What tubing rules are forburied fiber optic lines?

[Vern_in_IL]

At my old place of employment someone hit the pole and the pole was hanging by the fiber optic cable, it was supporting the entire weight of the pole. It did just fine. They didn't even need to replace it, that fiber is still in service. I know fiber optic cable is armored.


...But what I don't understand is why do they sometimes sheath the cable with a orange tube, and sometimes they lay a warning tape a few feet above the cable in underground installs?

Is there some sort of NEC rule on this?

The local Co-op is replacing all copper with fiber right now, and they mainly use orange tubing when they use a Ditch Witch machine underneath peoples yards,creeks, then they just use a regular trencher to bury the fiber directly into the ground everywhere else.

AT&T just replaced the last leg of their Transcontinental Cable Route, ripped up the L5 copper cable, then they trenched in three orange tube lines from Missouri to Virginia.

They used Orange tubing, and a plastic streamer a few feet above (Warning: AT&T fiber cable) and buried it 8 ft down with vaults every 2 miles.


What is the purpose of this orange tubing if fiber cable is so heavily armored?

 

[tom slick]

Orange tells whomever is digging that it is fiber. The metallic tape is for the tracer when they need to find it at a later date.

 

[Jim_Truett]

Not all Fiber is armored. It generally has at least one Fiberglass strength member inside. Orange is the color for communications. Fiber is generally installed underground in 2 or 3 inch Polyethylene conduit, often additionally protected with orange corrugated innerduct. Metallic tape is the tracer if the cable is not armored. It is also placed about a foot above the conduit in hopes the backhoe operator sees it before hitting the conduit.