IEC 60794-1-1:2015

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

IEC 60794-1-1:2015 applies to optical fibre cables for use with communication equipment and devices employing similar techniques and to cables having a combination of both optical fibres and electrical conductors. The object of this standard 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 fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition, published in 2011. This edition constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- the expansion of the definitions, graphical symbols, terminology and abbreviations content, with the aim of making this standard the default and reference for all others in the IEC 60794-x series;
- the inclusion of updated and expanded optical fibre, attenuation and bandwidth sections, with the aim of making this standard the default and reference for all others in the IEC 60794-x series. Keywords: optical fibre cables, cable elements

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

IEC 60794-1-1:2015 s’applique aux câbles à fibres optiques destinés à être utilisés avec des équipements de communication et des dispositifs utilisant des techniques analogues, ainsi qu'aux câbles constitués de fibres optiques d'une part et de conducteurs électriques d'autre part. Elle 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 quatrième édition annule et remplace la troisième édition parue en 2011. Cette édition constitue une révision technique. Cette édition inclut les modifications techniques majeures suivantes par rapport à l'édition précédente:
- l'extension du contenu des définitions, des symboles graphiques, de la terminologie et des abréviations, dans le but de faire de la présente norme la norme par défaut, et la référence pour toutes les autres normes de la série IEC 60794-x;
- l'ajout de sections étendues et mises à jour sur la largeur de bande et l'affaiblissement des fibres optiques, dans le but de faire de la présente norme la norme par défaut, et la référence pour toutes les autres normes de la série IEC 60794-x.
Mots clés: câbles à fibres optiques, éléments de câbles

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 12-Nov-2015
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 33.180.10 - Fibres and cables
• Technical Committee: SC 86A - Fibres and cables
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Start Date: 19-Nov-2021
• Completion Date: 22-May-2023

Relations

• Revises: IEC 60794-1-1:2011 - Optical fibre cables - Part 1-1: Generic specification - General
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revised: IEC 60794-1-1:2023 - Optical fibre cables - Part 1-1: Generic specification - General
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revises: IEC 60794-1-1:2011/COR1:2012 - Corrigendum 1 - Optical fibre cables - Part 1-1: Generic specification - General
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 4.0 2015-11
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

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About the IEC
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International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

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and withdrawn publications. have been collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37,

77, 86 and CISPR.
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IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 4.0 2015-11
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Optical fibre cables –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.180.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-3002-2

– 2 – IEC 60794-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015

CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4

1 Scope . 6

2 Normative references . 6

3 Terms and definitions . 7

4 Graphical symbols and abbreviations. 12

5 Optical fibre cables . 13

6 Materials . 13
6.1 Optical fibre . 13
6.1.1 General . 13
6.1.2 Attenuation coefficient . 13
6.1.3 Attenuation uniformity – Attenuation discontinuities . 13
6.1.4 Cable cut-off wavelength . 14
6.1.5 Fibre colouring. 14
6.1.6 Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) . 14
6.2 Electrical conductors . 14
6.3 Other materials . 14
6.4 Environmental requirements . 14
7 Cable construction . 14
7.1 General . 14
7.2 Colour coding . 15
7.2.1 Overview . 15
7.2.2 Unit colour coding . 15
7.2.3 Sheath colour coding . 15
8 Measuring methods . 15
8.1 General . 15
8.2 Measuring methods for dimensions . 15
8.3 Measuring methods for mechanical characteristics . 16
8.4 Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 16
8.5 Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics. 16
8.6 Measuring methods for environmental characteristics . 17
8.7 Measuring methods for cable element characterisation . 17
9 Related Technical Reports . 17
Annex A (informative) Guidelines for specific defined applications and cabled fibre
performance . 18
A.1 General . 18
A.2 Cabled fibre attenuation requirements. 18
A.3 Cabled fibre bandwidth requirements . 19
A.4 Type testing at 1 625 nm . 20
Annex B (informative) Guidelines for qualification sampling . 21
B.1 General . 21
B.2 Fibre selection for cable testing . 21
B.3 Pass/fail criteria . 21
Bibliography . 23

Table 1 – Measuring methods for dimensions . 16

Table 2 – Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 16

Table 3 – Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics of cabled

optical fibres . 17

Table A.1 – Maximum cabled fibre attenuation coefficient (dB/km), as given by ITU-T . 18

Table A.2 – Category A1 multimode fibre maximum cable attenuation coefficient

(dB/km) . 19

Table A.3 – Single-mode maximum cable attenuation coefficient (dB/km) . 19

Table A.4 – Category A1 multimode cabled fibre bandwidth (MHz∙km) . 20

Table A.5 – Guidance values for 1 625 nm type test acceptance criteria . 20

– 4 – IEC 60794-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

______________
OPTICAL FIBRE CABLES –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

International Standard IEC 60794-1-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 86A: Fibres and
cables, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.
This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition, published in 2011. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) the expansion of the definitions, graphical symbols, terminology and abbreviations
content, with the aim of making this standard the default and reference for all others in the
IEC 60794-x series;
b) the inclusion of updated and expanded optical fibre, attenuation and bandwidth sections,
with the aim of making this standard the default and reference for all others in the
IEC 60794-x series.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:

CDV Report on voting
86A/1651/CDV 86A/1667/RVC
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on

voting indicated in the above table.

A list of all parts in the IEC 60794 series, published under the general title Optical fibre

cables, can be found on the IEC website.

This publication has been drafted in accordance with the IS
...

IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 4.0 2015-11
REDLINE 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 Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé Fax: [phone]

CH-1211 Geneva 20 [e-mail]
Switzerland www.iec.ch
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 corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

IEC Catalogue - webstore.iec.ch/catalogue Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
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bibliographical information on IEC International Standards, electrical terms containing more than 30 000 terms and
Technical Specifications, Technical Reports and other definitions in English and French, with equivalent terms in 15
documents. Available for PC, Mac OS, Android Tablets and additional languages. Also known as the International
iPad. Electrotechnical Vocabulary (IEV) online.

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variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical English and French extracted from the Terms and Definitions
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced clause of IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries
and withdrawn publications. have been collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37,

77, 86 and CISPR.
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IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 4.0 2015-11
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Optical fibre cables –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.180.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-3018-3

– 2 – IEC 60794-1-1:2015 RLV © IEC 2015

CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 4

1 Scope . 6

2 Normative references . 6

3 Terms and definitions . 7

4 Graphical symbols and abbreviations. 12

5 Optical fibre cables . 13

6 Materials . 13
6.1 Optical fibre . 13
6.1.1 General . 13
6.1.2 Attenuation coefficient . 13
6.1.3 Attenuation uniformity – Attenuation discontinuities . 14
6.1.4 Cable cut-off wavelength . 14
6.1.5 Fibre colouring. 14
6.1.6 Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) . 14
6.2 Electrical conductors . 14
6.3 Other materials . 14
6.4 Environmental requirements . 14
7 Cable construction . 15
7.1 General . 15
7.2 Colour coding . 15
7.2.1 Overview . 15
7.2.2 Unit colour coding . 15
7.2.3 Sheath colour coding . 15
8 Measuring methods . 15
8.1 General . 15
8.2 Measuring methods for dimensions . 16
8.3 Measuring methods for mechanical characteristics . 16
8.4 Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 16
8.5 Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics. 17
8.6 Measuring methods for environmental characteristics . 17
8.7 Measuring methods for cable element characterisation . 17
9 Related Technical Reports . 17
Annex A (informative)  Guide to Guidelines for specific defined applications and
cabled fibre performance . 19
A.1 General . 19
A.2 Cabled fibre attenuation requirements. 19
A.3 Cabled fibre bandwidth requirements . 20
A.4 Type testing at 1 625 nm . 21
Annex B (informative)  Guide to Guidelines for qualification sampling . 22
B.1 Introduction General . 22
B.2 Fibre selection for cable testing . 22
B.3 Pass/fail criteria . 23
Bibliography . 24

Table 1 – Measuring methods for dimensions . 16

Table 2 – Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 16

Table 3 – Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics of cabled

optical fibres . 17

Table A.1 – Maximum cabled fibre attenuation coefficient (dB/km), as given by ITU-T . 19

Table A.2 – Category A1 multimode fibre maximum cable attenuation coefficient

(dB/km) . 20

Table A.3 – Single-mode maximum cable attenuation coefficient (dB/km) . 20

Table A.4 – Category A1 multimode cabled fibre bandwidth (MHz∙km) . 21

Table A.5 – Guidance values for 1 625 nm type test acceptance criteria . 21

– 4 – IEC 60794-1-1:2015 RLV © IEC 2015

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

______________
OPTICAL FIBRE CABLES –
Part 1-1: Generic specification – General

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This redline version of the official IEC Standard allows the user to identify the changes
made to the previous edition. A vertical bar appears in the margin wherever a change
has been made. Additions are in green text, deletions are in strikethrough red text.

International Standard IEC 60794-1-1 has been prepared by subcommittee 86A: Fibres and

cables, of IEC technical committee 86: Fibre optics.

This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition, published in 2011. This edition

constitutes a technical revision.

This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous

edition:
a) the expansion of the definitions, graphical symbols, terminology and abbreviations

content, with the aim of making this standard the default and reference for all others in the

IEC 60794-x series;
b) the inclusion of updated and expanded optical fibre, attenuation and bandwidth sections,
with the aim of making this standard the default and reference for all others in the
IEC 60794-x series.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
CDV Report on voting
86A/1651/CDV 86A/1667/RVC
Full informa
...

IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 4.0 2015-11
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
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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 corrigenda or an amendment might have been published.

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documents. Available for PC, Mac OS, Android Tablets and languages. Also known as the International Electrotechnical
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The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a 67 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in English and
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committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries have been
and withdrawn publications. collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37, 77, 86 and

CISPR.
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IEC 60794-1-1 ®
Edition 4.0 2015-11
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 978-2-8322-5280-2

– 2 – IEC 60794-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015
CONTENTS
CONTENTS . 2
FOREWORD . 4
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Graphical symbols and abbreviations. 12
5 Optical fibre cables . 13
6 Materials . 13
6.1 Optical fibre . 13
6.1.1 General . 13
6.1.2 Attenuation coefficient . 13
6.1.3 Attenuation uniformity – Attenuation discontinuities . 13
6.1.4 Cable cut-off wavelength . 14
6.1.5 Fibre colouring. 14
6.1.6 Polarization mode dispersion (PMD) . 14
6.2 Electrical conductors . 14
6.3 Other materials . 14
6.4 Environmental requirements . 14
7 Cable construction . 14
7.1 General . 14
7.2 Colour coding . 15
7.2.1 Overview . 15
7.2.2 Unit colour coding . 15
7.2.3 Sheath colour coding . 15
8 Measuring methods . 15
8.1 General . 15
8.2 Measuring methods for dimensions . 15
8.3 Measuring methods for mechanical characteristics . 16
8.4 Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 16
8.5 Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics. 16
8.6 Measuring methods for environmental characteristics . 17
8.7 Measuring methods for cable element characterisation . 17
9 Related Technical Reports . 17
Annex A (informative) Guidelines for specific defined applications and cabled fibre
performance . 18
A.1 General . 18
A.2 Cabled fibre attenuation requirements. 18
A.3 Cabled fibre bandwidth requirements . 19
A.4 Type testing at 1 625 nm . 20
Annex B (informative) Guidelines for qualification sampling . 21
B.1 General . 21
B.2 Fibre selection for cable testing . 21
B.3 Pass/fail criteria . 22
Bibliography . 23

Table 1 – Measuring methods for dimensions . 16
Table 2 – Measuring methods for electrical characteristics . 16
Table 3 – Measuring methods for transmission and optical characteristics of cabled
optical fibres . 17
Table A.1 – Maximum cabled fibre attenuation coefficient (dB/km), as given by ITU-T . 18
Table A.2 –Category A1 multimode fibre maximum cable attenuation coefficient
(dB/km) . 19
Table A.3 – Single-mode maximum cable attenuation coefficient (dB/km) . 19
Table A.4 – Category A1 multimode cabled fibre bandwidth (MHz∙km) . 20
Table A.5 – Guidance values for 1 625 nm type test acceptance criteria . 20

– 4 – IEC 60794-1-1:2015 © IEC 2015
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