Fiber Fusion Splicing

Fusion Splicing for Business Fiber

Every fiber strand has to end somewhere: in a connector on a patch panel, or joined to another strand. Fusion splicing does that job by melting two glass fibers into one continuous strand. Chain does fusion splicing for stores, restaurants, offices, warehouses, campuses and multi-site operators across the Mid-Atlantic.

We splice in-house, and we loss test every strand we splice. Splicing is usually one part of a larger fiber job; see fiber optic installation and structured cabling for the rest.

What We Splice

• Singlemode and multimode fiber, matched by type and grade from end to end
• Pigtails fused to new cable and stored in splice trays inside rack-mount or wall-mount enclosures
• Mid-span repairs where a cable was cut, crushed or pulled apart
• Break restoration on links that are down
• Building-to-building backbone terminations, including outdoor cable spliced to indoor pigtails near the building entrance
• New strands added to an existing enclosure, or a panel moved to a new location

How a Splicing Job Goes

1. Look at what's there. We check the cable type, the strand count, the enclosures at each end and the equipment the fiber has to reach.
2. Plan the ends. We settle the connector type, the enclosure size and where slack will be stored before parts are ordered.
3. Prepare and splice. Each strand is stripped, cleaned, cleaved and fused, then protected with a sleeve and laid in a splice tray. Slack is coiled without tight bends.
4. Test every strand. Each spliced strand gets a loss test before the enclosure is closed.
5. Label and hand over. Labels go on the panel, and you get the results and a strand map.

Testing and Documentation

We loss test every fiber strand we splice, using a light source and power meter at the standard wavelengths for that fiber type. Each reading is compared to a loss budget worked out from the link's length, connectors and splices. A strand that reads high gets re-spliced or re-terminated before sign-off.

At handoff you get:

• Loss results for each strand
• Enclosure and panel labels that match the results
• A map of which strand goes to which building, closet or port

Our guide to fiber optic loss testing explains how to read the results.

Fusion Splicing or Pre-Terminated Fiber?

Pre-terminated cable arrives with factory connectors on both ends. It fits new construction where lengths are known and pathways are open. Fusion splicing fits most other jobs:

• Older buildings with crowded conduit, where a connector and pulling grip won't fit
• Outdoor cable coming in from another building
• Routes that won't be settled until the ceiling is open
• Low strand counts between two closets
• Repairs, additions and moved panels

Many sites use both. We'll recommend one per run, not per project. Our fusion splicing vs pre-terminated fiber guide compares them side by side.

Where We Splice

Chain splices fiber across the Mid-Atlantic: Maryland, Virginia, Washington, DC, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. We're licensed and insured, and we handle the copper side too, with certification-tested copper cabling. See the full service area.