Fibre cables with record reduced diameter and 90% recycled plastic
Prysmian in Italy has launched a fibre-optic cable in duct system that allows major reductions in the use of raw materials and reduces roll out costs.
Ecoslim is designed to address the challenges of FTTx fibre rollouts such as limited installation space, expanding volumes and a need for higher performance with lower environmental impact. The system uses Prysmian’s Sirocco HD and Sirocco Extreme cables with up to 864 fibres and small-diameter Easenet microducts to reduce plastic use and makes network installation more sustainable and efficient.
Easenet microducts are made of up to 90% reclaimed HDPE and use up to 50% less virgin plastics usage than conventional ducts with a 25% smaller diameter.
The reduced diameters allow micro trenching and avoid wide trenches which are usually required for high volume of ducts, which is especially beneficial in overcrowded areas. This results in less civil works and reduction of spoil by 50%.
- Boosting sustainability in the design and production of fibre
- Prysmian raises €135m for cable R&D
- Bend-insensitive fibres significantly reduce losses
In deployments in the Netherlands, 14/10mm ducts were recently replaced with smaller diameter 10/7mm ducts for installation of Sirocco HD and Sirocco Extreme cables with up to 192 fibres. Because longer lengths of cable and ducts can be stored on each drum, a reduction of up to 60% in the number of drums was achieved, reducing the number of truckloads and warehouse space requirements by 60%.
Ecoslim is also one of the first optical network components that comes with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for an independent comparison with conventional networks, proving up to 50% CO2 reduction along the value chain.
“Network owners move towards shifting the task for greener networks to suppliers and installers, and Prysmian Group is ready to answer this challenge with Ecoslim,” said Thomas Zambon, Telecom Sales Director for North Europe at Prysmian Group. “The solution shows stronger performance and efficiency, and with record fibre density of Sirocco HD or Sirocco Extreme cables allows network owners and providers to transmit even more data through the available duct infrastructure.”
Ecoslim cables and ducts can be applied within existing Programmes of Requirements during the design phase, without requiring changes or additional design costs.
“The smaller, more flexible cables and tubes reduce strain on the often full cable routes,” says Erik van den Oever, Telecoms commercial director at Prysmian Group. “In addition, they are easier to install, and spare tubes can be reused. Stripping and splicing take no longer than with ‘regular’ cable. During digging, these newer cables should also be less prone to damage than existing cable. Traditional cabling with its thicker, less flexible jacket needed much more room than the newer thinner cables, which could very closely follow the contours of the duct.”
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