TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF

SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE FOR AERIAL PLACEMENT (OPTIONAL)

1. GENERAL

This section details the requirements for 8 to 24 fibre aerial cables for use on Trunk and Junction routes. The cables shall comply with the requirements as indicated in the ETS for single mode optical fibre cables to be used in aerial applications as in accordance with the existing I-ETS 300 229 recommendations. All the fibres offered for all cable applications shall be of the same type and origin. Additionally there shall be no fibre splice in a delivery length.

Additionally the characteristics of the Optic Fibre cables shall be in accordance with ITU-G Rec. G.652D (Low Water Peak Fibre)., IEC 793 and IEC 794.

The following additional requirements shall also apply. 2. CABLE CONSTRUCTION 2.1. Strength Member

The aerial placement cables shall be figure of 8 type in cross section, having an integrated steel messenger wire. The cable shall be designed with sufficient strength members to meet installation and service conditions so that the fibres are not subject to excessive strain. The cable shall be designed for span lengths of up to 70m.

2.2. Colour Coding

Loose tubes shall be individually coloured for ease of identification. Individual fibres shall also be colour coded. The method used for colouring and tubing fibres shall be fully described

2.3. Cable Sheath Layers

The cable core shall be covered with a seamless black sheath mask of U.V. stabilised weather resistant polyethylene. The outer sheath shall have a minimum thickness of 1mm. The cable sheath shall be printed in yellow with a suitable legend to be agreed between the Contractor and the SALCAB Project Manager. The sheathing method including control measurements shall be fully described. In particular the cable diameter measurement, high voltage testing, printing and take-up on drum shall be described.

2.4. Loose Tube Protection (a) The cables shall be of the loose tube, slotted core or Ribbon type of construction. The material used e.g. PBT and the tubing process shall be fully described. (b) Loose tube type cables shall have 2, 4, 8 or 12 fibres per tube. (c) For slotted core type cables, Tenderers shall state the number of fibres per slot. (d) The interstices of the cable core shall be filled with a water repellent compound and the core covered

with a plastic wrap. (e) Slotted core cables shall have the slots filled with a thixotropic jelly. 2.5. Stranding

The tubes shall be wrapped around a non-metallic central strength member. The stranding method shall be fully described. Either helical or SZ stranding may be offered.

2.6. Target Diagram

Tenderers shall submit a target diagram for each type and size of cable offered. The target diagram shall contain the coding information used to identify the individual cable elements.

3. CABLE MECHANICAL /ENVIRONMENTAL PROPERTIES

The mechanical characteristics of the cable shall comply with IEC 794-1-El, IEC 794-I-E3, IEC 794-l-E4,IEC 794-I-E7 and IEC 794-1-F5 or equivalents.

3.1 Temperature Characteristics

Operational -40 oC to +70 oC Storage -40 oC to +70 oC Installation -20 oC to +60 oC

3.2 Mechanical Characteristics

Fibre count 24 96 144 Fibre count in tube 2 12 12 Min. bending radius during installation (mm) installed (mm) Tensile load Short term(N) Long term(N) Crush load(N/10cm) Applicable temperature range Operation Installation

200 100

1500 600

1000

-40~+70 -20~+60

240 120

1500 600 1000

-40~+70 -20~+60

280 140

1500 600 1000

-40~+70 -20~+60

3.3 OPTICAL FIBRE

Tenderers shall state the manufacturing method for the fibre (Outside Vapour Deposition method, etc.).

It shall be noted that the main fibre type used by SALCAB to date is Corning TM SMF 28e type or equivalent. Therefore any alternative offered shall be capable of being easily spliced to that type of fibre with an equivalent performance as specified in the sections on splice loss.

3.4 SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBRE CHARACTERISTICS

Parameter Value (i) Mode Field Diameter - range 9 9.2 +/- 0.4 um - deviation +/- 10% (ii) Attenuation 1285-1330nm < / = 0.36 dB/km 1550nm < /=0.22dB/km (iii) Attenuation Uniformity Point or Step Defect < 0.1dB Extended variations < 0.1dB (iv) Temperature variation of attenuation from -40 to +85 oC

1) 1300nm < 0.05dB/km 2) 1550nm < 0.05dB/km (v) Dispersion 1285-1330 nm < 3.5 ps/nm.km 1270-1340 nm < 6.0 ps/nm.km 1550 nm < 18 ps/nm.km (vi) Mode cut off wavelength (of a primary coated fibre as Rec. G.652D) < /=1260 nm GEOMETRICAL PROPERTIES (vii) Reference surface diameter 125 +/- 0.7um (viii) Core / Cladding concentricity < 0.6 um (ix) Class non circularity (%) Core < 6 Reference surface < 2 (x) Coating diameter 242 +/- 5um MECHANICAL PROPERTIES (xi) Proof test (%) > 1.0 (xii) Macro bend test (dB) 60mm diameter mandrel, 100 turns, loss increase at 1550nm < 0.2

3.5 DRUM LENGTHS

The majority of cable required will be to engineered lengths. Standard lengths (km) 2 & 4 Engineered lengths (km) 3 average, 4 max.

3.6 CABLE DRUMS/DELIVERY

The cable shall be delivered on suitable /wooden cable drums sealed with wooden laths. The cable drum shall be transported, stored and delivered in and upright position. On delivery the drum will be visually inspected for any damage. If any damage has occurred to the drum the cable shall be OTDR tested at the Contractors expense prior to installation. Otherwise the laths shall only be removed immediately before installation.

Each cable drum shall have a data sheet attached with the following information: - Manufacturers name - Cable Drum number - Cable type and fibre count - Length of cable in metres - Route name and survey designation - Engineering order number - Mass of cable on drum in kg - Date of manufacture

Additionally the direction of turning and a warning arc describing minimum bend radius shall be indicated on the cable drum.

3.7 SPLICE LOSS

The maximum acceptable splice loss is 0.15dB at 1500nm. The average splice loss taken in one direction on each route shall not exceed 0.1 dB at 1500nm.

This criteria shall apply for all splices between all optic fibre cables offered by the Tenderer. e.g. Aerial type, Station cable type and Duct/ sub duct type.

Additionally it is a requirement that all optic fibre cable offered can be spliced to Corning TM SMF -28e type fibre in accordance with the above splice loss requirements.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF

SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE FOR DUCT APPLICATIONS 4. GENERAL

This section details the requirements for 4 to 144 fibre cables for use on routes in Sierra Leone. The cables shall comply with the requirements as indicated in the ETSI for single mode optical fibre cables to be used in ducts and sub ducts and for direct buried applications as in accordance with the I- DI/TM-01004 formerly ETS 300 226 Transmission and Multiplexing (TM); Single-mode optical fibre cables to be used in ducts and for directly buried application recommendations.

All the fibres offered for all cable applications shall be of the same type and origin. Additionally there shall be no fibre splice in a delivery length.

Additionally the characteristics of the Optic Fibre cables shall be in accordance with ITU-G Rec. G.652D., IEC 793 and IEC 794 and any more recent revisions

The following additional requirements shall also apply. 5. CABLE CONSTRUCTION 6. STRENGTH MEMBER

The duct placement cables shall have a non-metallic central strength member covered by a suitable coating. The cable shall be designed with sufficient strength members to meet installation and service conditions so that the fibres are not subject to excessive strain.

3.1 Colour Coding

Loose tubes shall be individually coloured for ease of identification. Individual fibres shall also be colour coded. Fibre colours shall be as follows- Blue, orange, green, brown, grey, white, red, black, yellow, violet, pink, turquoise. The method used for colouring and tubing fibres shall be fully described. The tube colouring shall follow the same colour code. Fillers shall be of natural colour to fill up the cable core

3.2 Cable Sheath Layers

The cable core shall be covered with a seamless black sheath mask of U.V. stabilised weather resistant polyethylene incorporating a moisture barrier (swellable components). The outer sheath excluding moisture barrier shall have a minimum thickness of 0.5 mm. The cable sheath shall be printed in yellow with a suitable legend to be agreed between the Contractor and the SALCAB Project Manager. The sheathing method including control measurements shall be fully described. In particular the cable diameter measurement, high voltage testing, printing and take-up on drum shall be described.

3.3 Loose Tube Protection (a) The cables shall be of the loose tube type construction. The material used e.g. PBT and the tubing process shall be fully described. (b) Loose tube type cables shall have 2, 4, 8 (for up to 24F) or 12 fibres per tube (96 and 144). (c) The interstices of the cable core shall be filled with a water swellable compound and the core covered with a plastic wrap. (d) The loose tubes shall be filled with a thixotropic jelly. (e) Any material coating on the fibres which required to be removed for splicing purposes shall be readily removable without hazard to either the fibre or personnel

3.4 Stranding The stranding method shall be fully described. Either helical or preferably SZ stranding may be offered.

3.5 Target Diagram Tenderers shall submit a target diagram for each type and size of cable offered.

The target diagram shall contain the coding information used to identify the individual cable elements.

7. CABLE MECHANICAL /ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS 2.1. TEMPERATURE CHARACTERISTICS

Operational -40 oC to +70 oC Storage -40 oC to +70 oC Installation -20 oC to +60 oC

2.2. Mechanical Characteristics

Fibre count 24 96 144 Fibre count in tube 2 12 12 Min. bending radius during installation (mm) installed (mm) Tensile load Short term(N) Long term(N) Crush load(N/10cm)

200 100

1500 600

1000

240 120

1500 600 1000

280 140

1500 600 1000

Applicable temperature range Operation Installation

-40~+70 -20~+60

-40~+70 -20~+60

-40~+70 -20~+60

8. OPTICAL FIBRE

Tenderers shall state the manufacturing method for the fibre (Outside Vapour Deposition method, etc.). All of the fibre used on the cable routes shall come from the same source and shall have the same specification, a typical optical fibre specification which would be suitable for this project would be that of Corning TM SMF 28 type or equivalent. Any optical fibre offered shall be capable of being easily spliced to that type of fibre with an equivalent performance as specified in the sections on splice loss.

9. SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBRE CHARACTERISTICS Parameter Value (i) Mode Field Diameter - range 9 to 10 um - deviation +/- 10% (ii) Attenuation 1285-1330nm < / = 0.4 dB/km 1550nm < /=0.25dB/km (iii) Attenuation Uniformity Point or Step Defect < 0.1dB Extended variations < 0.1dB (iv) Temperature variation of attenuation from -40 to +85 oC 1300nm< 0.05dB/km 1550nm < 0.05dB/km (v) Dispersion 1285-1330 nm < 3.5 ps/nm.km 1270-1340 nm < 6.0 ps/nm.km 1550 nm < 18 ps/nm.km (vi) Mode cut off wavelength (of a primary coated fibre as Rec. G.652) 1100-1280 nm GEOMETRICAL PROPERTIES (vii) Reference surface diameter 125 +/- 2um (viii) Core / Cladding concentricity < 0.8 um (ix) Class non circularity (%) Core < 6 Reference surface < 2 (x) Coating diameter 250 +/- 15um MECHANICAL PROPERTIES (xi) Proof test (%) > 1.0 (xii) Macro bend test (dB) 60mm diameter mandrel, 100 turns, loss increase at 1550nm < 0.2

10. DRUM LENGTHS The majority of cable required will be to engineered lengths. Standard lengths (km) 1 & 2 & 4 Engineered lengths (km) 2 average, 4 max. 11. CABLE DRUMS/DELIVERY

The cable shall be delivered on suitable wooden cable drums sealed with wooden laths. The cable drum shall be transported, stored and delivered in and upright position. On delivery, the drum will be visually inspected for any damage. If any damage has occurred to the drum the cable shall be OTDR tested at the Contractors expense prior to installation. Otherwise the laths shall only be removed immediately before installation.

Each cable drum shall have a data sheet attached with the following information: - Manufacturers name - Cable Drum number - Cable type and fibre count - Length of cable in metres - Route name and survey designation - Engineering order number - Mass of cable on drum in kg - Date of manufacture

Additionally the direction of turning and a warning arc describing minimum bend radius shall be indicated on the cable drum.

12. SPLICE LOSS The maximum acceptable splice loss is 0.15dB at 1500nm. The average splice loss taken in one direction on each route shall not exceed 0.1 dB at 1500nm.

These criteria shall apply for all splices between all optic fibre cables offered by the Tenderer. e.g. Aerial type, Station cable type and Duct type.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

OF SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBRE CABLE FOR INDOOR APPLICATIONS

13. GENERAL

This section details the requirements for fibre cables for use on indoor applications. The cables shall comply with the requirements as indicated in the ETSI for single mode optical fibre cables to be used indoors in accordance with 1-ETS 300 644 or equivalent.

All the fibres offered for all cable applications shall be of the same type and origin. Additionally there shall be no fibre splice in a delivery length.

Additionally, the characteristics of the Optic Fibre cables shall be in accordance with ITU-G Rec. G.652D., IEC 793 and IEC 794.

The following additional requirements shall also apply. 14. CABLE CONSTRUCTION 2.1. Strength Member

The indoor placement cables shall have a non-metallic central strength member covered by a suitable coating. The cable shall be designed with sufficient strength members to meet installation and service conditions so that the fibres are not subject to excessive strain. Typical installation will be 20 - 500 metres along cable trays.

2.2. Colour Coding

The secondary coated fibres shall be individually coloured for ease of identification. Colour coding shall be the same as for outdoor cables.

2.3. Cable Sheath Layers

The indoor cable shall consist of a secondary coated fibres and shall have a strength member located in the cable core or under the sheath. The cable core shall be covered with a seamless low-smoke, zero Halogen, flame retardant sheath. The outer sheath shall be yellow in colour and shall have a minimum thickness of 1 mm. The cable sheath shall be printed in black with a suitable legend to be agreed between the Contractor and the SALCAB Project Manager.

2.4. Secondary Protection

(a) The cables shall be of the tight or semi-tight construction.

(b) Cables for indoor use shall be unfilled.

(c) The method of removal of the secondary protection shall be clearly described including the specific tools required.

15. CABLE MECHANICAL/ENVIRONMENTAL CHARACTERISTICS The mechanical characteristics of the cable shall comply with IEC 332-1, IEC 1034-1 2.1. Temperature Characteristics Operational 0 oC to +70 oC Storage -40 oC to +70 oC Installation 0 oC to +50 oC 2.2. Optical Fibre Tenderers shall state the manufacturing method for the fibre (Outside Vapour Deposition method, etc.).

Tenderers shall state the manufacturing method for the fibre (Outside Vapour Deposition method, etc.). All of the fibre used on the cable routes shall come from the same source and shall have the same specification, A typical optical fibre specification which would be suitable for this project would be that of Corning TM SMF 28 type or equivalent. Any optical fibre offered shall be capable of being easily spliced to that type of fibre with an equivalent performance as specified in the sections on splice loss.

2.3. SINGLE MODE OPTICAL FIBRE CHARACTERISTICS Parameter Value (i) Mode Field Diameter range 9 9.2 +/- 0.4um - deviation +/- 10% (ii) Attenuation 1285-1330nm < / = 0.36 dB/km 1550nm < /=0.22dB/km (iii) Attenuation Uniformity Point or Step Defect < 0.1dB Extended variations < 0.1dB (iv) Temperature variation of attenuation from -40 to +85 oC

1) 1300nm < 0.05dB/km 2) 1550nm < 0.05dB/km

(v) Dispersion 1285-1330 nm < 3.5 ps/nm.km 1270-1340 nm < 6.0 ps/nm.km 1550 nm < 18 ps/nm.km (vi) Mode cut off wavelength (of a primary coated fibre as Rec. G.652D) < /=1260 nm GEOMETRICAL PROPERTIES (vii) Reference surface diameter 125 +/- 0.7um (viii) Core / Cladding concentricity < 0.6 um (ix) Class non circularity (%) Core < 6 Reference surface < 2 (x) Coating diameter 242 +/- 5um MECHANICAL PROPERTIES (xi) Proof test (%) > 1.0 (xii) Macro bend test (dB) 60mm diameter mandrel, 100 turns, loss increase at 1550nm < 0.2 2.4. DRUM LENGTHS The majority of indoor cable required will be to standard engineered lengths of 1km. 2.5. CABLE DRUMS/DELIVERY

The cable shall be delivered on suitable wooden cable drums sealed with wooden laths. The cable drum shall be transported, stored and delivered in and upright position. On delivery the drum will be visually inspected for any damage. If any damage has occurred to the drum the cable shall be OTDR tested at the Contractors expense prior to installation. Otherwise the laths shall only be removed immediately before installation.

Each cable drum shall have a data sheet attached with the following information: - Manufacturers name - Cable Drum number - Cable type and fibre count - Length of cable in metres - Route name and survey designation - Engineering order number - Mass of cable on drum in kg - Date of manufacture

Additionally the direction of turning and a warning arc describing minimum bend radius shall be indicated on the cable drum.

2.6. SPLICE LOSS

The maximum acceptable splice loss is 0.15dB at 1500nm. The average splice loss taken in one direction on each route shall not exceed 0.1 dB at 1500nm.

This criteria shall apply for all splices between all optic fibre cables offered by the Tenderer. e.g. Aerial type, Station cable type and Duct and sub duct type.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF SUB DUCT

1 Sub duct Material

The sub duct shall be extruded from pipe grade, virgin high density polyethylene (HDPE) compound in accordance with BS 3412: 1992 Class N or approved equal standard.

The derived density of the base polymer shall be not less than 0.943 g/ml when determined in accordance with Appendix B of BS 3412 Method B5 or approved equal standard.

The melt flow rate of the polyethylene compound shall be less than 0.4g/(600s) when measured in accordance with BS 2782 Method 720A Test condition 4 or approved equal standard.

The polyethylene compound shall be adequately resistant against ultraviolet light degradation in accordance with BS 2782: Method 550A or approved equal standard.

2 Low Friction Lining

The sub ducts shall have an approved low friction lining, which may be either a smooth or ribbed design. The sub duct manufacturer shall guarantee that the low friction lining is such as to make the sub ducts suitable for blown fibre cable installation where the fibre cable is designed for the blown cable installation method with a maximum blowing pressure of 15BarG and a minimum distance of 2km between underground chambers.

3 Dimensions and Dimensional Tolerances

The sub duct shall be circular cross-section with a uniform wall thickness. The following dimensions and dimensional tolerances shall apply.

Dimension Nominal Value Allowed Value Range Outside Diameter 40mm 39.5 to 40.5 mm Internal Bore Diameter 33mm 32.5 to 33.5mm Wall Thickness 3.5mm 3.25 to 3.75mm Ovality delivered to site - Not to exceed 2mm on ID

Table 1 Sub duct dimensions

4 Strength Performance

The longitudinal strength shall be measured by an axial tensile load applied to the finished sub duct without causing permanent dimensional change when the load is removed, i.e. remaining within the elastic limits of the product. The elongation of the sub duct shall not exceed 5% when a force of 7.0 kN is applied to a test length of 500 mm, at a grip separation rate of 100 mm/min.

The sub duct shall be able to withstand pressures up to 16 BarG for at least 1 hour. The sub duct stiffness shall be at least 2,400 kPa @ 15% deflection when tested in accordance to ASTM 2412 or approved equal standard.

5 Leakage Performance

A static air pressure test of 16BarG applied to a typical section up to 2 km long shall not fall by more than 1 BarG over 10 minutes. It may be necessary to allow the air temperature within the sub duct to equalize with surroundings after applying the pressure and before starting the timed test.

6 Colour

The polythene shall be of uniform colour and free from foreign matter. Minor variations in colour shade between batches are acceptable.

The colour shall be selected to be high visibility and high contrast with typical soil colours. GREEN and WHITE are preferred. A pre-approved manufacturers standard colour is acceptable. Black or dark brown are not acceptable.

7 Markings

Sub ducts shall be marked with a legend at one meter intervals using a contrasting print on the outside of the sub duct. Lettering shall be at least 5mm high. The content shall include:

SALCAB - CAUTION FIBRE OPTIC CABLE xx.x meters Manufacturers Name Batch Number Date of Manufacture Sub duct Number ( see below )

Each individual sub duct laid in the trench shall be uniquely marked with a sub duct number or colour or, preferably, stripes to individually identify which is first, second, third and fourth. Stripes shall be a minimum 15mm width and separated by a minimum of 20mm. These markings shall be located on at least two sides of the sub duct, equally spaced around the sub duct circumference. Alternatively colour coding of the entire sub duct or colour coded stripes may be used to identify the three individual sub- ducts in a trench e.g. green, orange, white.

8 Couplings and Closures

Sub ducts shall be jointed using a proprietary coupler supplied by the duct manufacturer. Other manufacturers products must be approved in advance.

Couplings shall not reduce the internal bore of the duct. The ends of the sub duct shall be neatly cut square and closely butted to the centre stop of the coupler so that the maximum gap between the two sections of sub duct shall not exceed 0.7mm.

Sub duct ends at underground chambers shall be terminated using a coupler and blanking stopper. This is to facilitate connection to the blowing and receiving equipment.

9 Quality Control

The sub duct manufacturer shall provide material and test certificates for each batch of sub duct supplied to include as a minimum:

Identification of the batch with details of the quantities of materials included in the batch - for example giving:-

The number of coils and the coil lengths

The date and time of manufacture Certification of the raw materials used to manufacture the batch Copy of in-process test results for the batch or a final batch record Leak test report for each coil Pressure test report for each coil

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF CLOSURES

The closures offered shall be capable of splicing 4 - 144 single mode fibres. The closures shall be suitable for multiple re-entry and shall have up to 8 entry ports. The closures shall be suitable for line splicing, loop through and drop and insert. The Tenderer shall provide in detail the performance tests which the closures have passed in particular ; Air Pressure Tests, Tension Tests, Flexure Tests, Static Load Tests And Re-Entry Tests.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION OF OPTICAL DISTRIBUTION FRAME (ODF) The Optical Distribution Frame (ODF) cable stub will normally comprise a 96 or 144 fibre tight jacketed station cable in sub units of 12 fibres each