{"id":35533,"date":"2023-12-29T00:01:03","date_gmt":"2023-12-29T00:01:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=35533"},"modified":"2023-12-29T10:04:29","modified_gmt":"2023-12-29T10:04:29","slug":"hot-not-to-fix-a-broken-home-fibre-optic-uk-broadband-cable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2023\/12\/hot-not-to-fix-a-broken-home-fibre-optic-uk-broadband-cable.html","title":{"rendered":"How NOT to Fix a Broken Home Fibre Optic UK Broadband Cable"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some of us may take this for granted, but it’s easy for regular consumers to overlook that fixing a broken fibre optic cable on your property is NOT the same as the old approach for re-wiring network cables. Put simply, in most cases, you should not attempt to correct a broken fibre yourself. But you can learn.<\/p>\n

The first and, hopefully, most obvious thing to understand here is that optical fibres are made of glass or plastic and transmit their information via light. This is thus a significantly different medium from traditional network cables that transmit information as electrical signals over strands of copper wire, which are much easier to repair via widely available tools and common DIY methods.<\/p>\n

NOTE:<\/strong> Avoid looking directly at the light emanating from the exposed end of an optical fibre. Often the light isn’t powerful enough to fully penetrate your eye \/ retina during brief exposure (the water in your eyeball will absorb most of its energy), but it could still cause harm to the cornea or lens.<\/div>\n

The problem is that as the coverage and take-up of Fibre-to-the-Premises<\/strong> (FTTP<\/a>) based broadband ISP networks rises, then so too will the number of people suffering accidental cable breakages, which may occur both inside or outside your home – often during unrelated DIY or household maintenance tasks.<\/p>\n

However, most regular people are unconsciously hard-wired to think of cables as having metal cores, thus it ends up being quite easy to think they can attempt to repair a broken fibre. Take for example this case<\/a>, as highlighted by Exascale, of somebody who accidentally cut their fibre and attempted a repair using choc block terminals<\/strong>, obviously without success (“I cut the fibre cable by accident, and I\u2019ve connected it back together, but I\u2019m still without service… Help!?<\/em>“).<\/p>\n

In other cases, we’ve heard of consumers trying to repair broken fibres by taping both ends back together, which obviously didn’t work (signal loss was a bit of an issue).<\/p>\n

The Correct Ways to Fix a Broken Fibre<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n

Generally speaking, if you break a fibre optic cable inside your home, then the best “fix<\/em>” is to call in a trained professional (contact your ISP) to correctly cut, clean and then “splice<\/em>” the fibre back together at the point of breakage using special fusion splicing or mechanical splicing equipment (fusion kit is VERY expensive, often costing up to several thousand pounds).<\/p>\n

Using a splicing machine correctly also requires training to avoid mistakes and to properly understand different scenarios, although with the proper direction pretty much anybody can pick up this skill and often quite quickly (e.g. see all those past pictures on news articles of MPs having a go at it).<\/p>\n

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Splices Fibre (B4RN<\/a>)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Rishi<\/div>\n

On top of that, you then have to be able to test the cable using an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) or similar device to ensure its integrity \/ splice loss (e.g. things like tiny particles of dirt could cause signal loss, which may impact performance). Overall, this approach is generally not considered a DIY task, albeit due mainly to the high cost of equipment and the need to understand how to use these devices. But it is still doable.<\/p>\n

The alternative is to simply identify the cable used and replace it with a similar pre-terminated one that already has the necessary end connectors attached (this is often what the network operator will do – replace the entire lead-in cable due to the lack of slack and because a mid-span joint can be ugly). The caveat is that such cables will have often been installed through a wall and may also require you to open the operator’s external wall box equipment, which their rules may or may not prohibit (check first).<\/p>\n

However, replacing the cable between your internal optical modem (ONT) and the external wall box connectors will require a fair bit of time and effort. Once again, it is safer to just involve a professional, who can fix the cable at the exact location of its break and save you potentially doing further damage to your house. But as usual, this all depends on your own personal confidence and skill set.<\/p>\n

Finally, a mechanical splice is potentially within reach as a DIY task due to the lower cost of equipment, but these are more akin to a temporary “fix” and still require a number of tools \/ kit that the average person will not have at home (e.g. optical fibre strippers, fibre cleaver and the mechanical splicer itself with suitable connectors). Mistakes are likely, and some prior knowledge is required. So once again, it’s best to involve a professional.<\/p>\n

Not to mention that a mechanical splice is generally not an ideal method for joining single-mode fibres (they’re better for multi-mode, but can do both) due to the smaller fibre cores that are difficult to align, yet most fibres used for home installs will be single-mode.<\/p>\n