Increasing the Efficiency of Using Redundant Optical Fibers in Cables Operated in Hard-to-Reach Areas

The ability of a communication network to perform the required functions, while maintaining the values of all its parameters under certain conditions for a given time, is one of the main tasks in design, construction and operation of communication lines. The most vulnerable elements of a communication line are optical fibers. Their damage leads to downtime lines or unacceptably low quality of communication. To ensure reliable operation of the communication network, the impact of damage of the optical fibers on the operability of the communication line should be reduced. Structural, technological and operational solutions may be insufficient to improve reliability characteristics or maintain them at the required level, then applied redundancy of optical fibers by introducing into the structure of the optical cable additional (reserve) optical fibers that are redundant in relation to the minimum necessary to perform the specified functions under certain operating conditions of the communication line for a given time. The issues of optical fibers redundancy in cables laid in hard-to-reach places, primarily under water, were considered earlier in our articles. In this article, we consider a way to increase the efficiency of using redundant fibers in optical or hybrid cables, which can also be used on ships and submarines, access to which is difficult or impossible.