State of the art on OPGW technology

PRYSMIAN: THE NEVER WRONG DECISION

Date

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 1

AGENDA

- 1. To select a good cable design

- 2. To select a good system design
- 3. To select a reliable OPGW supplier

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 2

OPGW DESIGN FORMULA = 5+5

Five enemies: Five parameters:

Water Penetration Breaking Load
Mechanic tension Short Circuit
Lightning Diameter
Corrosion Weight
Heat Number of fibres

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 3

CHOICES IN OPGW

The best OPGW will have

Minimum diameter and weight
Maximum fibre count, breaking load and short circuit current
Maximum resistance to the enemies
Options in OPGW design OPGW design strategy: minimize the void areas

Type and
quantity of wires:
ACS, Aluminium Plastic
(GS)
Steel (Breaking Load)
Material of the Fibres

of tube
Aluminium
Steel Air
Plastic Aluminium (short circuit)
Fibre
identification

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 4

OPGW WITH ALUMINIUM TUBE

EXTRUDED ALUMINIUM TUBE:

Gives conductivity to the cable
Isolates the optical core

LOOSE TUBE CORE:

Best protection of fibres
Hydrogen absorbent gel

ARMOUR (single or double):

AS wires
Define Breaking Load
Aluminium alloy wires
Improve conductivity

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 5

OTHER OPGW DESIGNS

Lateral SST Tube Central SST Tube

The differences between the
main designs of OPGW lay in
the construction of the tube
which protects the fibres.

The tube must protect the

fibres against the five OPGW
enemies

Main types of tube are:

Seamless (extruded)
Slotted Core Welded
Plastic tube
(Tapes are no longer accepted)

The most used materials in

tubes for OPGW are:
Aluminum (60%)
Stainless steel (35%)
Plastic (5%)

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 6

1. WATER PENETRATION: HOW TO PROTECT THE FIBRES ?

Tapes Plastic tube The properties of the optical

fibres are severely affected by
the hydrogen contained in the
water.

The OPGW design must block

the water penetration both in
radial and transversal
directions.

During installation, the cable is

affected by longitudinal, radial
Welded tube: AL or Steel Extruded aluminum Tube and twisting forces.

The optimal solution has to be:

Seamless
Robust
Highly crush resistant
A perfect barrier to avoid the water
penetration in the short and long
term.

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 7

2. TENSION IN THE CABLE: FIBER STRAIN MARGIN

Cable without strain

Cable under strain

Fiber extra-length Prysmian Loose Tube Protection

Loose tube offers

OPGW the OPGW with
% Strain

OF Other
Constructions
the highest fiber
Pirelli Loose Tube strain margin

0% % UTS 100 %

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 8

3. LIGHTNING: OPTIMAL OPGW CONFIGURATION

AL tube is better than Steel tube. Why?

Because AL tube has lower electrical and thermal impedance

to lightning current. As a consequence, the local temperature
at the strike point is lower than the melting temperature for
charge transference levels larger than 300C.

For Stainless Steel Tube (STT) cables and lightning levels

above 200C, the tube perforates and fibers remain exposed to
environment. The burning of the jelly causes fiber weakness
which can lead to a fiber failure after aeolian vibrations.

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 9

4. CORROSION: GALVANIC PAIR

Corrosion tests results

Zone where the aluminum of the
ACS strands has completely
disappeared as a consequence of
the corrosion of the less noble
metal, in this case aluminum
when in contact with stainless
steel

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 10

5. SHORTCIRCUIT PROTECTION: TEMPERATURE BARRIER

250

T e m p e r a tu r e (d e g )
200

150
M e ta llic c o m p o n e n t

100 F ib e r

50

0
10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90
0

T im e (se c )

In Al Tube constructions, fiber temperature is always

far bellow aluminum tube temperature

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 11

OPGW DESIGNS: MARKET POSITIONING
Manufacturers Strengths Weaknesses Presence
Tight buffer
- Furukawa - Small size for low - Poor mechanical - China
- Hitachi fibrecounts protection of fibres - South East Asia
- AFL - Good thermal and - Tight buffered - North America
environmental structures not - South Africa
fibre protection accepted by many
utilities
- Not able to house
high fibrecounts

Manufacturers Strengths Weaknesses Presence

Slotted Core
- Philips Fitel - High conductivity - Poor thermal - Middle East
- Prysmian - Resistance to protection - North Africa
- LS crush - Poor - Northern Europe
- AFL environmental
protection
- Big diameters
- No metallic
enclosure
protecting fibres
- High cost

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 12

OPGW DESIGNS: MARKET POSITIONING

Central SST Tube Manufacturers Strengths Weaknesses Presence

- Prysmian - Smallest - Africa, India,

- Corrosion due to
- AFL diameters with Balkans, China.
galvanic effects
- Brugg high fibercounts.
- Fiber in contact
- NKT - Closest design to
with metal.
- Chinese earth wire.
- Bad control of fibre
- Koreans - Big size of wires.
extra length
- Low Short Circuit
capacity.
- Low performance
against Crush
resistance.

Manufacturers Strengths Weaknesses Presence

Lateral SST Tube
- Prysmian - Good control of - Corrosion due to - Europe, China,
- AFL fibre extra-length galvanic effects Africa.
- NKT - Medium size of - Fiber in contact
- Koreans wires. with metal.
- Chinese - Bad performance
against lightning

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 13

OPGW DESIGNS: MARKET POSITIONING

Central aluminium tube Manufacturers Strengths Weaknesses Presence

- Prysmian - Good thermal - - Big diameters in - All the world

- Corning and mechanical high fibercounts. except Central
- AFL protection of Europe and Japan.
- Koreans fibers. -
- No galvanic
effects.
- Good protection
against ice/water.
Resistance to
crush/sheave
test.

AL-clad SST Tube Manufacturers Strengths Weaknesses Presence

- Good thermal - - All the world

- Big diameters
- Prysmian and mechanical specially in high except Central
AS wire - AFL protection of fibercounts. Europe and Japan.
- Koreans
Optical fibers and Gel fibers. -
- Small size of
SUS tube - No galvanic wires.
AL-covered layer effects. - Problems when
AA wire - Good protection cutting the steel
against ice/water. tube
Resistance to
crush/sheave
test.

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 14

Fibers for OHTL

Single-mode fibre ITU-T G.652.A/B and IEC 60793-2-50 B 1.1

Single-mode fibre (SMF) provides optimum performance in both the 1310nm and 1550nm wavelength operation ranges (including
the 1565 1625 nm L-band), with a low dispersion in the 1310nm window. It can be used in all cable constructions and supports
long haul, metropolitan, access and premises applications in telecommunications, CATV, utility and intelligent traffic networks.

Single-mode fibre ITU-T G.652.C/D and IEC 60793-2-50 B 1.3

Enhanced single-mode fibre (ESMF) provides improved performance across the entire 1260nm to 1625nm wavelength spectrum. It
has a low dispersion in the 1310 nm window and low attenuation in the 1383nm water-peak region to allow use of the extended
band (1360nm to 1460nm). With its wide operating spectrum, ESMF expands the future growth capability of the fibre and allows
flexible configuration of voice, data, and video services within the fibre. It can be used in all cable constructions.

Single-mode fibre ITU-T G.652.C/D and IEC 60793-2-50 B 1.3, with lower cabled loss
Enhanced single-mode fibre (ESMF) with lower secured cabled loss in all the transmission bands, including the highest ones (L and
U-bands), intrinsically more sensitive, provides further improved and secured performance across the entire spectrum; such
premium attenuation level inside the finished cable, even in demanding environments, are offered through superior microbending
resilience of the fibres used while still preserving all parameters and characteristics of G.652.C/D fibres, made possible using a fine-
tuned glass optimization combined with the use of a highly performing protective coating.

Single-mode ITU-T G.655.C/D and IEC 60793-2-50 B 4_c/d

Non-Zero Dispersion Shifted Fibres (NZDSF) designed for DWDM applications. They are characterised by relatively lower dispersion
values from 1530 to 1625 nm, compared to G.652 fibres. They are available in two grades, to cover a variety of transmission
challenge optimisations: one version with large effective Area (NZDSF-LA) to contain the generation of non-linear effects during
propagation, and another version with reduced chromatic dispersion Slope (NZDSF-RS) to equip a broader range of channels with
the benefits of a lower dispersion.

Single-mode ITU-T G.656 & G.655.C/E and IEC 60793-2-50 B 4_c/e & B5
NZDSF with Medium Dispersion values, as described by recommendation ITU-T G.656 and more recently the G.655.E one, have set
the standard for high bit-rate, multi-wavelength transmission. Those fibres are designed with a global transmission optimization in
target, aiming at containing the detrimental effects of chromatic dispersion while in parallel aiming at using the properties of such
dispersion to contain non-linearities still. They offer a unique trade-off between effective area, chromatic dispersion and dispersion
slope thus providing an excellent transmission distortion management, cost-effectively; they secure operation at 10, 40 and
100Gbps per channel, tight channel spacing in C- and L-bands, and compatibility with the S-band; a definite step further for long-
haul and ultra-long-haul applications.

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 15

Evolution of optical fiber and ITU

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 16

How to choose the best fiber for your application

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 17

AGENDA

- 1. To select a good cable design

- 2. To select a good system design
- 3. To select a reliable OPGW supplier

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 18

PRYSMIAN OPGW SYSTEM

Engineering and Installation Fittings

Joint boxes

Optical distributor frame

Terminal Dielectric Cable

T/Ls over 60 kV (containing earthwire):

New and existing lines
Safest technical solution (longest life span)
No added cable to the T/L
OPGW cable

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 19

PRYSMIAN OPGW SYSTEM

Example of the problems coming from

forgetting that OPGW is a system

Corrosion appears
in places where
the OPGW is in
contact with non-
aluminium metals:
downlead clamps
and fittings -
armour rods

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 20

AGENDA

- 1. To select a good cable design

- 2. To select a good system design
- 3. To select a reliable OPGW supplier

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 21

KEY INDICATORS IN AN OPGW SUPPLIER
1. References
First OPGW installed. (at least 20 years experience)
Variety of countries & environmental areas (at least 70 countries on all 5 continents)
Total quantity of installed OPGW km (at least 150.000Km)
Market share (at least 10% global MS)
Customer references (at least 10 european or american Utilities)
2. Capability
Manufacturing capacity (at least 12000Km per year capacity)
Manufacturing locations (at least 3 OPGW factories in different locations)
Verticial process (own fiber and own production of all the materials, including tubing and
wires)
Customer satisfaction (long frame contracts with european or american Utilities)
Capacity to supply a full system (supply of OPGW cable + fittings + joint boxes + ODF +
supervision services)
3. Testing Capabilities
Internal labs (capacity of internal type test witnessed with third party inspectors)
Agreements with independent labs (european or american labs)
Quantity of type tested cables (at least 75 cables type tested)
Quality procedures (ISO 9000, ISO 14000, OSHAS 18001)

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 22

Thank you.

Presentation title | Prysmian Group | Date 23