New rules for the safe installation of optical fibre

New rules for the safe installation of optical fibre communications in customer premises are part of a revised Australian Standard for telecommunications wiring published by Communications Alliance.

The AS/CA S009 Installation Requirements for Customer Cabling (Wiring Rules) Standard (in its various guises) has been the backbone of the cabling industry in Australia for several decades. The Standard sets out the minimum requirements to ensure the safety and integrity of a cabling installation in customer premises and of the telecommunications network to which it is connected.

Australia’s 65,000 registered cablers treat the Standard as their cabling ‘bible’.

John Stanton, CEO of Communications Alliance, said the revised Standard included important new safety rules for cabling of optical fibre systems in customer premises, along with updated rules covering cabling in hazardous areas, water immersion issues, aerial cabling and cabling between buildings.

He said that more than 20 stakeholder organisations and individuals across the communications sector and broader industry had contributed to the updated rules.

“The cabling sector touches the lives of every Australian and it is important that Standards remain ‘fit for purpose’, particularly as the rollout of the National Broadband Network gathers pace,” Stanton said.

The revised Standard will be submitted to the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) with the recommendation that it be substituted for the previous version, created in 2006.

The Working Committee responsible for the revision was chaired by Murray Teale from VTI Services and has produced a revised draft which reflects the quality of the feedback received from the review.

The Standard proposes new and revised requirements in a number of key areas, including the following:

• Expanded provisions covering cabling in hazardous areas and explosive atmospheres.
• New requirements for the separation of customer cabling from non-electrical hazardous services.
• Expanded requirements for optical interface cleaning and inspection.
• New provisions for the labelling of panels, enclosures and outlets in optical fibre systems.
• Updated guidance for cabling in domestic installations, including the installation of Category 5 cabling as a minimum.
• New requirements for cabling between buildings to address potential hazards associated with lightning activity and power earth differentials.
• Additional requirements for cables that are immersed in water within a conduit or duct.
• Small assemblies of sockets (up to 6) can now be installed by ‘Restricted’ cabling providers to facilitate basic NBN installations.
• A new appendix providing guidance on the installation of aerial customer cabling.

The Standard is available on the Communications Alliance website.