Section 02 of 06
The Joint
Splicing, enclosures and the losses you cannot see.
4 guides in this section
Everything in The Joint
All 23 guides →
Fusing two hairs of glass
Cleave both ends square, align the cores and arc them together so light crosses without noticing. Cleave angle is what usually spoils it.
The enclosure
A joint lives underground or on a pole for decades. Sealing and strain relief matter more than the splice.
Bend radius
Fibre bent too tight leaks light and keeps working just well enough to be hard to find.
Reading a trace
A reflectometer shows you the length and the losses along it, and where the fault is.
The other five sections
Route
Trench, duct and pole — getting the cable down the street.
The Split
Passive splitting and what the architecture costs.
Beyond Fibre
Wireless, coax, copper and satellite.
The Drop
The last few metres into the building.
Indoors
Where the gigabit usually goes missing.