At infowires we know ultra-wide bandwidth applications are no longer exclusive to the carrier space. Gigabit switches are found in the enterprise today. As MAN service providers roll out Gigabit Ethernet and Wavelength services, and SAN/Fiber Channel gain momentum, multi-gigabit transmission via optical fiber will become widely deployed within the enterprise.

One of the issues that arise with the deployment of Gigabit equipment is the existing optical cabling. Most of this legacy fiber is step index multimode, manufactured to support transceivers equipped with Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s) not today’s Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) used in many Gigabit transceivers.

To support VCSEL’s, new optical fiber may be required. Today’s graded index fibers are available in either 62.5 or 50 micron multimode. Both fiber types are laser optimized. For campus or remote site connectivity 8.3 micron single-mode fiber will be required. To view the TIA/EIA 568-B.3 optical fiber specifications click here.

If you are considering the installation of new optical cabling or want to qualify your existing fiber cable as Gigabit capable, give us a call at 781.982.1984 or email us at info@infowires.com and we’ll have a sales engineer contact you.