Many fiber optic cables include metallic components — such as steel armoring, aluminum moisture barriers, copper strength members, or metallic messenger wires — that absolutely must be grounded to prevent electric shock, equipment damage, and fire hazards. This Applications Engineering Note (AE Note) discusses conventional bonding and grounding practices for conductive fiber optic cable and hardware installations within the scope of the National Electrical Code (NEC). These cables include metallic components that can carry electrical currents, presenting potential hazards such as electrical shock or fire. Since an optical fiber cable is non-conductive and there is no electric flowing, there are several advantages over a twisted copper cable in deploying: The non-conductive (dielectric) characteristics of fiber impacts how a designer lays out cabling pathways. [. ] One of our readers asked us this question. "What needs to be grounded in a fiber optic network?" The standard answer of "everything" seemed illogical and was. It is a worthy subject and especially necessary, with so many new people entering the communications cabling field.
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