A rollable optical fiber ribbon utilizing low attenuation, bend insensitive fibers and cables incorporating such rollable ribbons are provided. The optical fibers are supported by a ribbon body, and the ribbon body is formed from a flexible material such that the optical fibers are reversibly movable from an unrolled position to a rolled position. The optical fibers have a large mode filed diameter, such as ≥9 microns at 1310 nm facilitating low attenuation splicing/connectorization. The optical fibers are also highly bend insensitive, such as having a macrobend loss of ≤0.5 dB/turn at 1550 nm for a mandrel diameter of 15 mm.

Flame retardant communications cables may include at least one transmission media and at least one other component, such as a separator, buffer tube, jacket, shield layer, or wrap. The at least one other component may include a body portion, and at least one cavity formed in the body portion in which an extinguishant is positioned. Additionally, the at least one transmission media is not positioned within the at least one cavity.

An optical fiber cable comprising 200 micrometer (μm) optical fibers (fibers with an outer diameter of approximately 200 μm) that are located within buffer tubes. This permits fiber packing densities of 3.8 fibers/mm.sup.2 or higher. The buffer tubes have wall thicknesses (t.sub.buffer) between approximately 7.5 percent (7.5%) and approximately 30% of the buffer tube's outer diameter (OD.sub.buffer), and a Young's modulus that is between approximately 750 mega-pascals (MPa) and 2,200 MPa, thereby providing the necessary structural integrity to resist kinking yet maintain flexibility.

An optical cable is provided. The optical cable includes an outer cable body jacket and a plurality of optical fiber subunits. The optical fibers within each subunit are stranded relative to each other and are located within a thin subunit jacket. A plurality of unstranded optical fiber subunits are located within the cable jacket.

An optical fibre unit includes one or more optical fibres; an outer jacket surrounding the one or more optical fibres, made of a fibre reinforced polymer comprising inorganic fibres embedded in a polymer matrix in an amount comprised between 5 and 25 wt % with respect to the weight of the fibre reinforced polymer, the inorganic fibres having a median length (d50) comprised between 50 and 250 μm; and a skin layer surrounding the outer jacket and in direct contact thereto, having a thickness comprised between 0.05 mm and 0.5 mm and being free from fibres.

An optical fiber cable includes: a sheath including recesses and protrusions that are alternately disposed in a circumferential direction on an outer circumferential surface of the sheath; a core that includes optical fibers and is accommodated in the sheath; and tensile strength members embedded in the sheath. The core is interposed between the tensile strength members in a transverse cross-sectional view. In the transverse cross-sectional view, the tensile strength members are embedded in portions of the sheath facing outward from the core in a first direction in which the two tensile strength members face each other in the transverse cross-sectional view.

Embodiments of an optical fiber cable are provided. The cable includes a cable jacket and at least one buffer tube. Each buffer tube surrounds a plurality of optical fibers. The cable jacket surrounds the at least one buffer tube. Further, a coating of superabsorbent, swellable hot melt is applied to at least one of the following locations: (i) along at least a portion of the length of at least one of the plurality of optical fibers; (ii) along at least a portion of the length of the exterior or interior surface of the at least one buffer tube; or (iii) along at least a portion of the length of the interior surface of the cable jacket. Moreover, the superabsorbent, swellable hot melt is capable of absorbing at least 50 g of water per gram of superabsorbent, swellable hot melt.

Disclosed is an optical cable for distributed sensing. The optical cable comprises a first metal tube with at least two optical fibers loosely arranged therein and a second metal tube with at least two tight buffered optical fibers tightly arranged within an inner surface of the second metal tube. A third metal tube having an inner surface collectively surrounds and operatively contacts the first metal tube and said second metal tube. At least one of the first metal tube and the second metal tube is fixed by means of an adhesive compound to the inner surface of the third metal tube.

A fiber optic cable includes a cable core of core elements and a protective sheath surrounding the core elements, an armor surrounding the cable core, the armor comprising a single overlap portion when the fiber optic cable is viewed in cross-section, and a jacket surrounding the armor, the jacket having at least two longitudinal discontinuities extruded therein. A method of accessing the cable core without the use of ripcords includes removing a portion of the armor in an access section by pulling the armor away from the cable core so that an overlap portion separates around the cable core as it is being pulled past the cable core. A protective sheath protects the core elements as the armor is being pulled around the cable core.

A communication cable is surrounded by a tape with overlapped first and second longitudinal edges. The overlapped portion of the tape extends parallel to the longitudinal length of the communication cable, which is also parallel to the longitudinal central axis of the cable core. An attachment is provided between the overlapped portions of the tape. The attachment may be formed by an adhesive layer between the overlapped portions of the tape or a melting together of the overlapped portions of the tape. In either case, the tape forms a circumferential protective seal around the cable core.