Fibre blowing is the process of installing fibre optic cables into pre-installed microducts by using compressed air. The fibre-blowing technique can be used for both short and long installation runs.
In fibre blowing, the technique involves pushing or blowing fibre optic cables through the microducts, which guide the cable through the route installed during the ducting process. For example, at the entry point, the fibre cable is anchored to a fibre-blowing machine, and compressed air is passed through the duct, which propels the fibre cable. The microducts are carefully analysed for potential bends and curves, which are prepped with adequate lubrication before cable deployment.
Fibre blowing has several advantages over traditional cable pulling techniques. One advantage is speed; fibre blowing is considerably faster than traditional cable pulling because of the pre-existing conduits installation, where the fibre cable is pushed through quickly, and multiple fibres installed simultaneously. It also reduces installation costs as only smaller diameter ducting is needed, which means smaller trenches and shallow trenching are applied, and disturbance to the surrounding areas reduced.
Fibre blowing technique is also useful when there are limited installation constraints, such as retrofit installations, indoor installations, vertical cable runs, or install locations that have narrow spaces. The compact, non-intrusive nature of fibre cables make them especially useful in tighter areas where pulling traditional copper cables might be problematic.