A few specks of dust can turn an efficient day into what can be a very long day - especially if those dust specks are in the wrong place, such as at the end of a fiber before a connection or splice. Keeping fiber clean is especially important because dust particles can cause permanent damage by pockmarking end faces, causing reflection and blocking transmission signals, causing permanent damage in the worst-case scenarios.
Dirty fiber leads to additional deployment costs in the form of “let’s find the bad splice” and service disruptions. Many engineers attribute the simple lack of a clean end face as a key factor impacting network employment success, but it’s a challenge when fiber is being deployed in the real world and not in a semiconductor-quality clean room. Dust and dirt happen, especially in new deployments and installations, so having a ready-to-use solution designed to create a smooth, clean connection is critical to getting fiber broadband services up and working correctly right away, rather than having to burn field time on debugging dusty connections.
Nearly a year ago at Fiber Connect 2023 in Orlando, we launched the ClearPass® Dust Cap to combat this problem. It’s a Clearfield patented, integrated solution to help operators ensure the fiber end-face has a clean, dust-free connection surface. A clean surface means no dust, smoother installation, and fewer headaches. The ClearPass Dust Cap has a 92% cleaning effectiveness rate when used on a Clearfield terminated product, adding to the Clearfield Labor Lite solution set by providing a simple-to-use, integrated cleaning method to improve network turnup, reliability, and first pass yield, the last a critical performance metric tracked by fiber providers.
The ClearPass Dust Cap began appearing on all applicable Clearfield jumpers at no additional cost to the customer as of March 2023, so we know it works and delivers clear value for fiber installations. It’s available for all SC, FC, and ST connectors with 2.5mm ferrules and is one of our continued innovations in fiber connector cleaning technology, purpose-built to streamline your ability to move quickly through all stages of network deployment.
We are committed to providing our customers with top-quality products, enabling networks to be installed and run to their maximum potential while reducing the cost of deployment and ensuring rapid deployment with minimal training. The next five years will be crucial for the fiber industry as NTIA BEAD grant allocations kick in and we want our customers to be ready to deploy with innovative, comprehensive fiber connectivity solutions that have an immediate and long-lasting impact on their ability to succeed.
Kevin leads the marketing efforts for Clearfield as Chief Marketing Officer. He joined the fiber company in 2016, leveraging his extensive experience in advanced communications technology, fiber optic systems, and business product marketing. Prior to joining Clearfield, he spent two decades serving in various senior marketing positions at ADTRAN. Before that, he spent a decade at telephone operating company BellSouth, now a part of AT&T, where he worked as the lead broadband product evaluations resource in the Science & Technology department.
Morgan currently serves on the Fiber Broadband Association Senior Council Committee and has also held various leadership positions at the Fiber Broadband Association, including Board of Directors Chair for 2015, 2019, and 2022. Morgan holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama.