MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS

ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 3 of 3

SECTION 1

1.1 INTRODUCTION

An Optical Fiber (OFC) system for the Telecommunication requirements has been most suitable
for gas pipeline project. Laying of OFC along with pipeline are present trend to economized the
project cost. The type, mode of laying are varied as per project requirement. Various options
mostly used for pipeline project are covered here. Bidder shall refer respective Scope of Work and
Schedule of Rates of project for details of suitable option, type of cable and laying process.

This specification covers the minimum requirement and guidelines for various activities to be
carried out by the contractor. As part of project, this Document / specification provides guideline
to be followed for Laying of HDPE duct, Blowing / Laying of Optical fiber cable alone or through
duct along the pipeline route. It also covers guidelines for Jointing and testing of the cable, HDPE
conduit and associated work.

Various proposed option for Scope of Work related to OFC and HDPE duct laying are defined as :

a) OFC to be laid directly burial type to meet the present telecommunication requirements. OFC shall be
laid in the same trench as that of the pipeline.

b) OFC to be laid directly burial type to meet the present telecommunication requirements and one HDPE
(PLE HDPE) telecom duct shall be laid for future requirement of telecommunication. The both the
HDPE duct and OFC shall be laid in the same trench as that of the pipeline.

c) OFC to be laid by blowing technique in permanently lubricated silicore lined HDPE (PLE HDPE)
telecom duct (Conduit) to meet the present telecommunication requirements and one HDPE (PLE
HDPE) telecom duct shall be laid for future requirement of telecommunication. The both the HDPE
duct and OFC shall be laid in the same trench as that of the pipeline.

1.2 SPECIAL INSTRUCTION TO BIDDER

1.2.1 Agency (Vendor / Contractor) that makes the bid in its name and takes the total responsibility for
the job irrespective of support from any other sub-agency.

1.2.2 Sub-agency identified by the bidder at the bid stage for execution of a predefined part of the work
and details has to be maintained in bid.

1.2.2 The Scope of supply, works, and technical requirements is expiated stated in the Bid document.
Bidder is required to study these requirements in detail and make the offer complete in all respects
leaving no scope for ambiguity.
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 4 of 4

SECTION 2

DATA TO BE FURNISHED BY THE BIDDER

(Bidder shall furnished this information at the time of their offer and it will be part of contract for
successful bidder)

Bidder shall provide below details of specific experience of the party responsible for HDPE conduit
laying, Laying / Blowing of Optical Fiber Cable through HDPE conduit, jointing of HDPE conduit,
Optical Fibre cable & testing of HDPE and Optical Fibre cable. The experience record shall be
elaborated below, enclosing the copies of the work order & completion certificates. Only those
parties shall be accepted for the works, which have proven experience as asked below. Bidder to fill
blank (marked (b)), of this form:

(The information necessarily to be submitted during the Bid submission otherwise their offer may be
rejected / disqualified for OFC work)

Sl. No. Description Specification Column to be

filled by bidder
1 Name & address of the party responsible for Laying, (b)
jointing and testing of HDPE conduit in this project.
1.1 Whether the party has done similar works of laying of > 50 km in Yes / No
HDPE conduit one stretch
1.2 Project name, description, client name, telephone & fax no. (b)
of contact person for works done in Sl. No. 1.1 above.
1.3 Date of completion of work in Sl. No. 1.1 above (b)
1.4 Length of works in Sl. No. 1.1 above In kms (b)
1.5 Supporting documents for works in Sl. No. 1.1 above (a) Enclosed Yes / No
work order (b) completion certificate
2 Name & address of the party responsible Laying of optical (b)
fiber cable for direct underground burial/Blowing
application in this project.
2.1 Whether the party has done similar works optical fiber > 50 km cable Yes / No
cable.
2.2 Project names, description, client name, and telephone & fax (b)
no. of contact person for works done in Sl. No. 1 above
2.3 Date of completion of work in Sl. No. 1.1 above (b)
2.4 Length of works in Sl. No. 2.1 above In kms (b)
2.5 Supporting documents for works in Sl. No. 2.1 above (a) Enclosed Yes / No
work order (b) completion certificate
3 Name & Address of the party responsible for jointing and (b)
testing of Optical fibre cable in this project
3.1 Whether the party has done similar works of jointing and > 50 km cable Yes / No
testing of Optical fibre cable.
3.2 Project name, description, client name, telephone & fax no. (b)
of contact person for works done in Sl. No. 3.1 above.
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 5 of 5

Sl. No. Description Specification Column to be

filled by bidder
3.3 Date of completion of work in Sl No. 3.1 above (b)
3.4 Length of works in Sl. No. 3.1 above. In kms (b)
3.5 Supporting documents for works in Sl. No. 2.1 above (a) Enclosed Yes / No
work order (b) completion certificate

Data for the supply of Accessories related to work specified in this document. Bidder to fill up blank
spaces (marked (b)), of this form. Legend: NA – Not applicable. This section is applicable for the
supply of these items, if required.

Sl. No. Description Fill column Specifications meet Bid

document (Yes / No)
1) Permanently Lubricated HDPE conduit
Name and Address of manufacturer (b) (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Name and Address of supplier in India (b)
Users certificate confirming satisfactory performance To be
for at least six months as on bid due date. enclosed

1.1 HDPE coupler

Name and Address of manufacturer (b) (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Name and Address of supplier in India (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Users certificate confirming satisfactory performance To be
for at least six months as on bid due date. enclosed
1.2 End Plugs (Before blowing of OFC)
Name and Address of manufacturer (b) (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Name and Address of supplier in India (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Users certificate confirming satisfactory performance To be
for at least six months as on bid due date. enclosed
1.3 Cable Sealing Plug
Name and Address of manufacturer (b) (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Name and Address of supplier in India (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Users certificate confirming satisfactory performance To be
for at least six months as on bid due date. enclosed
1.4 Duct sealing compound
Name and Address of manufacturer (b) (b)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Name and Address of supplier in India (b)
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 6 of 6

Sl. No. Description Fill column Specifications meet Bid

document (Yes / No)
Telephone and fax no. (b)
Users certificate confirming satisfactory performance To be
for at least six months as on bid due date. enclosed

The Bidder shall be entirely and exclusively responsible for all works under this bid document. Bidder to
fill blank spaces (marked (b)), of this form. Legend : NA – Not applicable.

Sl. Description Performed by Place of execution

No (Provide name) of the activity
1.1 Single source responsibility with Performance guarantee Bidder NA
for successful completion of scope of work for this project.
1.2 HDPE conduit laying, sealing and testing (b) Site
1.3 Optical fiber cable Laying (b) Site
1.4 Optical fiber cable jointing & testing (b) Site
1.5 Documentation Bidder NA

Bidder shall specifically indicate the deviation related to technical work if any and give proper
justification with documentary evidence for specific deviation.
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 7 of 7

SECTION 3 (General Guidelines for Bidder):

3.1 The vendor shall be completely responsible for the successful completion of the job. However, to
ensure a good quality of workmanship, and the offered system, vendor shall prepare and submit
the documents for approval by the Owner / Consultant.

3.2 Vendor shall be totally responsible for the completion of project. In the event any modifications in
the specification included in the Bid document are warranted, he shall clearly spell out all such
requirements at the time of submission of his offer a deviation list for review and approval of
owner and consultant.

Vendor may improve upon specification, in such case vendor shall list out all proposed
improvements in Deviation list form along-with his offer for review and approval of owner and
consultant.

3.3 If during the course of execution of the work, any discrepancy or inconsistency, error or omission
in any or the provisions of the contact is discovered, the same shall be referred to the Consultant
for final decision & instruction. He will direct the manner in which the work is to be carried out.
The decision of the Owner/Consultant shall be final and conclusive and the vendor shall carry out
the work in accordance therewith.

3.4 The data provided in the bid document shall be used for reference purposes for the Bidder. It shall
be the bidder’s responsibility to verify the data & satisfy him in regard to accuracy & utility of
their data.

3.5 Splicing and jointing requirements in addition to above, arising out of any negligence on behalf of
the vendor shall be the responsibility of the vendor. In such case, the vendor shall take necessary
rectification action at his on cost including necessary materials.
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 8 of 8

SECTION 4 (SUB-SYSTEM SPECIFICATIONS)

4.1 OPTICAL FIBER CABLE (for information only)

The selected vendor, before execution of the job may collect the final Optical Fiber cable
specification.

GENERAL:

Corrugated steel tape armored cable or Galvanized steel wire armored optical cable shall be
required and it has to cross various roads, railways, canals, small rivers, marshy areas etc. through
appropriate casings & directly as per site conditions.

The intent of the following specifications is to establish the minimum requirements and guidelines
for the Optical fiber cable to be used for this project. Wherever in this section “bidder to
specify/bidder to provide” is mentioned, same information can be collected after the award of the
contract.

4.1.1 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF FIBERS

4.1.1.1 General

The fiber shall fulfil latest ITU-T Recommendation G-652 & G-655 for single mode
optical fibers.

a) Total number of fibers Twelve (12) /Twenty four (24)

b) Type G.6.25 (12) / G.652 Eighteen (18),G.655 Six(6)

4.1.1.2 Geometrical, optical & physical characteristics of optical fibers

a) Mode field diameter Bidder to specify

b) Cladding diameter 125 µm + 2%
c) Mode field concentricity error Less than 1 µm
d) Cladding non-circularity Less than 2%
e) Cut-Off wavelength Bidder to specify
f) Protective materials/coatings Optical fibers shall be coated with UV cured
double Acrylic Resin. It should not have any
reaction with cladding or core material.
g) Nominal Overall thickness 250 µm

The coatings should provide max. Resistance to micro bending & abrasion and ensure mechanical
& optical strength. The coatings shall be easily stripped with mechanical tools.
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 9 of 9

Fiber Identification

The coating shall be in various colors in order to facilitate fiber identification. Fiber colors shall
correspond to IEC publications. The colors shall be durable. The colors should have colorfast
properties also in the presence of other materials during the lifetime of cable. The coating and the
color shall not react with surrounding jelly.
Each fiber and tube shall be identifiable thought the length of the cable in accordance with
following color sequence:

Tube Color of Fiber color Tube No. Color of tube Fiber color
No. tube

1 Blue Blue 7 Red Blue

Orange Orange
2 Orange Green 8 Black Green
Brown Brown
3 Green Slate 9 Yellow Slate
White White
4 Brown Red 10 Violet Red
Black Black
5 Slate Yellow 11 Pink Yellow
Violet Violet
6 White Pink 12 Aqua Pink
Aqua Aqua

4.1.1.3 Transmission characteristics of fibers

a) Attenuation The cabled fiber shall have attenuation coefficient 0.38

dB / km at 1310 mm wavelength region and 0.22, dB /
km at 1550 m wavelength region
b) Chromatic dispersion a) Less than 3.5 PS / NM. km at 1288 to 1339 NM
coefficient b) Less than 5.3 PS / nm. PS / nm. for 1271 to 1360 nm.
c) Polarization mode dispersion Less than 0.5 ps/ km ½
coefficient
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 10 of 10

4.1.2 CABLE CONSTRUCTION SPECIFICATION

4.1.2.1 General

a) Desired operating life of cable better than 35 years

b) Drum Length of CSTA, direct 2 or 4 km + 5%
underground type O.F. Cable
c)1 Cable weight in single drum Bidder to provide
(for nominal drum length)
c)2 No splicing shall be permitted on any fiber in a drum length of the cable.
d) Protection required
The cable shall be protected against damages from termite, fire, chemicals (such as oil. & natural
gas and other petroleum products), moisture and water, over the lifetime of the cable.
e) Cable identification
(i) The outer surface o the cable shall be permanently & legibly marked with color in contrast to the
outer sheath at regular intervals not exceeding one meter with name of client, name of
manufacturer, part number and ‘OPTICAL FIBER CABLE’. All the marking over OFC shall be
such that it should not be erased during field use.
(ii) The outer surface of each completed cable shall have sequentially numbered metric length markers
spaced at regular intervals of one meter.
f) Construction detail of cable
(i) Strength member:
Bidder has to specify (in case of metallic strength member, the same shall be provided
with suitable chemical coating to prevent corrosion).
(ii) Filling of Core :
The stranded tubes shall be filled with moisture resistant jelly, which should be compatible
with the coated fiber and the surroundings.
(iii) Number of fibers per tube : Two
(vi) Moisture barrier :
Polymer coated Aluminum tape placed longitudinally over the loose tubes. The tape shall
form a close fit around the cable core with a sealed overlap of 6 mm minimum.
Alternatively, water swellable tape or water swellable powder may be provided over the
tube.
(v) Inner sheath MDPE
Thickness of inner sheath 1.50 mm minimum Aluminium foil.
(vi) Armoring (Direct Underground burial type)
Corrugated steel (electrolytically chrome plated low carbon steels) tape both side coated
with ethylene acrylic copolymer applied longitudinally with minimum overlap of 6 mm
minimum.
Thickness of steel tape 0.15 mm minimum
Thickness of each polymer layer 0.04 mm minimum
(vii) Outer sheath HDPE
Thickness of outer sheath 1.50 mm minimum
(vii) Electrical continuity of the respective metallic layers shall be maintained between the
ends of the cable in each drum. The different metallic layers shall not be electrically
shorted to each other
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 11 of 11

4.1.2.2 Mechanical Characteristics of Cable

a) Temperature
Installation & operation 0° C to + 60° C
Storage 0° C to + 65° C
b) Tensile strength For CSTA cable 9.81 W Newton (W is weight of 1 km of cable in kg)
c) Cable weight in kg/km Bidder to specify
d) Minimum bending radius 20 * Cable diameter

4.1.2.3 Average splice loss 0.05 dB / Splice

4.2 JOINTING CLOSURES (for information only)

Jointing closure shall be suitable for armored and unarmored optical fiber cables of all
construction designs (slotted core, stranded tube, central tube). Jointing closures shall have 4 entry
ports to allow entry/exit of four optical fiber cables. The same shall have provision of
blocking/sealing of the ports, if not in use.

The fibers and their storage shall be managed with proper bend radius controls and protection. The
fiber organizer trays shall have provision of maximum 6 fibers per tray. The trays should be
hinged in such a manner that if moved about the hinge, the fibers Are not strained, kinked or
stressed. Also, it should be possible to work on the fibers on one tray without disturbing the fibers
o the other trays.

The jointing closure shall enable the metal parts of the cable and the internal metal parts of the
closure to be maintained at earth potential.

The sealing of the entry ports, shall provide adequate sealing and shall be capable of withstanding
an axial pull applied using 50 kg freely suspended weight of the cable, without using any
additional clamps, etc.

Jointing closures should be Dust tight (No dust ingress) and protected against immersion in water
(suitable for continuous immersion in saline water under 4-meter water-head). It should be
complete with all accessories including splice cassettes splice protection and all other accessories
including accessories for electrical continuity of metallic layer of optical fiber cable, etc along-
with instruction sheets.

The jointing closures shall be form one of the following recommended sub-vendors:
1) 3 M, 2) Raychem, 3) Siemens

The complete jointing closures including trays, joint protection sleeves etc shall be sourcing form
the above sub-vendors as a composite item.
 MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 12 of 12

4.3 SPECIFICATIOS OF PERMANTELY LUBRICATED CONDUIT:

The HDPE conduit shall be permanently lubricated with an inner layer of solid permanent
lubricant by co-extrusion method to minimize the internal coefficient of friction. The co-extruded
inner layer of above lubricant shall be continuous throughout the length of the HDPE conduit.
The HDPE conduits shall also be free of blisters. Shrink hooks, break and other defects. The
internal and external pipe surfaces shall be smooth. Pipes shall not display any stress edged
grooves or sink marks. The color of the pipes shall be orange and be uniform throughout. The
HDPE conduit shall unroll off the drums without snaking or waving having zero coil set.
Following are the mechanical and dimensional specifications of

HDPE conduit:
Pressure Rating : Min. 6 Kg/Cm2
Outer diameter : 4 0 mm.
Wall thickness : 4.0 +/- 0.3 mm
Tensile strength : 20 N/mm2 or better
Density : 940.0 – 950.0 kg/cum at 27° C
Melt Flow index : 0.4 to 0.95 gm/10 minutes at 90°
C under 5 Kg load
Intrinsic coefficient of friction : 0.06 (max) when tested with respect to Nylon
Impact strength : As per IS: 12235 (part 9), 1986
The pipes should confirm to following IS specifications:

1. IS – 7328 4. IS – 2530
2. IS – 9938 5. IS – 4984
3. ASTM D – 1693

HDPE conduit identification :

The outer surface of the HDPE conduit shall be permanently & legibly marked with color in
contrast to the outer sheath at regular intervals not exceeding one meter with name of client, name
of manufacturer and part number. All the markings over HDPE conduit shall be such that it should
not be erased during field use.
The outer surface of each completed cable shall have sequentially numbered metric length markers
spaced at regular intervals of one meter.

5.0 OPTICAL FIBER LAYING PROCEDURE

The cables shall be tested by the bidder himself in the cable drums at the designated stores at site,
before installation. The test results pasted on each drum and report to be submitted to site-in-
charge.

The vendor shall carry out all works concerning the cable laying. The cable shall be laid always on
the same side of the pipeline and any crossing of the pipeline shall be avoided. The trench
dimensions shall be so taken as to ensure proper laying of the cable including slackness. Vendor
MECON LIMITED SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE
DELHI & HDPE DUCT LAYING & ASSOCIATED WORKS
ELECT. & INST. SPECIFICATION No. : MEC / S / 05 / E5 / T / 001
SECTION Rev. 0 Page 13 of 13

shall plan the cable-laying schedule such that the complete drum-length of cable can be laid
without cutting in-between. The vendor shall prepare the cable drum schedule for this purpose.

DIRECT UNDERGROUND BURIAL:

The cable shall be laid in the pipeline trench on the right side of the pipeline in the direction of gas
flow specified by Section in charge. The cable shall be laid in the pipeline trench as shown in
Annexure Drawing.

Before laying the cable, 50 mm soft padding of sand or soft soil (riddled earth obtained by passing
through a sieve having meshes not exceeding 15 mm2, or of a natural soft ground not requiring
ridding) shall be done as shown in the drawings.

The cable laying (including excavation of trench and installation of cable) shall follow pipeline
lowering. The cable laying, testing and backfilling activities shall preferably be completed before
land restoration (e.g. bund preparation, leveling) is started by the pipeline crew.

The cable can be laid using a mobile reel system or a fixed reel system depending on the
characteristics of each section (excavation partially open, crossing etc.) The vendor shall establish
section the ways and means for the cable laying taking into account characteristics of the layout.

1) In case of a mobile reel system, the cable shall be laid directly on the prepared bed.
Only is special cases, the cable may be laid near the trench and later lowered manually.
The reel support shall be locked in position on the carrier or other means of transportation,
as to avoid any rotation on the vertical plane of the reel’s axis.

2) In case of a fixed reel system, the traction stress shall not be more than the permitted
resistance of the cable, prescribed by the cable manufacturer. The pin of the reel shall be
put on the proper track. The unwinding shall be supported by hand.

The cable shall be laid near the trench and later lowered in the bed manually, as to avoid damage
to the bed by the operators.

BLOWING / PULLING OF OPTICAL FIBER CABLE

Optical Fiber Cable will be blown into the laid HDPE conduit with the help of a compressor (with
minimum pressure of 8 bar and maximum pressure of 12 bar) with flow rate of minimum
10m3/minute) and a blowing machine. The blowing method involves feeding of Optical Fiber
Cable into the duct with the help of consistent high-pressure airflow, equally distributed along the
entire cable throughout the duct. The Contractor has to ensure the safe blowing of OFC into the
duct without any damage to the cable either internally. If at any stage of the project, any damage to
the cable due to blowing process is identified, then the Contractor will be fully responsible for that
has to ensure the rectification of the damage without any cost implications to the owner.
Optical Fiber Cable drum are available in the drum of 2/4 km nominal. There is possible that the
Contractor may not able to blow this length continuously. in this case the Contractor should follow
steps for safe blowing of OFC as the case may be: