IEC 60794-1-1:2023

Optical fibre cables - Part 1-1: Generic specification - General

IEC 60794-1-1:2023 applies to optical fibre cables for use with communication equipment and devices employing similar techniques. Electrical properties are specified for optical ground wire (OPGW) and optical phase conductor (OPPC) cables. Hybrid communication cables are specified in the IEC 62807 series. The object of this document is to establish uniform generic requirements for the geometrical, transmission, material, mechanical, ageing (environmental exposure), climatic and electrical properties of optical fibre cables and cable elements, where appropriate. This fifth edition cancels and replaces the fourth edition published in 2015. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
a) reorganization of the document to a more logical flow making it easier for the reader:
b) expansion of the tables to include names and definitions of all documents in the IEC 60794‑x series;
c) expansion of the definitions, graphical symbols, terminology and abbreviations content, with the aim of making this document the default and reference for all others in the IEC 60794‑x series;
d) inclusion of updated, reorganized and expanded optical fibre, attenuation and bandwidth subclauses, with the aim of making this document the default and reference for all others in the IEC 60794-x series.

Câbles à fibres optiques - Partie 1-1: Spécification générique - Généralités

L'IEC 60794-1-1:2023 s’applique aux câbles à fibres optiques destinés à être utilisés avec des équipements de communication et des dispositifs utilisant des techniques similaires. Les propriétés électriques sont spécifiées pour les câbles de garde à fibres optiques (OPGW) et les câbles conducteurs de phase à fibres optiques (OPPC). Les câbles de communication hybrides sont spécifiés dans la série IEC 62807. Le présent document a pour objet d’établir des exigences génériques uniformes relatives aux caractéristiques géométriques, de transmission, de matériaux, mécaniques, de vieillissement (exposition à l’environnement), climatiques et électriques des câbles et des éléments de câbles à fibres optiques, le cas échéant. Cette édition inclut les modifications techniques majeures suivantes par rapport à l’édition précédente:
a) réorganisation du document en un flux plus logique pour faciliter la lecture;
b) extension des tableaux pour inclure les noms et définitions de tous les documents de la série IEC 60794‑x;
c) extension du contenu des définitions, des symboles graphiques, de la terminologie et des abréviations, dans le but de faire du présent document le document par défaut et la référence pour tous les autres documents de la série IEC 60794‑x;
d) ajout d’alinéas étendus, mis à jour et réorganisés sur la largeur de bande et l’affaiblissement des fibres optiques, dans le but de faire du présent document le document par défaut et la référence pour tous les autres documents de la série IEC 60794-x.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 21-May-2023
• ICS: 33.180.10 - Fibres and cables
• Technical Committee: SC 86A - Fibres and cables
• Current Stage: PPUB - Publication issued
• Start Date: 28-Apr-2023
• Completion Date: 22-May-2023

Relations

• Revises: IEC 60794-1-1:2015 - Optical fibre cables - Part 1-1: Generic specification - General
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 5.0 2023-05
COMMENTED VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Optical fibre cables –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
your local IEC member National Committee for further information.
IEC Secretariat Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé [e-mail]
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
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(IEV) online.
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If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or need
further assistance, please contact the Customer Service
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IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 5.0 2023-05
COMMENTED VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Optical fibre cables –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.180.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-7058-5
– 2 – IEC 60794-1-1:2023 CMV © IEC 2023
CONTENTS
FOREWORD .4
1 Scope .6
2 Normative references .6
3 Terms and definitions .7
4 Graphical symbols and abbreviated terms . 13
5 Optical fibre cables – IEC 60794 structure . 14
5.1 General . 14
5.2 IEC 60794-1 series . 15
5.3 IEC 60794-2 series . 15
5.4 IEC 60794-3 series . 16
5.5 IEC 60794-4 series . 16
5.6 IEC 60794-5 series . 17
5.7 IEC 60794-6 series . 17
5.8 IEC 60794-7 series . 17
6 Cable materials . 17
6.1 Indoor cable materials . 17
6.2 Outdoor cable materials . 18
6.3 Indoor/outdoor cable materials . 18
6.2 Electrical conductors .
6.3 Other materials .
6.4 Environmental requirements for cable materials . 19
7 Cable construction . 19
7.1 General . 19
7.2 Colour coding . 19
7.2.1 Overview . 19
7.2.2 Fibre colouring colour coding . 19
7.2.3 Unit colour coding. 19
7.2.4 Sheath colour coding . 20
7.3 Optical Fibre . 20
7.3.1 General . 20
7.3.2 Attenuation coefficient . 20
7.3.3 Attenuation uniformity – Attenuation discontinuities . 20
7.3.4 Cable cut-off wavelength . 20
7.3.5 Polarization mode dispersion (PMD). 20
7.4 Buffer tubes. 20
7.5 Tensile strength elements . 21
7.6 Crush protection elements . 21
7.7 Water blocking elements . 21
7.8 Sheath removal elements . 21
7.9 Cable sheath . 21
8 Measuring and test methods . 21
8.1 General . 21
8.2 Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics . 22
8.3 Measuring methods for dimensions . 22
8.4 Measuring Test methods for mechanical characteristics . 23

8.5 Measuring Test methods for environmental characteristics . 23
8.6 Measuring Test methods for cable element characterization . 23
8.7 Measuring and test methods for electrical characteristics . 23
9 Related Technical Reports .

Annex A (informative) Guidelines for specific defined applications optical fibre and cabled
fibre performance . 25
A.1 General . 25
A.2 Cabled fibre attenuation requirements . 25
A.3 Cabled fibre bandwidth requirements . 27
A.4 Type testing at 1 625 nm. 28
Annex B (informative) Guidelines for qualification sampling . 30
B.1 General . 30
B.2 Fibre selection for cable testing. 30
B.3 Pass/fail criteria . 31
Annex C (informative) Preferred temperatures. 32
Bibliography . 33
List of comments . 37

Table 1 – IEC 60794 structure . 15
Table 2 – IEC 60794-1 series . 15
Table 3 – IEC 60794-2 series . 15
Table 4 – IEC 60794-3 series . 16
Table 5 – IEC 60794-4 series . 16
Table 6 – IEC 60794-5 series . 17
Table 7 – IEC 60794-6 series . 17
Table 8 – Indoor cables materials (examples) . 18
Table 9 – Outdoor cable materials (examples) . 18
Table 10 – Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics of cabled
optical fibres . 22
Table 11 – Measuring methods for dimensions . 22
Table 12 – Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 23
Table A.1 – Maximum single-mode cabled fibre attenuation coefficient (dB/km), as given
by ITU-T . 25
Table A.2 – Category A1 multimode fibre maximum cable attenuation coefficient (dB/km) . 27
Table A.3 – Single-mode maximum cable attenuation coefficient (dB/km) . 27
Table A.4 – Category A1 multimode cabled fibre bandwidth (MHz∙km) . 28
Table A.5 – Guidance values for 1 625 nm type test acceptance criteria . 29
Table B.1 – Recommended minimum number of tested fibres in a cable. 30
Table C.1 – Preferred low and high temperature . 32

– 4 – IEC 60794-1-1:2023 CMV © IEC 2023
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
OPTICAL FIBRE CABLES –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General

FOREWORD
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4) In order to promot
...

IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 5.0 2023-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
colour
inside
Optical fibre cables –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General
Câbles à fibres optiques –
Partie 1-1: Spécification générique – Généralités
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
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About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.
About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.
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containing more than 22 300 terminological entries in English
details all new publications released. Available online and once
and French, with equivalent terms in 19 additional languages.
a month by email.
Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary
(IEV) online.
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IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 5.0 2023-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
colour
inside
Optical fibre cables –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General
Câbles à fibres optiques –
Partie 1-1: Spécification générique – Généralités
INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
INTERNATIONALE
ICS 33.180.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-6709-7
– 2 – IEC 60794-1-1:2023 © IEC 2023
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Graphical symbols and abbreviated terms . 12
5 Optical fibre cables – IEC 60794 structure . 13
5.1 General . 13
5.2 IEC 60794-1 series . 13
5.3 IEC 60794-2 series . 14
5.4 IEC 60794-3 series . 14
5.5 IEC 60794-4 series . 15
5.6 IEC 60794-5 series . 15
5.7 IEC 60794-6 series . 15
5.8 IEC 60794-7 series . 16
6 Cable materials . 16
6.1 Indoor cable materials . 16
6.2 Outdoor cable materials . 16
6.3 Indoor/outdoor cable materials . 17
6.4 Environmental requirements for cable materials . 17
7 Cable construction . 17
7.1 General . 17
7.2 Colour coding . 17
7.2.1 Overview . 17
7.2.2 Fibre colour coding . 18
7.2.3 Unit colour coding . 18
7.2.4 Sheath colour coding . 18
7.3 Fibre . 18
7.3.1 General . 18
7.3.2 Attenuation coefficient . 18
7.3.3 Attenuation uniformity – Attenuation discontinuities . 18
7.3.4 Cable cut-off wavelength . 18
7.3.5 Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) . 19
7.4 Buffer tubes . 19
7.5 Tensile strength elements . 19
7.6 Crush protection elements . 19
7.7 Water blocking elements . 19
7.8 Sheath removal elements . 19
7.9 Cable sheath . 20
8 Measuring and test methods . 20
8.1 General . 20
8.2 Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics. 20
8.3 Measuring methods for dimensions . 20
8.4 Test methods for mechanical characteristics . 21
8.5 Test methods for environmental characteristics . 21
8.6 Test methods for cable element characterization . 21
8.7 Measuring and test methods for electrical characteristics . 21

Annex A (informative) Guidelines for specific optical fibre and cabled fibre
performance . 23
A.1 General . 23
A.2 Cabled fibre attenuation requirements. 23
A.3 Cabled fibre bandwidth requirements . 24
A.4 Type testing at 1 625 nm . 25
Annex B (informative) Guidelines for qualification sampling . 26
B.1 General . 26
B.2 Fibre selection for cable testing . 26
B.3 Pass/fail criteria . 27
Annex C (informative) Preferred temperatures . 28
Bibliography . 29

Table 1 – IEC 60794 structure . 13
Table 2 – IEC 60794-1 series . 14
Table 3 – IEC 60794-2 series . 14
Table 4 – IEC 60794-3 series . 15
Table 5 – IEC 60794-4 series . 15
Table 6 – IEC 60794-5 series . 15
Table 7 – IEC 60794-6 series . 16
Table 8 – Indoor cables materials (examples) . 16
Table 9 – Outdoor cable materials (examples) . 17
Table 10 – Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics . 20
Table 11 – Measuring methods for dimensions . 21
Table 12 – Measuring methods for electrical characteristics. 22
Table A.1 – Maximum single-mode cabled fibre attenuation coefficient (dB/km), as
given by ITU-T . 23
Table A.2 – Category A1- multimode fibre maximum cable attenuation coefficient
(dB/km) . 24
Table A.3 – Single-mode maximum cable attenuation coefficient (dB/km) . 24
Table
...