eBook

Pushable Fiber
Solutions for FTTx
Case Studies for Network Operators and Installers
 Introduction
Around the world, people are increasingly demanding high-speed fiber
broadband. Connectivity is crucial to businesses, educational establishments
and basic activities in day-to-day life.
According to Point Topic, there were 793 million fixed broadband subscribers globally in 2016 - and the number of
fiber to the home (FTTH) subscribers is on the increase. In fact, FTTH connections nearly doubled between Q1
2015 and Q1 2016. There are more than 35.9 million FTTH subscribers in Europe.

In Africa, 52 countries are now connected to submarine cables, either directly or by terrestrial cross-border fiber
optic networks. 44 percent of Africans live within 25 km (15.5 mile) of a fiber node.

However, as operators ramp up FTTx deployments internationally, they are coming up against a common problem:
the “last drop”. This final leg of an installation, from the cabinet to an individual home or building, presents a
number of issues, ranging from challenging landscapes to high costs and customer inconvenience.

PPC’s vision has always been to speed up the last drop in FTTx deployments, by removing the inefficiencies of
blowing and splicing and enabling non-fiber specialist engineers to carry out installations. Our Miniflex® pushable
fiber cable has been successfully deployed across the globe, allowing operators to reduce installation times and,
therefore, cut costs.

In this eBook, we will look in detail at four case studies that highlight the benefits of using Miniflex. From the
deserts of Saudi Arabia to southern California and Africa, Miniflex has the adaptability to be deployed in a variety
of challenging environments.

You will find out how:

• Fiber deployment costs were reduced by up to 76 percent when Miniflex
was used in a rollout for the city of Loma Linda, California.
• Liquid Telecom deployed Miniflex to connect 10,000 FTTH users in Zimbabwe.
• Saudi Arabia operator Mobily used Miniflex to reduce installation time by 50 percent.
• Miniflex was employed to fit out the famous Queen Mary Hotel with a fiber network
for a 60 percent reduction in deployment costs.

Read on to learn exactly why Miniflex’s market-leading combination of toughness, flexibility,

and small, lightweight size makes it uniquely suited for many FTTx deployments - including yours.

Case Study
Case Study
Case Study Case Study
How Mobily Used Miniflex®
PPC Pushable Fiber & Liquid Telecom - A to Complete Installations Delivering Fiber to
the City of Loma Linda Zimbabwe Success in Half the Time The Queen Mary

Location: California, U.S. Location: Zimbabwe, Africa Date: July 2018 Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Date: June 2014 Location: California, USA Date: Spring 2012

Improving competitiveness by Deploying Miniflex Pushable Driving down deployment costs Reducing FTTx outside plant
reducing fiber deployment costs Fiber to more than 100,000 in Saudi Arabia install costs by 60 percent
Products Used
by up to 76 percent. FTTH users in Zimbabwe
Product Used Background Products Used Background OSP Installer
Miniflex® fiber cable
Background Background Dramatic reduction in total OSP FTTx install cost required
Mobily is the second operator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Engineer Anthony Andrews from
and is an innovator when it comes to new technologies and Miniflex
The city of Loma Linda, covering 7.5 sq miles in the San Miniflex® fiber cable 2-Fiber cable The installation of fiber into The Queen Mary had to be Ancom Communications, Inc
Liquid Telecom has built Africa’s largest independent fiber
Bernadino Valley in southern California, is a community of 21,000 techniques in the telecommunication space. commercially viable. It needed to find an installation method and
network, which runs from the north of Uganda to Cape Town,
people. It is run by a full service municipal government, providing Mobily is currently connecting around 2,000 new fiber customers 2-fiber cable product set that provided 50-60 percent saving verses traditional
covering Africa’s fastest-growing economies, where no fixed 12V pushable fiber install unit
facilities including police and fire protection as well as water, TuffDuct® trench, blow and splice methods. Otherwise the project was a Utility Consulting, Engineering
network has ever existed before. The network currently spans a month. Deployments are carried out by external contractors,
sewer and refuse utility services. using products approved by Mobily. PPC’s low risk and cost non-starter. & Construction Services work
over 50,000 km across borders and includes The East Africa
Fusion Field Splicer effective Miniflex® fiber optic cable is one of those solutions. External grade installation clips were performed by John Griffin
The city’s economy is dominated by healthcare – it has five major Fiber Ring, and the first regional fiber ring on the continent and Required an easy ‘leave behind’
Construction, Inc
hospitals and a healthcare focused graduate university with OSP Installer operates throughout Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius,
Detecon Al-Saudia is an approved supplier to Mobily and
Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and in the The Queen Mary planned to constantly evolve and required the
15,000 medical, dental, and allied healthcare students. Up to Indoor customer termination box currently undertakes approximately 500 installations per month in Existing conduit
100,000 people visit the city every day to be treated and it is the Anthony Andrews, HHS Construction UK under a number of different wholesale, enterprise and
the Western region, which covers the Kingdom’s city of Jeddah.
ability to make on-going changes to the network. Therefore, the The Job
retail brands. network solution required a ‘leave behind’ product that would not
regional center for veterans, trauma and children’s care, covering To install fiber from a point of presence
require high maintenance or extra skills for the in-house network
a fifth of California. Liquid Telecom’s ground-breaking work was recognized at OTP Installer Scenario Fusion field splicer
team to make changes or expand the number of end points. (POP) high fiber count node to The
City of Loma Linda staff Queen Mary birthed at Long Beach, CA,
Capacity Magazine’s Annual Telecoms Industry Awards when QuipHire Africa Mobily typically has a ‘last mile’ connection of between 30 to
they were named Best African Wholesale Carrier six years in a USA and the surrounding site. Allowing
Scenario 100 m (98 to 328 ft), bringing 2-core fiber optic G652D into the Indoor customer termination box Solution: Challenge One multiple retail, events and attractions
Ancom Communications, Inc. row. They have also gained recognition at the AfricaCom Awards, house/premises. One fiber is field spliced with an LC connector,
The city realized that it needed a faster broadband network, SatCom Stars Awards and the Global Telecom Business awards. Synopsis while the second dark fiber coiled for redundancy. How Ancom Communications achieved the 60 percent reduction throughout the site to be networked,
particularly to support its increasingly data-driven medical Installing 4-Core fiber to the home (FTTH) in cost of install with PPC FTTx products: using fiber.
facilities. Failure to deliver higher capacity fiber connections John Griffin Construction, Inc. As with any new connection where existing conduits are already OSP Installer
in challenging environmental conditions,
potentially threatened the entire economy if healthcare in use, some of these are populated with existing cable or copper Detecon Al-Saudia Co. Ltd. Micro trenching & 10 mm OD TuffDuct® Ultra (microduct)
while meeting tough business case targets
institutions were forced to move operations elsewhere. and tight deployment timescales.
infrastructure. The installer therefore has to find the optimum, Total Length of Install
most cost effective solution in order to maximize the number of Micro trenching was believed to be the best alternative
Incumbent telecoms carriers felt that upgrading beyond DSL was Synopsis deployments carried out in each working day.
Synopsis excavation method to trenching
5 mile (1.6 km)
uneconomic, so the city embraced the challenge and built its own
Cost-effectively installing last-mile Run Lengths Installing 2-core fiber to the home
FTTH/FTTP network.
connections for a new high-speed 25 m up to 1,600 m (FTTH) in harsh temperatures and
This install method required a non-traditional and more
While rolling out the 4x144 strand backbone network was broadband network using micro trenching challenging environmental conditions,
capable FTTx cable and duct
relatively straightforward, the major issue for the city was the and PPC pushable fiber and duct, to while meeting the business case for
cost of last-mile deployments. It first looked at a combination increase business competitiveness, fixed price installations.
safeguard investment and The duct needed to be very slim, approximately 10 mm
of trenching and blown fiber. However, at an average cost of
OD to fit the trench
$50 a foot, this was simply too expensive to support, risking maximize efficiency. Run Lengths
project completion. Additionally, the city wanted to minimize the
30 - 100 m
disruption and cost of major road closures caused by traditional It needed to be flexible enough to be routed around
trenching techniques. tight corners

Tough enough to withstand the high temperature of

Bitumen back fill

Miniflex® hinge technology offers unique strength and PPC FTTx products were specified and allowed Ancom
flexibility performance Communications to micro trench

1 Loma Linda Case Study 1 Zimbabwe Case Study 1 Saudi Arabia Case Study 1 The Queen Mary Case Study

PPC Pushable Liquid Telecom a How Mobily used Delivering fiber to

Fiber & the City of Zimbabwe success Miniflex to complete The Queen Mary
Loma Linda Page 6 installations in half Page 12
Page 3 the time
Page 9

Go to Case Study Go to Case Study Go to Case Study Go to Case Study

2 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
 Case Study

PPC Pushable Fiber &

the City of Loma Linda

Location: California, U.S.

Improving competitiveness by
reducing fiber deployment costs
by up to 76 percent.
Product Used
Background
The city of Loma Linda, covering 7.5 sq miles in the San Miniflex® fiber cable
Bernadino Valley in southern California, is a community of 21,000
people. It is run by a full service municipal government, providing
facilities including police and fire protection as well as water, TuffDuct®
sewer and refuse utility services.

The city’s economy is dominated by healthcare – it has five major

hospitals and a healthcare focused graduate university with OSP Installer
15,000 medical, dental, and allied healthcare students. Up to
100,000 people visit the city every day to be treated and it is the Anthony Andrews, HHS Construction
regional center for veterans, trauma and children’s care, covering
a fifth of California.
City of Loma Linda staff

Scenario
Ancom Communications, Inc.
The city realized that it needed a faster broadband network,
particularly to support its increasingly data-driven medical
facilities. Failure to deliver higher capacity fiber connections John Griffin Construction, Inc.
potentially threatened the entire economy if healthcare
institutions were forced to move operations elsewhere.

Incumbent telecoms carriers felt that upgrading beyond DSL was Synopsis
uneconomic, so the city embraced the challenge and built its own
Cost-effectively installing last-mile
FTTH/FTTP network.
connections for a new high-speed
While rolling out the 4x144 strand backbone network was broadband network using micro trenching
relatively straightforward, the major issue for the city was the and PPC pushable fiber and duct, to
cost of last-mile deployments. It first looked at a combination increase business competitiveness,
of trenching and blown fiber. However, at an average cost of safeguard investment and
$50 a foot, this was simply too expensive to support, risking maximize efficiency.
project completion. Additionally, the city wanted to minimize the
disruption and cost of major road closures caused by traditional
trenching techniques.

3 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
1 Loma Linda Case Study
 Case Study
PPC Pushable Fiber & the City of Loma Linda

Benefits

Installation costs reduced by between

64-76 percent

Faster implementations
with less disruption

Ability to use city staff for deployments

City’s healthcare industry able to

digitize operations

New network attracting businesses

and residents
After evaluating the market for a solution, the city
turned turned to PPC and adopted its patented
Miniflex® pushable fiber cable and ruggedized Increased efficiency of city operations
TuffDuct® microduct, in combination with micro through network
trenching, to bring down the cost and time of last-mile
FTTP and FTTH deployments.

Rather than digging up the entire street, micro

trenching reduces installation time by cutting a 1 in
wide trench, installing microduct and rapidly restoring
the roadway. TuffDuct’s combination of strength,
toughness and flexibility means that it fits into the
smallest trenches, yet can tolerate tight bend radii and
high crush forces, as well as coping with extreme 270
°F (130 °C) temperatures when covered with
road sealant.

Once the microduct is installed, Miniflex can simply be

pushed or pulled to its destination from the manhole,
without the need for expensive blowing equipment or
specialized skills. The majority of deployments are
completed by municipal staff, with the city electrician
deploying fiber to the premises. Time is further
reduced by the use of pre-connectorized fiber cables
and PPC distribution patches. Miniflex fiber cable with flexible, durable grooved jacket

The combination of PPC products and micro trenching

has dramatically cut costs – from $50 to $12-$18 per
foot, a saving of between 64 percent and 76 percent
for the city.

4 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
2 Loma Linda Case Study www.ppc-online.com
 Case Study
PPC Pushable Fiber & the City of Loma Linda

Results
The city is seeing three major benefits:

Improved healthcare – all the medical facilities

within Loma Linda are now connected and can
share patient records digitally and carry out
remote diagnosis, and staff can even undertake
out of hours scans and operations from home.

Increased business investment - in a tough

business climate, Loma Linda has been able to
attract investment and new employers because
of its network. In turn, this leads to more jobs
and consequently higher tax revenues from
businesses and residents.
Direct bury TuffDuct® microduct that’s ultra tough and
features a low friction lining for pushing and pulling

“
Improvedcityefficiency/safety -
the network underpins all city activities, from
fire and rescue to police, utilities and CCTV. “Our fiber network is at the
Each traffic light has a wireless access point,
heart of Loma Linda’s growth,
accessible by city employees, enabling them to
operate digitally and more efficiently. attracting new businesses and
increasing municipal efficiency.
Without it the recession would
have been catastrophic for
the city. PPC has been a
really strong and responsive
partner, working with us to
help bring down installation
costs – without their pushable
fiber and micro trenching our
deployment would simply have
been impossible economically.”
Konrad Bolowich, Assistant City Manager/
Director of IS, City of Loma Linda

Corporate Headquarters
East Syracuse, NY - USA
Tel: +1 315-431-7200
Fax: +1 315-431-7201
Toll Free: +1 800-800-6652
Email: customerservice@ppc-online.com

5 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
3 Loma Linda Case Study www.ppc-online.com
 Case Study

Liquid Telecom - A
Zimbabwe Success

Location: Zimbabwe, Africa Date: July 2018

Deploying Miniflex Pushable

Fiber to more than 100,000
Products Used
FTTH users in Zimbabwe
Miniflex® fiber cable
Background
Liquid Telecom has built Africa’s largest independent fiber 2-Fiber cable
network, which runs from the north of Uganda to Cape Town,
covering Africa’s fastest-growing economies, where no fixed 12V pushable fiber install unit
network has ever existed before. The network currently spans
over 50,000 km across borders and includes The East Africa
Fiber Ring, and the first regional fiber ring on the continent and Fusion Field Splicer
operates throughout Botswana, DRC, Kenya, Lesotho, Mauritius,
Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and in the
Indoor customer termination box
UK under a number of different wholesale, enterprise and
retail brands.

Liquid Telecom’s ground-breaking work was recognized at OTP Installer

Capacity Magazine’s Annual Telecoms Industry Awards when
they were named Best African Wholesale Carrier six years in a
row. They have also gained recognition at the AfricaCom Awards,
SatCom Stars Awards and the Global Telecom Business awards.
QuipHire Africa
Synopsis
Installing 4-Core fiber to the home (FTTH)
in challenging environmental conditions,
while meeting tough business case targets
and tight deployment timescales.

Run Lengths
25 m up to 1,600 m

Miniflex® hinge technology offers unique strength and

flexibility performance

6 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
1 Zimbabwe Case Study
 Case Study
Liquid Telecom - A Zimbabwe Success
Benefits
5x faster deployment time
10x stronger fiber protection
Removal of need for skilled technicians
More robust, easier to handle cable
Lower capex than traditional installations
Completely compatible products
Scenario
Liquid Telecom Zimbabwe’s deployment sets the
standard for the design, implementation and execution
of FTTH networks in Africa. Liquid Telecom has
transformed the landscape in Harare, passing over
100,000 homes, with an additional 30,000 homes
expected within 2018/2019. Additionally, it plans to
expand the network nationwide.
From the outset, Liquid Telecom had two key aims.
Firstly, it understood the need for careful planning to
allow for large scale expansion. This was combined
with the requirement for high quality materials to enable
installation teams to deliver on its high expectations.
These aims were the driving factor in selecting PPC’s
Miniflex® 2-Core drop cable exclusively for the last drop
to all its current 30,000 customers.
Faced with the challenge of building a network from
scratch, Liquid Telecom used a combination of 7, 12,
and 24-way ducts, breaking off into each home via
a dedicated 5 & 8 mm microduct. This allowed the
company to respond efficiently to customer demands,
with a proven network design that maximized return
on investment.
One of the keys to success was the adoption of PPC’s
Miniflex products. This enabled local installers and
contractors to reduce installation times by up to a factor
of five, and virtually removed installation cable faults
and the need for remedial work.
7 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
2 Zimbabwe Case Study
QuipHire Africa installation team installing at Liquid
Telecom Zimbabwe customer premises
FTTH Scope
Liquid Telecom adopted the traditional methodology
of using blown fiber with installation distances from
the manholes to premises varying from 25 to 1,600 m
(25 to 5,249 ft). In many cases there were numerous
ducting joints that meant the Miniflex drop cable had to
be tough, flexible and lightweight in order to cover these
distances.
Additionally, the drop cable had to be able to withstand
the demands of the Zimbabwean environment, yet
blend into the customer’s home without the need
for additional trunking. Liquid Telecom therefore
standardized on the white 2-Core Miniflex, which offers
unrivalled 3,500N crush resistance, combined with 5x
installation bend radius, yet weighs less than 8 kg (17.6
lb) per km (3,281 ft). The clean white colour blends into
most homes.
Hand pushable Miniflex for
FTTH installations
A unique benefit of the patented Miniflex cable if its
ability to be pushed by hand into 5 & 8 mm microducts,
up to a distance of 150 m. This has further helped
installation teams improve performance. It dramatically
reduces the time required onsite, while freeing up more
valuable equipment to be used for longer installations.
“Miniflex increased the productivity of my installation
crews by up to 500%,” says Tendai Choto, Managing
Director of QuipHire. “From the moment Liquid Telecom
introduced Miniflex for the final customer connection,
I was immediately impressed with the cable’s quality,
strength and flexibility - not to mention how its unique,
rugged designed easily handles the environmental
challenges of the FTTH in Zimbabwe.”
www.ppc-online.com
 Case Study

Liquid Telecom - A Zimbabwe Success

Driving Return on Investment

“Once the distribution cable had been deployed, it was
imperative that Liquid Telecom quickly connected end
users in order to rapidly expand their footprint and
to maximize their return on investment,” says Simon
Roberts, Sales Director of Africa and the Middle East.
“All our FTTH customers to date have found that being
first to market was key to their success and by selecting
Miniflex® fiber cable they were able to increase
installation efficiency by up to five times, something no
other fiber cable can offer.”

Miniflex® fiber cable has been designed and tailored

to specifically meet the demands faced by installers
when deploying FTTH customer connections - namely
how to quickly and efficiently get fiber into the customer
premises without sacrificing quality and network
longevity. Miniflex® fiber cable delivers a true outdoor/
indoor performance through its UV stable white cable
solution, and gives a clean customer finish.

“PPC uses only the highest quality raw materials to

give the ultimate in fiber protection, while our live
hinge technology gives unrivalled bend performance,”
continues Roberts. “We are very happy to be the Liquid
Telecom Group’s exclusive partner over these past Miniflex® cable being pushed through 5 & 8 mm microduct
four years, and to be such an integral part of the fiber over distances greater than 150 m
revolution that is taking place in Zimbabwe. Through its
network Liquid Telecom is transforming the economy
and empowering local Zimbabweans, by allowing
them to reach out and benefit from the services and
information that only fiber can deliver.”

“We are privileged to have the opportunity to work with

Liquid Telecom not just in Zimbabwe, but throughout the
region,” says Roberts. “To see Miniflex® empowering
local companies is very rewarding, as is knowing
Zimbabwe’s FTTH customers are benefitting from one
of the highest internet speeds in the world.”

Corporate Headquarters
East Syracuse, NY - USA
Tel: +1 315-431-7200
Fax: +1 315-431-7201
Toll Free: +1 800-800-6652
Email: customerservice@ppc-online.com

8 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
3 Zimbabwe Case Study www.ppc-online.com
 Case Study

How Mobily Used Miniflex®

to Complete Installations
in Half the Time

Location: Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Date: June 2014

Driving down deployment costs

in Saudi Arabia
Background Products Used
Mobily is the second operator in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
and is an innovator when it comes to new technologies and Miniflex
techniques in the telecommunication space.

Mobily is currently connecting around 2,000 new fiber customers 2-fiber cable
a month. Deployments are carried out by external contractors,
using products approved by Mobily. PPC’s low risk and cost
effective Miniflex® fiber optic cable is one of those solutions. External grade installation clips

Detecon Al-Saudia is an approved supplier to Mobily and

currently undertakes approximately 500 installations per month in Existing conduit
the Western region, which covers the Kingdom’s city of Jeddah.

Scenario Fusion field splicer

Mobily typically has a ‘last mile’ connection of between 30 to

100 m (98 to 328 ft), bringing 2-core fiber optic G652D into the Indoor customer termination box
house/premises. One fiber is field spliced with an LC connector,
while the second dark fiber coiled for redundancy.

As with any new connection where existing conduits are already OSP Installer
in use, some of these are populated with existing cable or copper Detecon Al-Saudia Co. Ltd.
infrastructure. The installer therefore has to find the optimum,
most cost effective solution in order to maximize the number of
deployments carried out in each working day.
Synopsis
Installing 2-core fiber to the home
(FTTH) in harsh temperatures and
challenging environmental conditions,
while meeting the business case for
fixed price installations.

Run Lengths
30 - 100 m

9 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
1 Saudi Arabia Case Study
 Case Study

How Mobily Used Miniflex® to Complete

Installations in Half the Time

Benefits

Shorter deployment time

Stronger fiber protection

Easier and more robust to handle

Lower capex than traditional installations

Removal of skilled technicians

Completely compatible products

Mobily is a new provider of fiber to the home (FTTH)
connections. This means that access to existing
infrastructure is often not available, with the installer
then responsible for deploying new microducts or
finding an alternative route for the fiber cable.
As contractors are paid a standard installation fee,
irrespective of the difficulty of individual deployments,
Detecon Al-Saudia were facing a difficult, but not
uncommon situation. They needed to find a cost
effective, fast to deploy, high quality, fiber optic cable
and selected Miniflex®.
FTTH scope
Detecon Al-Saudia’s teams of highly trained engineers
have traditionally had to install external microducts due
to the lack of existing Mobily infrastructure, adding both
time and additional expense to the installation.
Direct breakout from the ODB using Miniflex UV
resistant fiber cable
Where existing infrastructure was present installation
teams have had great difficulty in using pushable rods
to pull or push the cable into the premises, consuming
valuable deployment time and reducing the number of
customer installations completed per day
Installation example
Miniflex has enabled Detecon Al-Saudia to reduce
installation time and costs, due to its lightness, strength
and flexibility. A 2 km (6,562 ft) reel weighs just 17 kg
(37.5 lb) making it very lightweight and easy to handle,
meaning the installation team can easily move the cable
into position at the edge of the curb before making a
field splice at the ODP.
Using Miniflex, which is 100 percent UV resistant and
can withstand direct sunlight and temperatures up to
80 °C (176 °F), they were able to remove the need
for external microduct, securing the cable directly to
the outside of the building with wall clips. This vastly
reduces installation time, removes additional expense
and makes for a more aesthetically pleasing
outdoor installation.

Moving inside the premises, the unique strength and

flexibility of the Miniflex cable removes the need for
indoor microduct, as the cable is attached directly to
the wall using a hot glue gun or P-Clips and spliced to a
2-way wallbox. Again, this reduces the installation time,
removes the additional expense of an internal microduct
and, due to the small size of the cable, ensures a
professional installation with a fiber cable guarantee
of 20 years.

Efficient and visually pleasing indoor termination to the

customer premises wall box

10 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
2 Saudi Arabia Case Study www.ppc-online.com
 Case Study

How Mobily Used Miniflex® to Complete

Installations in Half the Time

“
“In the past we have used
lower quality fiber cables
and have experienced many
breakages due to the poor
performance of the cable in
demanding situations and
extended installation times.
With Miniflex® the difference
in quality is immediately
noticeable and allowed
us to remove the need for
microducts, so we could
complete the installation in
Miniflex running in direct sunlight without the
approximately half the time.”
need for microduct
Quote from the Fiber installation team

“
Corporate Headquarters
East Syracuse, NY - USA
“Miniflex has enabled my
Tel: +1 315-431-7200 installation teams to perform 2
Fax: +1 315-431-7201 or 3 more installations per day
Toll Free: +1 800-800-6652
Email: customerservice@ppc-online.com due to the increased quality of
the fiber cable combined with
the flexibility and durability of
it’s design.
Although there is an
incremental price compared to
other solutions, the business
case is clear and the high
standards my company strives
to achieve are adhered to.”
Mr Fayyaz Ahmed Sheikh.
Detecon Al-Saudia Senior Manager

11 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
3 Saudi Arabia Case Study www.ppc-online.com
 Case Study

Delivering Fiber to
The Queen Mary

Location: California, USA Date: Spring 2012

Reducing FTTx outside plant

install costs by 60 percent
Background OSP Installer
Dramatic reduction in total OSP FTTx install cost required
Engineer Anthony Andrews from
The installation of fiber into The Queen Mary had to be Ancom Communications, Inc
commercially viable. It needed to find an installation method and
product set that provided 50-60 percent saving verses traditional
trench, blow and splice methods. Otherwise the project was a Utility Consulting, Engineering
non-starter. & Construction Services work
were performed by John Griffin
Required an easy ‘leave behind’
Construction, Inc
The Queen Mary planned to constantly evolve and required the
ability to make on-going changes to the network. Therefore, the The Job
network solution required a ‘leave behind’ product that would not
require high maintenance or extra skills for the in-house network To install fiber from a point of presence
team to make changes or expand the number of end points. (POP) high fiber count node to The
Queen Mary birthed at Long Beach, CA,
USA and the surrounding site. Allowing
Solution: Challenge One multiple retail, events and attractions
How Ancom Communications achieved the 60 percent reduction throughout the site to be networked,
in cost of install with PPC FTTx products: using fiber.

Micro trenching & 10 mm OD TuffDuct® Ultra (microduct)

Total Length of Install
Micro trenching was believed to be the best alternative
5 mile (1.6 km)
excavation method to trenching

This install method required a non-traditional and more

capable FTTx cable and duct

The duct needed to be very slim, approximately 10 mm

OD to fit the trench

It needed to be flexible enough to be routed around

tight corners

Tough enough to withstand the high temperature of

Bitumen back fill

PPC FTTx products were specified and allowed Ancom

Communications to micro trench

12 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
1 The Queen Mary Case Study
 Case Study
Delivering Fiber to The Queen Mary
The impact of micro trenching on cost
It was quicker and easier than
standard trenching
What would normally take half a day of digging
could be achieved in 30 minutes
More speed meant less man hours
Less cost for back fill and patch up
Less disruption to the client and their customers
Less machinery was required
What attracted Ancom Communications
to PPC microduct
The slim 10 mm OD microduct fitted easily
TuffDuct® Ultra resisted the high temperatures
of Bitumen
TuffDuct® didn’t “pinch” on tight corners
Ancom Communications were able to micro trench 95
percent of the 5 mile (1.6 km) route, which kept cost
to a minimum. PPC flexible microducting allowed the
remaining 5 percent to be installed above ground,
routed up, over and around major obstacles and
existing utilities. The very small bend radius achieved
by PPC microduct, cable and couplers meant a fast
route could be found swiftly.
Patented QuikPush® cable assembly with SC connector
removes the need for specialist fiber engineers
13 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
2 The Queen Mary Case Study
Solution: Challenge Two
Prior knowledge that the final network had to be easily
“left behind” and easily maintained or extended meant
that a single product manufacturer was required that
provided an FTTx OSP solution as a complete package.
Sourcing multiple products from different manufacturers
did not appeal.
Ancom Communications set out the criteria that would
be required of the optimum product set for this project.
The criteria required:
Micro trench compatibility as
described previously
Future-proof, easy swap in and out of fiber
in the future
Pre-terminated nodes, that could be installed by
unskilled staff
Pre-terminated cable that could be pulled
through microduct without needing a blowing rig
The ability to connect and add fiber cable without
the need for splicing
Ancom Communications investigated the product
solutions that were available - only PPC appeared to
have a complete solution that ticked all the boxes.
The result was a dramatic saving in the cost, the
easy plug-and-play nature of the products meant that
the install itself was much easier and quicker than a
standard blown fiber and splice solution. It created a lot
less disruption to the client and connections happened
without delay.
The pre-terminated nodes and cable solution made the
ever changing communications requirements of The
Queen Mary future-proof and easily adaptable.
Maintenance and changes can now be done by non-
expert technicians, allowing in-house employees to
safely pull fiber out, reconnect duct, push fiber back and
make a connection without the need of a splice.
Conclusion
Micro trenching is now viable when using PPC
products. This project has proved that traditional
trench, blow and splice methods are costly, time
consuming and disruptive. Many more projects will
be able to benefit from the dramatic 60 percent
saving that engineers and installers such as Ancom
Communications Inc can now achieve.
www.ppc-online.com
 Conclusion
Across the globe, PPC’s Miniflex® fiber cable is being
deployed to connect more and more people - and this trend is
only set to continue.
As these case studies have shown, Miniflex provides an excellent solution for the last drop.
Operators planning deployments in tough natural environments no longer have to worry that
these will be rendered untenable due to long installation times and high costs.

If you would like to discuss your FTTx challenge or any of the topics in this eBook, please
contact us directly. We’d be delighted to hear from you.

14 Pushable Fiber Solutions for FTTx – Case Studies for Network Operators & Installers
 About PPC
PPC is a leading manufacturer and developer of connectivity
solutions and network optimization for cable systems, satellite
networks and wireless businesses around the world.
As the demand for broadband services increases, so does the need for high-end solutions.
We offer award-winning xTTx® solutions for coax cable, drop connectors, fiber optics,
category cable, construction hardware, ancillary products and more through technical
leadership and innovative services.

PPC’s design teams have contributed many industry firsts, including pushable fiber,
universal crimp and compression connectors, continuity connectors, integrated weather seal
connectors, and many others. While holding more patents in connector technology than
any other company worldwide, PPC continues to expand its product portfolio to mirror the
evolution of international network advancements and satisfy increasingly complex
customer demand.

Customer Service
+1 (800) 800-6652
+1 (315) 431-7200
customerservice@ppc-online.com

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