The demand for fiber internet service is growing and growing fast. More than sixty million homes in the United States now have access to fiber internet, which is a year-over-year increase of 12% according to a 2021 study by the Fiber Broadband Association.

With growth like that, many builders, engineers, architects, and service providers are learning how to bring fiber service to new residential builds and retrofits for the first time. Doing so effectively requires planning and the right equipment, some of which can be a little confusing since there are so many different fiber architectures.

An often overlooked, but extremely important, facet of this solution is a fiber transition point, sometimes also called a fiber transition cover or wall plate.

The Fiber Transition Point is Important

When a fiber drop is brought to a home, the first touchpoint for that connection is a network interface device (NID) enclosure. Most NIDs feature one or two fiber adapters, splicing capabilities, and cable storage. A NID is typically installed on the exterior wall of the building it feeds. From there a different style of fiber drop is installed inside the living unit(s).

Once the fiber drop has been installed, the fiber transition wall plate docks the fiber, allowing for ease of connection and transition to customer premise equipment (CPE).

There are many reasons the fiber transition wall plate – such as the FTC2 Fiber Transition Cover – is so important. As far as safety, the design of the FTC2 helps protect fiber connections and customers. Once the fiber is terminated behind the cover of the FTC2, the connection faces in a downward position. This prevents any physical damage to the jumper that plugs into the incoming fiber connector. A shuttered simplex adapter facing down gives extra protection from curious eyes that try to peek into the fiber connection point leading to eye damage from the laser.

Also, this is the point where the fiber optic cable from the NID enters the home. The optic cable is terminated onto the simplex adapter inside the FTC2, which serves as a single-gang wall plate. Then, a fiber optic jumper is plugged into the bottom of the FTC2 and routed to the optical network terminal (ONT), which converts the optical signal to electrical signal.

Once converted by the ONT, digital data can now be distributed throughout the home to other devices by way of a router and often into a WiFi signal.

Where to Install the FTC2

The FTC2 has been designed to maximize versatility and make managing the fiber transition from outside to inside as simple as possible in a variety of settings.

In greenfield applications, the ideal way to install an FTC2 is to mount it onto a predetermined, low voltage box. Then connect it via a fiber jumper cable to an ONT.

In brownfield applications, the FTC2’s versatility makes it easy to adapt to the unique needs of a particular project. It can be mounted inside a media panel, such as the SOHO Pro P3000, for a clean and tidy install alongside the gateway and other network equipment. Or if a media panel is not available, the FTC2 can instead be mounted on the wall over a single-gang, cut-in box, or low voltage cut-in ring.

The NID plus Fiber Transition Cover Solution Simplifies Fiber Buildouts

The low-profile design, along with the slack storage available within the FTC2 makes this unit incredibly useful in bringing highspeed data to any home. Whether used in a new media panel or cut into an existing wall you will find that the FTC2 provides a clean and safe installation. Likewise, the tamper-resistant cover limits access to ensure the connection remains safely untouched, even when installed in a high traffic area.

To learn more about this solution, visit primex.com/simply-ftth.