Case Study
Highlights

Achieved B2ca-s1a,d0,a1
rating, the

highest fire
safety class

attainable

Exceeded
customer's
Cca rating
requirement,

upgrading from D2ca

Reduced
cable diameter
and lower costs

compared to legacy
solutions

Reduced cable diameter and lower costs compared to legacy solutions

Designed, tested, and certified within a

6-month timeline

Designed, tested, and certified within a 6-month timeline

Offers cable options spanning from

16 to 288 fibers

Offers cable options spanning from 16 to 288 fibers

Background

A leading telecom provider in the UK faced an urgent need to future-proof their fiber plant by improving the flame rating of their legacy cabling solution. There was a critical requirement to improve their cables’ rating to the more stringent Cca classification. This upgrade was crucial to enhance fire safety and comply with evolving regulatory standards. Moreover, the customer sought a solution within an aggressive timeframe and with a minimal cost impact to minimize operational disruptions.

Customer’s Overview

The customer is one of the largest service providers in the UK, renowned for their commitment to technological innovation and operational excellence in telecommunications. They operate a vast network infrastructure that supports a wide range of residential and commercial services across the country.

Challenges Faced

Flame Rating Upgrade

The primary challenge was to upgrade the existing Dca-rated cables to achieve the higher Cca-s1a,d0,a1 classification, ensuring enhanced fire resistance and smoke control.

Aggressive Timeline

The project required a comprehensive solution, including design, prototyping, testing, and certification, to be completed within an unprecedented 6-month.

Material Selection

Selecting materials that balance mechanical performance with fire safety properties, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards without compromising on durability or operational efficiency.

Cost Efficiency

Developing a solution that meets stringent fire safety requirements and reduces overall costs compared to existing legacy cables, ensuring that customers do not incur additional expenses to adopt the new solution.

HFCL’s Approach to the Challenges

  • 1

    Identification of Initial Solution

    HFCL leveraged its extensive experience and R&D capabilities to design multi-loose tube cables. HFCL’s library of available “fire test ready” materials and on-site evaluation facilities enabled concepts to be rapidly screened. The new multi loose tube cable was designed, internally tested, and prototyped within a 3-month window. The result was the development of a solution with a B2ca-S1a,d0,a1 classification. In practice, B2ca and B1ca are believed to represent the highest achievable classes for cables.

  • 2

    6-Month Rapid Development

    Dedicated teams at HFCL managed the entire testing and certification process rigorously. This included internal testing phases and collaboration with third-party auditors to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and industry standards. This enabled the team to adhere to a timeline of 6 months compared to an industry-standard CPR design/certification timeline of > 1 year.

  • 3

    Cost Optimization Strategies

    From a design standpoint, material selection is challenging because mechanical performance needs to be maintained while flame propagation and smoke release are limited. A reduction in jacket thickness coupled with vertically integrated material sourcing, enabled HFCL to produce a lower-cost solution as compared to the legacy cable offering.

Success Metrics

Exceeded the customer’s CPR fire
rating requirement

 

Delivered within the established
timeframe

Supports a smaller cable
outer diameter

Costs less than the legacy
solution

Result

HFCL achieved the highest achievable B2ca-s1a,d0,a1 classification. They delivered a cutting-edge solution with a full suite of unarmored multi-loose tube cables, available in options ranging from 16 to 288 fibers.

  • These cables helped customers future-proof their fiber infrastructure with enhanced fire safety capabilities. This accomplishment met stringent regulatory standards and enhanced operational efficiency by lowering costs and boosting network reliability. It underscores HFCL's dedication to innovative, quality, and customer-centric telecommunications.

Contact Us
About HFCL

HFCL is a leading technology company specializing in creating digital networks for telcos, enterprises, and governments. Over the years, HFCL has emerged as a trusted partner offering sustainable high-tech solutions with a commitment to providing the latest technology products to its customers. Our strong R&D expertise coupled with our global system integration services and decades of experience in fiber optics enable us to deliver innovative digital network solutions required for the most advanced networks.

The company’s in-house R&D Centres located at Gurgaon and Bengaluru along with invested R&D houses and other R&D collaborators at different locations in India and abroad, innovate a futuristic range of technology products and solutions. HFCL has developed capabilities to provide premium quality Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cables, state-of-the-art telecom products including 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products, 5G Transport Products, Wi-Fi Systems (Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7), Unlicensed Band Radios, Switches, Routers and Software Defined Radios.

The company has state-of-the-art Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cable manufacturing plants in Hyderabad, an Optical Fiber Cable manufacturing plant in Goa, and its subsidiary HTL Limited in Chennai.

We are a partner of choice for our customers across India, Europe, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, and the USA. Our commitment to quality and environmental sustainability inspires us to innovate solutions for the ever-evolving customer needs.