What is Blown Fibre?

Blown fibre optic is a cabling solution using glass fibre optic cables, blown through a ducting pipe. The main ducting pipe can have up to 19 micro ducts contained within it. A Coated “blow able” optical fibre is blown through a micro duct using compressed air. Carried by viscous drag, the fibres are lifted into the airstream and away from the wall of the micro duct, eliminating friction even around the tightest bends. One Fibre optic strand can carry 10 gigabytes of data every second or over 3000 telephone conversations.

The Benefits

The benefits of blown fibre are simplified planning, cost effective solution, speed of installation, and is greener solution compared to copper cable.

Simplified Planning

The ground works to install the network only has to be done once. When the waterproof ducting is in place the network can be expanded by simply blowing more fibres, or blowing the old fibre out and bigger fibres in. We are currently blowing up to 288 fibres into a single duct, but we expect to be blowing over 1000 fibres within twelve months.

Cost Effective Solution

The system uses a compressed air installation method and is capable of blowing single coated fibres or bundles of fibre through a route of bends and twists. The fibre units are only blown into the ducts as they are needed, allowing the blown fibre system to develop as network needs expand. You only need to pay for the expansion to your network as your business grows.

Speed of installation

With a conventional copper system it would typically take a minimum of a four-person team three days to complete a 3,000-foot installation. With a blown fibre optic solution, a two-man team can perform the installation in less than one day after the micro-ducts are installed.