TE Announces Hybrid Fiber/Power Cable System for Small Cell Installations

MINNEAPOLIS - TE Connectivity (TE), a designer and manufacturer of electronic connectivity products, announced a new solution to speed and simplify the installation, powering, and communication with small cells and other network access devices. The powered fiber cable system from TE eliminates the complexity of small cell installation and allows small cell devices to be placed exactly where they are needed for maximum 4G wireless coverage by combining power and optical fiber communications into one system. The system incorporates everything needed to power and communicate with a small cell – including the power supply, a hybrid cable and a remote powering unit that corrects for DC line loss to eliminate the need for electrical design calculations.

Advantages of the system include:

• The powered fiber cable system from TE has a reach greater than 10 times the distance of POE+ (power over ethernet) cables. The ability to transport power farther makes it possible to place small cells exactly where they are needed to focus wireless capacity.


• By combining power and fiber communications into one system, local powering is no longer needed. This eliminates the complexity of determining how to obtain power from building owners, utility companies or municipalities. Instead, negotiations of who pays for the small cell powering and how power consumption is monitored, becomes obsolete.


• TE estimates that this new system can reduce up-front planning and engineering time for many small cell deployments by 50 percent or more. The system is designed for low power DC transmission (NEC Class II) eliminating the need for highly-skilled electricians.


• The system simplifies installation. Remote powering units can be factory terminated onto the hybrid cable with exactly the correct connectors for a given small cell. To place a small cell exactly where it is needed, the customer simply plugs in the connector, mounts the remote powering unit, and installs the cable back to the power supply located up to 1km away. The system is designed to act as a long extension cord.

“Our customers have told us that installing small cells is complicated because power isn’t often readily available where the small cell is needed,” says Mark Hesling, vice president of global product management at TE Connectivity. “Coordinating electricians in and out of buildings is expensive, and negotiating with building owners is complex. TE’s powered fiber cable systems will speed up deployment and lower installation costs of small cells and other network access devices.”