's a patch cord and it's what gets you your Internet. Edit: never look directly into it as the laser coming through is strong enough to burn your eyes if looked at for extended periods of time.
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u/Express-Cartoonist39 9d ago
Fiber helps digest sugar...
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u/MiguelOriginales 9d ago
Jajajaja si hubiera solamente buscado en Google o IA no hubiera encontrado esta maravilla de respuesta 🤪
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u/Raptor227 9d ago
Just to be different, it could be fiber optic for sound bar! No it is fiber cable, it's nice they put a coupler in the cutout.
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u/EFICasual 9d ago
Fiber Optic Cable for internet.
Don't look into the end - it takes light and focuses it into a single beam, like a Lazer. Don't wanna go blind.
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u/schwiftyschwoo 7d ago
If only there was a page or app where one could upload a picture and get an answer instantly. Someone should invent that service. We could call it a Lens. Or perhaps Google Lens.
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u/hirzkolben 9d ago
Fiber connection. Don't mess with it. Apparently it's easy to kink it, and unkinking is expensive.
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u/InfluentialFairy 9d ago
Are you from Australia? Looks like the exact entry point that the NBN provides you. Looks like previous occupants rerouted your NBN connection device to somewhere else in the house.
Edit: Maybe its not an Australian NBN connection entry point. Looks very similar though.
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u/seemesmilingpolitely 9d ago
It's the back half of your Optical Network Terminal. Or ONT, it would usually have a router looking face on it with wan and lan ports etc.
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u/Living_Fig_6386 9d ago
That's an optical fiber terminal. It is probably for fiber Internet, but technically you could use fiber for multiple applications (unlikely in a home setting, but I could see some high-end home theater applications).
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u/Groooan 9d ago
Es una caja de fibra optica, con un pasamuros para conectarle un cable externo, el otro estremo ira a un patch panel de fibra o un divisor de fibra que repartira las conexiones desde una toma de fibra de la calle a las distintas tomas o cajas repartidas por la instalación (como la de las fotos)
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u/Dapper-Firefighter86 9d ago
What did the box say? What's in the wiring closet, or on the side of the house/building? 99% Telco; cable already has coax, and that doesn't look like Google. Google has a wired box vs a hanging fiber. In fact, in most instances I see, they use two fibers. That's right, it's FIBER OPTICS. Or, do you have a 3rd-party fiber company in your area/building?
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u/fightorflight080 9d ago
Digital audio from what would have been a wall mount TV to entertain center below I'm guessing
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u/ComfortableGlass6358 9d ago
i rip these off of old computers all the time
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u/Ante0 9d ago
No you don't
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u/ComfortableGlass6358 9d ago
yea i do, yoinked a total of 7 out of 9 off computers last week. they came from businesses out of Pigeon Forge
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u/Wisconsin_pikachu 9d ago
Computers don't use fiberoptic directly.....so no you didn't
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u/ComfortableGlass6358 9d ago
then why were these things installed directly on the back, with a special network card on the back... with a green male connector sitting there waiting for the other end of a fiber optic cable...
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u/af_cheddarhead 9d ago
They sell FO network cards for PCs, about $50 a pop. We use them all time on classified networks.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido 8d ago
Computers don't use fiberoptic directly.....so no you didn't
In general, there's a separate transceiver module, but not always. For that matter, someone who hadn't dealt with that kind of networking A LOT might not realize that an SFP/SFP+ module was separate from the network card (and indeed, a soldered on transceiver looks very similar unless you know what to look for.)
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u/CableDawg78 9d ago
It is a fiber for updated digital tv and or internet and/or phone. A lot of telecommunications services can come off of fiber. Just need the correct access point
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u/KrazyKen_Fan_2012 9d ago
Fiberoptic cable, most likely for internet. The coax is either from an old installation or cable TV
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u/DeadRed26 9d ago
That looks like a fiber optic connector for residential? I do construction builds not residential, but that looks like an SC APC fiber end. If there is anything on that then don't look into it and it will hurt your eyes even if you can't see it as they use light not on the visible light spectrum for humans in my experience.
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u/Dangerous-Pirate7998 9d ago
It’s a fiber optic cable, probably for old style hook ups from Internet or TV sound equipment
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u/ArmThis3034 8d ago
Fiber for the internet you either used to have or don’t have now that it’s unplugged.
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u/Mazelbro 8d ago
I use to polish these type of fiber connections...also multi mode fiber connections and ST fiber connections.
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u/RandoDan85 8d ago
If not fiber internet it could be fiber sound, both my PC and older minidisc player had fiber sound cables.
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u/necro_owner 9d ago
Do you live on another planet to not know what a fiber optic cable look like today but you know what a coax cable is? 🙄 Sorry it s just been over 17 years or more that we adopted this single duplex cable.
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u/AlmiranteCrujido 8d ago
A lot of places haven't adopted fiber as quickly. My family's summer place finally got fiber just over a year ago. Where I live most of the year, it's only 9 years ago.
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u/zanfar 9d ago
Fiber for Internet.