What is BS EN IEC 60794‑4 - Optical fibre cables about?
BS EN IEC 60794 is a series on optical fibre cables. Optical fibre cables are an assembly similar to an electrical cable but containing one or more optical fibre that is used to carry light. BS EN IEC 60794‑4 covers cable construction, test methods, optical, mechanical, environmental and electrical performance requirements for aerial optical fibre cables and cable elements which are intended to be used along power lines (OCEPL) as a high bandwidth transport media for communications and control optical signals, including optical ground wires (OPGW), optical phase conductors (OPPC), metallic aerial self-supported cables (MASS), all-dielectric self-supporting cables (ADSS) and optical attached cables (OPAC).
Note: BS EN IEC 60794‑4 excludes figure-8 optical cables to be used on telephone utility poles.
Who is BS EN IEC 60794‑4 - Optical fibre cables for?
BS EN IEC 60794‑4 on optical fibre cables is useful for:
- Telecommunication component manufacturers
- Telecommunication equipment manufacturers
- Design engineers
- Quality control personnel
Why should you use BS EN IEC 60794‑4 - Optical fibre cables?
The optical fibre elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable is used. Different types of cable are used for different applications, for example, long-distance telecommunication, or providing a high-speed data connection between different parts of a building. Generally, optical cables comprise several elements or individual constituents, depending on the cable design, which considers the cable application, operating environment, and manufacturing processes, as well as the need to protect the fibre during handling and cabling. The material(s) used for a cable element is selected to be compatible with the other elements in contact with it. An appropriate compatibility test method is defined in BS EN IEC 60794‑4. When the fibres are in contact with a filling compound, the compatibility of the filling compound with the fibre coating shall be demonstrated by testing coating stripping force stability after accelerated ageing. Alternative ageing conditions and tests may be agreed upon between the customer and supplier.
Optical elements are cable elements containing optical fibres and are designed to be a primary functional unit of the cable core. Optical elements and each fibre within a cable element are uniquely identified, for example, by colours, a positional scheme, markings, tapes, threads or specified in BS EN IEC 60794‑4. Tests are performed on cable elements either in uncabled form or in the finished cable. Unless otherwise specified, testing is performed on cable elements in a finished cable. This means that testing is performed only on a finished cable if the cable element manufacturing operation is done by the same manufacturer as the cabling operation. Testing is performed on cable elements only if the cable element is supplied by a third party, this does not exclude testing of the finished cable. Using BS EN IEC 60794‑4 you can understand the cable construction, test methods, optical, mechanical, environmental, and electrical performance requirements for aerial optical fibre cables and cable elements.
What’s changed since the last update?
BS EN IEC 60794‑4:2018 supersedes BS EN 60794‑4:2003. BS EN IEC 60794‑4:2018 includes some technical changes with respect to BS EN 60794‑4:2003. These include:
- The specification has been streamlined by cross-referencing IEC 60794-1-1
- The classification as type tests or routine tests has been deleted
- Cable kink test has been deleted
- Creep test for ADSS is referred to IEC 60794-4-20