Our Services

We are experienced specialists in fibre optic installation, fibre optic repair and fitting and maintaining fibre optics for a range of businesses and clients.

We offer our clients complete fibre solutions from design, installation, completion testing and certification, to fibre maintenance.

We offer an emergency callout service for those occasions where a rapid response and reconnection is required.

For more information on fibre optic solutions or anything mentioned below, please do not hesitate to contact us for more details.

Fibre Optic Installation

Gelan offer the design, installation and maintenance of external and internal fibre optic networks and external cross site / campus cabling systems.
Fibre Optic cables provide more bandwidth and can transmit more data than copper data cabling. Fibre backbones are installed between communication rooms in the same or separate buildings and carry the data traffic between these locations. Fibre optic cable can also be used for cable lengths that exceed the Cat5e and Cat 6 limit of 100m. Multimode OM3 cable can provide 10 gigbit speeds ideal for high data transfer applications such as AV. Single mode fibre optic cable can provide a solution when longer distance bandwidth hungry applications are required.

Our engineers will survey, prepare a fibre optic network design and fully install all cabling including containment from ducting to trunking. We have the latest installation and testing equipment to carry out all types of fibre optic cabling works to the highest standards. We are experienced at working in operationally critical environments while occupied with minimal disruption to our clients.

Fibre Optic Cable Repairs

Fibre optic cables are extremely reliable allowing them to be used in critical data communications and control transmission operations so when they fail they cause major problems. If you have a fibre optic cable failure then you require fast and responsive assistance in order to first locate the problem and then effect a temporary or permanent repair.

Gelan has been called out to repair fibre optic cables from major cable destruction from construction activities involving excavation to simple termination failures. Our engineers come with fully equipped vehicles carrying the latest test and splicing equipment. This allows fast location of faults and the ability to offer professional advice to cable managers on how we can get the cable system repaired and fully functioning. On completion the cable will be fully OTDR tested and full test results will be provided on completion.

We are able to offer nationwide fibre optic cable fault finding and repair:

• Light source power meter (LSPM) fibre proving and testing
• OTDR testing service
• Fibre optic cable fault finding service internal/ external
• Test & repairs to all fibre types including Multimode and single mode fibre optic cables
• Temporary rerouting of damaged cables
• Fusion splicing
• Fibre optic cable re termination

Fibre Optic cable Selection

The use of Fibre optic cabling is increasing as systems demand higher bandwith and performance. The correct cable selection is vital from the start to meet both performance and enviromental requirements. Our clients can expect expert advice in the best fibre optic cabling solution to meet their current and future needs. When selecting the correct cable for any installation the first question should be the fibre type. This will be dependent upon the transmission distance required and the bandwidth, i.e. 1Gb or 10Gb Ethernet. We offer full site surveys allowing us to specify the correct fibre optic cable and design the network.

What Mode of Fibre do I need?

Multi mode or Single mode fibre is the most important choice which is driven by the transmission distance you require.
Multi mode fiber has a relatively large light carrying core, usually 62.5 microns or larger in diameter. It is usually used for short distance transmissions with LED based fiber optic equipment. Single-mode fiber has a small light carrying core of 8 to 10 microns in diameter. It is normally used for long distance transmissions with laser diode based fiber optic transmission equipment.

Distance Guide

OS1 Single Mode fibre public network or long distance
OM1 62.5/125 1000mbps upto 280m
OM2 50/125 1000mbps upto 550m
OM3 50/125 1000mbps upto 800m
OM3 50/125 10,000mbps (10gig) up to 300m

Mode How Many Fibres Are Required?

This should take into account future demand and allow an element of redundancy. The cost of installation and associated down time will generally outweigh the cost of additional fibre on day one.
Additionally, good practice should be taken into consideration. A large high fibre count cable carrying the majority of a company’s data generates a larger risk than several lower fibre count cables should any cable damage occur.

What Type of Cable is Required?

The prime function of the cable is to provide a safe path for the fibre during and post installation. There are a wide variety of cable types to choose from depending on how and where the cable is to be installed.

The main types and their intended usage are listed below:

• Universal Cables – designed for both internal and external use. They have a Low Smoke Halogen Free (LSHF) compound sheath that reduces the emission of toxic fumes and reduces the spread of fire
• Outdoor Cables – designed for external use only and have a low density polyethylene sheath that makes them lighter that the equivalent LSHF version. This makes them more suitable for longer pulled runs.
• Breakout and Patch Cables – these are generally installed within equipment rooms as rack to rack links.
• Loose Tube Cables – provide higher fibre counts and can generally be installed as building or campus links.
• Tight Buffered-Is suitable for use in internal and external environments
• SWA (Steel Wired Armoured)- Providing rodent proof protection with a steel wire armour covering the cable
• CST (Corrugated Steel Tape)- Suitable for direct burial into a trench is also rodent proof a cost effective solution against SWA

Fibre Optic Splice and Termination

Our engineers terminate fibre optic cables onsite whether installed by us, yourselves or existing cables. All cable types including Single mode Fibre (9/125µm) or Multimode (62.5/125µm and 50/125µm ) can be terminated with the required type of fibre termination.
The Fibre cables can be terminated and presented with ST, SC, LC, MTRJ, FC/PC type fibre terminations to suit the equipment to be connected. The preferred method is Fusion Splicing pre-manufactured 'Pigtails' with the required fibre termination onto the main fibre optic cable. This would then normally be presented in a fibre optic patch panel and installed in a patching rack. We can offer variations to the presentation with wall mounted, Industrial hazardous area fibre termination boxes.

Fusion Splicing

Our preferred method of fibre optic termination is to splice a fibre onto a pigtail which is pre-terminated with the required type of connector. This provides the best results with minimal loss with the latest fusion splicing equipment our engineers can splice high volumes of fibres in situ.

Connector Types

The ST is still the most popular multimode connector because it is cheap and easy to install. It has a bayonet mount and a long cylindrical ferrule to hold the Fibre. Most ferrules are ceramic, but some are metal or plastic and because they are spring-loaded, you have to make sure they are seated properly.
Single mode networks use FC or SC connectors in about the same proportion as ST and SC in multimode installations.
SC is a snap-in connector that is widely used in single mode systems for its excellent performance. It's a snap-in connector that latches with a simple push-pull motion. It is also available in a duplex configuration.
FC/PC has been one of the most popular single mode connectors for many years. It screws on firmly, but make sure you have the key aligned in the slot properly before tightening. It's being replaced by SCs and LCs.