Over the past year, we have all heard about the supply chain crisis. Disruptions to the supply chain have impacted all sectors of the economy, including the supply and installation of fiber optic cable.

What is impacting the availability of fiber optic cable?

COVID-19 disrupted global logistics. The once predictable operating schedules of ships, trains, and trucks have been thrown into chaos due to insufficient manpower to unload containers from ships, reconfigure long-haul trains, or drive the semis necessary to deliver products. This causes goods to pile up in one location while creating shortages in others. The net effect is that the components required to manufacture fiber optic cabling are not where they need to be when they are needed.

The logistical problems cause downstream problems with producing fiber optic assemblies. Fiber optic manufacturers are competing for a limited supply of glass, strengthening fibers, jacket material, plastic compounds to mold connectors, etc. Ironically, the Just-in-Time form of inventory management has exacerbated the problem because there was a very limited inventory of the required supplies and components.

As if logistical and production problems were not enough, the shortage of skilled labor is compounding the fiber optic cable lead-time in two ways: a lack of trained and skilled workers lengthens the lead-time for order fulfillment; and once it is delivered, delays the lead-time to install the fiber.

Shorten your lead time with OneMode™

Instead of waiting for singlemode optical fiber assemblies, use OneMode from Panduit. It is a perfect alternative that increases the bandwidth of your optical fiber infrastructure and can be delivered and installed in weeks.

OneMode is a passive media converter that allows the use of singlemode optical modules over legacy multimode fiber. Instead of pulling out the old fiber, upgrade the performance of legacy multimode fiber with the installation of OneMode.

Installation is quick and straightforward, requiring a team of only two technicians. Deploying OneMode only requires access to the ends of the legacy multimode fiber. The fibers can be upgraded within hours with minimal disruption to operations. Because OneMode requires much less time than a rip-and-replace project, it is less expensive to deploy.

Learn more about how this solution could work in your facility at www.panduit.com/onemode. Or reach out to your local Panduit sales rep for a demo to see if this is the solution that your infrastructure needs.