Berk-Tek Upgrades 62.5 Multimode Fiber

Berk-Tek, A Nexans Company cabling vendor <%=company%> (New Holland, PA), a subsidiary of Alcatel, has upgraded its GIGAlite multimode fiber used in its fiber-optic cables to offer users the ability to support Gigabit Ethernet installation distances up to 600 musing 62.5µ GIGAlite fiber. William Charuk, Berk-Tek's Fiber Optic Group business manager, said the "new enhanced GIGAlite fiber offers more flexibility to the user than other offerings on the market, since it will allow Gigabit Ethernet to transmit distances of at least 600 meters [and] eliminates the cost associated with purchasing a mode conditioning patchcord."

GIGAlite fiber is designed and manufactured to take advantage of VCSEL technology offering an improved index profile, which means that in the fiber glass manufacturing process, the glass imperfections were minimized. "This will be an important factor in the future because tomorrow's demanding data communications applications will use laser transmitters instead of LEDs. This will require improved index glass," Charuk said

Berk-Tek will continue to specify the Overfilled Launch (OFL) bandwidth for GIGAlite fiber at 500 MHz-km in both the 850 and 1300 nm windows. In addition, Charuk noted, Berk-Tek has also upgraded its standard fiber offering.