Fibre · Service
OFC Laying, Blowing & Splicing — Fibre Network Construction
From an empty duct to a tested, documented, live fibre span — duct proving, cable blowing and pulling, fusion splicing, OTDR acceptance and as-built records, delivered on backbone, NLD and access networks nationwide.
Overview
The duct is the easy part
Laying fibre is rarely where a rollout fails. Rollouts fail on a duct that was never properly proved, a blow that was pushed past the cable's tension limit, a splice tray closed in dust, or a span accepted without an OTDR trace anyone kept. We treat the cable as the last step of a chain, and we own every link of it.
- Duct proving and rodding before any cable moves
- Blowing and pulling to the cable maker's limits
- Fusion splicing with recorded loss values
- Bidirectional OTDR acceptance and as-builts
Scope of Works
What an OFC package covers with us
Duct Laying & Proving
HDPE and PLB duct installed, coupled, rodded and mandrel-proved end to end.
Duct Laying & Proving
HDPE and PLB duct installed, coupled, rodded and mandrel-proved end to end.
Cable Blowing
Jetting machines matched to duct size, with tension and speed held inside spec.
Cable Blowing
Jetting machines matched to duct size, with tension and speed held inside spec.
Fusion Splicing
Core alignment splicing in controlled conditions, every joint loss recorded.
Fusion Splicing
Core alignment splicing in controlled conditions, every joint loss recorded.
Joint & Chamber Works
Closures, loop storage, chambers and route markers built to survive maintenance.
Joint & Chamber Works
Closures, loop storage, chambers and route markers built to survive maintenance.
Testing & Acceptance
Bidirectional OTDR, end-to-end loss and continuity against the contract budget.
Testing & Acceptance
Bidirectional OTDR, end-to-end loss and continuity against the contract budget.
FTTH & Last Mile
Access-network distribution, drop cabling and subscriber-side commissioning.
FTTH & Last Mile
Access-network distribution, drop cabling and subscriber-side commissioning.
Network Types
Where our fibre work is deployed
National Long Distance corridors are the most demanding class of work we do — hundreds of kilometres crossing multiple states, multiple authorities and every terrain type in between, with a splice count that makes loss budget discipline unforgiving. Our five national corridor programmes total 3,590 kilometres and are the reason our splicing and testing procedures are written the way they are.
Intra-city backbone is a different problem: shorter spans, far denser existing services, and civic permissions that change from ward to ward. Enterprise and data-centre links need diverse routing proved on a drawing before anyone believes it, because the whole point of the second path is that it does not share a duct with the first.
Access and FTTH work carries the volume and the coordination load — many small teams, many buildings, many permissions. Whichever the type, the duct beneath it usually arrives through trenchless drilling, and its route was cleared first by GPR survey.
Technical Specification
Materials, method and acceptance
| Duct types | HDPE and PLB duct in the sizes and colour coding specified by the client or operator standard |
|---|---|
| Duct proving | Rodding and mandrel test on every section before cable entry; pressure test where the specification calls for it |
| Cable installation | Jetting or blowing as primary method; controlled pulling with swivel and tension monitoring where blowing is not viable |
| Tension and bend limits | Held within the cable manufacturer's stated maximum pulling tension and minimum bend radius throughout |
| Splicing | Core-alignment fusion splicing; splice loss recorded per fibre and retained in the handover pack |
| Joint closures | Sealed closures with slack loop storage sized for future maintenance re-entry |
| Testing | Bidirectional OTDR traces plus end-to-end insertion loss, measured against the agreed link loss budget |
| Route records | As-built route drawing, chainage-referenced joint schedule, fibre allocation record and marker positions |
Duct sizes, cable specification, splice loss thresholds and acceptance criteria are set by the client or operator standard and confirmed in the approved method statement before work starts. Where a client has no written standard, we propose one and get it signed rather than proceeding on assumption.
Commercials
What a fibre package is priced against
Fibre work is usually quoted per kilometre for laying and per joint for splicing, but the two rates behave very differently and the second one is where budgets slip.
Splice count, not route length. A hundred-kilometre run with clean drum lengths and few branch points is far cheaper to terminate than a forty-kilometre urban route with a joint every few hundred metres. Ask any contractor for their assumed joint count before comparing rates.
Duct condition. Blowing into new, proved duct is quick. Blowing into an existing duct of unknown history means rodding, clearing, occasionally finding it collapsed, and rebuilding a section. Existing-duct work should be priced with that contingency visible.
Terrain and access. Open highway shoulder is not the same as a market street where the drum can only be positioned at night. Hill sections, river banks and monsoon standby all carry standing time.
Testing and documentation depth. A basic continuity check is one thing; full bidirectional OTDR with per-fibre records, as-built drawings and an operator-format handover pack is a real deliverable with real hours behind it.
Quality & Assurance
How a span is accepted, not just finished
A span is not handed over on the word of the crew that built it. Duct proving records, blowing logs, splice loss values and OTDR traces are compiled per section and checked against the agreed loss budget by an engineer independent of the installation team. Splices outside threshold are re-done and re-traced — not averaged away across the link. Joint closures are photographed open and sealed, so a future maintenance visit knows what it will find. Drum numbers, fibre allocation and chainage references are reconciled against the as-built drawing before issue, because a route record that does not match the ground is worse than no record at all. All of this sits under our ISO 9001:2015 quality system and is retained as a traceable handover pack for the client and, where relevant, the permitting authority.
FAQ
OFC works — common questions
Blowing uses compressed air to float the cable along the duct with very little tension on it, which is why it is preferred for long spans and for cables with tight tension limits. Pulling drags the cable mechanically and puts far more stress on it, so it is used where duct geometry or length makes blowing impractical.
Because a blockage, an ovalised section or a badly coupled joint will stop a blow halfway — and recovering a stuck cable is far more expensive than proving the duct first. Mandrel and rodding checks take hours; a stuck cable costs days.
Either way. Most operator contracts are free-issue, where we receive material and account for drum consumption. Where a client wants supply included, we quote it separately from the installation so the labour rate stays comparable against other offers.
Bidirectional OTDR traces per fibre, end-to-end insertion loss against the agreed budget, splice loss values per joint, a chainage-referenced joint schedule and the as-built route drawing. Delivered in the operator's format where one is specified.
Yes, and it is common. We rod and prove the existing duct first and report what we find before committing to a blow. Where a section is collapsed or obstructed, we quote the repair rather than forcing cable through it.
Yes — distribution, drop cabling and subscriber-side commissioning. The engineering is lighter than NLD work but the coordination load is heavier, so it is run as a volume programme with its own supervision structure.
Duct in the ground and no one to light it?
Share your route, drum plan and acceptance format — we will come back with a blowing and splicing programme you can hold us to.
Discuss an OFC PackageOFC works — method, output and detailed questions
Mezux Touch installs optical fibre from duct to live circuit, which is four distinct activities that clients frequently price as one. Duct installation places the pathway. Blowing installs the cable into it. Splicing joins fibres at each junction and termination. Testing proves the result. The stage that determines whether a route ever performs is usually the least visible: a duct laid with a tight bend or a poor joint will accept cable and then fail the OTDR trace, and by that point the surface is closed.
How the work is run
Duct route is set from a survey rather than from a drawing, since the constraint is what is already in the ground. Bend radii and joint quality are inspected before cable is blown, because a fault found at the blowing stage costs a fraction of one found after reinstatement. Blowing distances are planned against duct condition rather than against catalogue figures. Splicing is done by our own trained teams to a stated loss budget, and every splice is traced rather than sampled, because an untested joint is an assumption rather than a connection.
What you receive
An as-built route drawing tied to coordinates, showing duct path, chamber positions, joint locations and cable routing. OTDR traces for every fibre, not a sample, with loss figures against the agreed budget. A splice record for each joint, identifying fibres and losses so a future fault can be isolated without re-tracing the whole route. Duct occupancy records where spare capacity has commercial value. Where the route crosses another operator's asset or a railway or canal, the crossing record is issued in the form that authority requires rather than only in the client's format.
Beyond the basics
Why does duct quality matter so much? Because a tight bend or poor joint accepts cable and then fails the trace. By then the surface is reinstated and the fix costs many times what inspection would have.
Do you test every fibre or a sample? Every fibre, with an OTDR trace issued for each. An untested splice is an assumption, and assumptions surface as faults after handover.
Can you install into existing duct? Yes, subject to condition and occupancy. We survey the duct first, because blowing into a partially blocked route wastes cable and time.
Do you record spare duct capacity? Where it has commercial value, yes. Occupancy records are what let an operator sell or reuse a route later without resurveying it.
Who handles the crossings on a long route? We do, including the approval file, because a corridor cleared everywhere except one railway crossing has not progressed at all.
Terms used on this page
Blowing — installing fibre cable into duct using compressed air rather than pulling it mechanically. OTDR trace — an optical measurement along a fibre showing loss and the position of every joint or fault. Loss budget — the total permitted optical loss on a route, against which every splice is measured. Duct occupancy — how much of a duct's capacity is used, which determines whether more cable can be installed. Bend radius — the tightest curve a duct may take without compromising the cable installed through it.
