Technical Specification, MRTS234 Communication Cables

Better identification of cables will allow site inspectors to readily discern the nature of cable
configurations in existing installations through cable labelling.

6.5.6 Storage

The Contractor shall take all reasonable care when storing metallic communications cable, fibre optic
cable, fibre optic duct and accessories. These shall be stored in a safe, dry and secure location until
required. Fibre optic cable drums shall not be transported on their flat sides. All drums shall be
transported upright to prevent compression damage.

Cables or cable drums shall not be stored directly on the ground. Cables, fibre optic duct and
accessories shall be protected from damage and solar radiation.

6.6 Installation

6.6.1 General

Cables shall be bundled and drawn in together using cable lubricant as required. Cables shall lie loose
in the conduit and be free from residual tension, kinks or twists. Where two or more cables share a
duct, they shall be installed such that:

they are not wrapped about each other, and

any single cable can be withdrawn without disturbing the other cable(s).

Draw ropes used to draw in cables and / or fibre optic ducts shall be replaced as the cables and / or
ducts are installed.

Conduits shall not be filled beyond 60 per cent capacity.

Additional lengths of neatly coiled cable slack shall be provisioned under the following conditions:

pits adjacent to connecting equipment or joints – 10 metres

at the nearest pit to every 200 metres – 10 metres

at all pits comprising a road crossing – 20 metres

New pits shall be suitably sized to accommodate the required slack cable. Existing pit(s) that have
insufficient spare capacity to support the required cable slack lengths shall be immediately reported to
the Principal for a determination on whether a cable slack requirement can be waived at that particular
pit(s).

Sufficient cable slack provisions allow the department to future proof for the purpose of
enhancements requiring connection to previous cabling installations at the areas listed. If sufficient
cable slack is not available, complete new sections of cable are required to be drawn and this is
costly as joints will introduce losses and, as the number increases, will degrade the reliability of the
communications.

Should the installed cable bending radius prevent installation of the required slack provisions under
this clause, written approval to waive or to provide further direction from the Administrator shall be
sought as soon as the project becomes aware of the non-compliance.

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Technical Specification, MRTS234 Communication Cables

Ends of cables that are not immediately terminated shall be sealed to prevent ingress of moisture and
other foreign material. Ends of conduits and fibre optics ducts shall be sealed in accordance with
MRTS91 Conduits and Pits. The Contractor shall rectify and / or replace any seals on cables, fibre
optic ducts, and / or conduits that are disturbed or damaged, including cable that remain uninstalled on
its drum. Witness Point 5

The Contractor shall replace any damaged materials.

6.6.2 Cable joints

Cables shall be ordered in appropriate lengths to minimise the number of joints. A jointing plan shall
be prepared and presented to the Principal for approval prior to the purchase of any fibre optic cable.

All cable joints shall be enclosed in a protective housing to avoid damage and prevent the ingress of
moisture and other foreign materials. The housing shall ensure that no stress is imparted to the joint
and any exposed cable cores. The joint enclosure shall be rated to IP68.

Fibre optic joints shall be located in maintenance accessible locations. The location must have
provision for access for a service vehicle and associated parking bay, accessible 24/7 without the
requirement for traffic control.

All cable entries to the joint housing shall be sealed to prevent the ingress of moisture and other
foreign materials.

For fibre optic cable, mechanical splices shall not be used.

6.6.3 Installation procedure

The Contractor shall prepare and submit to the Principal an installation procedure for each type of
cable. The installation procedures shall be included in the Contractor's construction plan. Where new
cable is replacing older or previously installed cable, the recovery and removal of the older or
previously installed cable and associated joints will form part of the contractors work unless otherwise
specified. Witness Point 6

The installation procedures shall include but not be limited to detailing the materials and methods to
be used for:

a) fibre optic duct (where used)

b) de-watering conduits if required

c) draw rope replacement in conduits

d) storage of materials on and off site

e) cable installation

f) cable joints

g) cable terminations

h) disposal of excess materials

i) product identification and traceability

j) inspection and test plans, and

k) confirmation that the conduit is able to accommodate the cables.

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Technical Specification, MRTS234 Communication Cables

6.6.4 Conduit entries to enclosures and facilities

All telecommunications conduits entering a structure or roadside enclosure shall be sealed, conduits
containing cabling shall be effectively sealed with a multi-port sealing device (Quadplex™ Duct Plug)
or approved equal.

Spare entry points in the conduit seal shall be sealed with equivalent blanking plugs matching the
sealing device. Witness Point 7

6.6.5 Identification labelling and marking

All cables shall be tagged permanently at both ends with sufficient information to identify the cable
uniquely and describe the termination point of the opposite end of the cable in accordance with the
requirements of the detailed design drawings. Identification methods shall be in accordance with
AS 3085.1.

All installed fibre optic cables shall be labelled at each accessible location (termination enclosure / pit)
with a durable label detailing the Departmental nominated cable identifier and the source / destination
information. The label shall be the functional equivalent of a TNA Industries TNA-CM86 label
printed / embossed to order.

The information shall be permanently printed / etched onto the surface of the label. For underground
installations, a label shall be placed on the cable at each point of entry / exit. The label at these
locations shall logically indicate the source of the cable in each direction as per the detailed design
drawings.

All FOBOT and joint enclosures shall be uniquely labelled as per the departmental labelling standard
for the project. All terminated cores shall be uniquely labelled/numbered. All unterminated cores within
a tube shall be identified by tube number and core colour on the 'as built' documentation. All unused
tubes containing spare fibre cores shall be labelled with the source / destination information and
cable ID.

Transport and Main Roads reserves the right to engage an independent ICT cabling inspector to
review the entire installation of elements thereof. Witness Point 8

7 Fibre optic cable

7.1 Reliability and life cycle

The design service life of cables shall be 25 years in the installation environment.

7.2 General
In addition to the requirements stated above, the following requirements apply to fibre optic cables
unless specified in the project documentation.

Maximum optical attenuation of all fibre optic cables shall be in accordance with Section 9.5.2.1 of
AS/NZS 11801.1.

The minimum optical performance requirements for fibre optic cables are listed in Table 7.3.1(a).

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Technical Specification, MRTS234 Communication Cables

7.3 Drawn, fibre optic cables

7.3.1 General

SMOF cables shall be provided with a primary sacrificial Nylon™ jacket (blue) of 0.45 mm nominal
Wall thickness +/- 0.1 mm.

The secondary sheath shall be polyethylene 1.2 mm nominal Wall ± 0.1 mm.

The minimum physical performance requirements for fibre optic cables are listed in Table 7.3.1(a).
Hold Point 3

Table 7.3.1(a) – Minimum optical requirements

Single Mode Optical Fibre Cable (SMOF)
Parameter
1310 nm 1383 nm 1550 nm 1625 nm
Maximum
attenuation 0.35 0.35 0.21 0.24
(dB / km)
Chromatic
dispersion 3.5ps/nm/ km – 19ps/nm/ km 22ps/nm/ km
coefficient
Modal bandwidth – – – –
Mode Field
9.2 ± 0.4 microns – 10.4 ± 0.5 microns –
Diameter (MFD)

Table 7.3.1(b) – Minimum physical requirements

Parameter SMOF
Rated tensile strength 1.5 KN (minimum)
Maximum crush resistance 2.0kN / 100 mm (minimum)
Cladding non circularity 2.0%
Minimum bend radius 10 x cable diameter 20 x cable diameter
(No load)
(Full load)
Operating temperature - 10°C to +70°C
Fibre identification Colour coded
Water blocking (within tubes): Thixotropic gel
Water blocking (within cable): Dry block or thixotropic gel

7.3.2 Drawn, Single Mode Optical Fibre cable

SMOF cables shall comply with AS/NZS 11801.1 including tests defined in the relevant Annexures.

7.4 Blown fibre systems

Unless otherwise specified, blown fibre systems shall not be installed without prior written approval
from the Principal. Hold Point 4

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