• STL has gained US plenum certification for pre-terminated indoor fibre assemblies ranging from 48 to 576 fibres
  • Factory-fitted connectors can reduce work inside a data centre, but cable routes and lengths still need to be settled before installation

The fact

STL said on 10 September that its pre-terminated indoor fibre trunk assemblies have received US plenum certification for use in data centres. The range covers 48 to 576 fibres. Connectors are fitted, polished and tested in the factory before delivery, so installers do not need to splice those assemblies on site. STL is targeting hyperscale, colocation and enterprise facilities, including overhead and underfloor routes where space can be tight.

The certification covers Optical Fiber Nonconductive Plenum cable and cites NFPA 262, a US test for flame spread and smoke from cables used in air-handling spaces. The standard applies to the cable under defined test conditions. It is not a fire-safety certification for the whole data centre. STL says factory termination can reduce installation time and cost, but it has not published results from a named customer project showing how large those savings are.

The assessment

STL is moving more of the fibre installation work into the factory. Because the connectors arrive fitted and tested, installers can avoid splicing those assemblies inside the data centre. That could make installation simpler, particularly on large projects with hundreds of fibre connections.

There is a trade-off. The project team needs to know the cable lengths, routes, and connection points before the trunks are ordered. If the layout changes later, a factory-terminated cable may no longer fit as planned. The new plenum rating answers the fire-test requirement for the cable, but it does not remove that need for accurate design work.

For BTW readers, the real test is whether these assemblies save time once they reach a live data-centre project. Installation and acceptance-test results from an actual deployment would show how much work factory termination removes from the site and how well it copes with changes during the fit-out.

What to watch

Watch for STL to name customers using the certified assemblies in US data centres. Installation times, acceptance-test results and examples of how projects handle late routing changes would give a clearer picture of the practical benefit of factory termination.