Pigtail LC/UPC 12 colors Singlemode OS2 9/125 G657A1 0.9mm OFNR 3M, tight buffer

**Pigtail LC/UPC 12 colors Singlemode OS2 9/125 G657A1 0.9mm OFNR 3M, tight buffer** from **Red Cable Technology (RCT)** is a 12-fiber color-coded pigtail set for terminating singlemode fiber via fusion or mechanical splicing. Each of the 12 pigtails runs **3 meters** of **bend-insensitive G.657A1 OS2 9/125 fiber** in a 0.9mm OFNR tight-buffered jacket, finished with an **LC/UPC connector** — built to land cleanly in ODFs, fiber terminal boxes, and distribution boxes.

**Features & Specs:**

• 12 pigtails in 12 colors for fast, error-free fiber identification
• LC/UPC connectors — the “little connector”: a small form factor (SFF) connector with a 1.25mm ferrule, roughly half the size of an SC connector, known for good performance in singlemode networks and built for connections that need to be made and broken
• Singlemode OS2 9/125 fiber, bend-insensitive G.657A1 — the de facto standard for premises cabling, balancing optimized performance and cost
• G.657A1 and A2 are fully compliant with G.652D and deliver enhanced, low-loss fiber; bend-insensitive NDSF is defined in ITU-T G.657 with a minimum bending radius of 10 µm for G.657A1
• 0.9mm tight-buffered construction with OFNR jacket; 3M length per pigtail
• Two-layer core coating — plastic first, waterproof acrylate second — so the core is never at risk of exposure, unlike loose-buffered cable which can escape its confines
• Dielectric FRP strength members surround the fibers, under a rugged polyurethane outer jacket for superior environmental and mechanical protection
• Tight-buffered fiber counts range from 1 to 144 fibers; 2, 6, 12, and 24 are most common, with 48, 96, and 144 available for specific applications
• UPC connectors are blue (APC connectors are green); UPC is polished with no angle — not exactly flat, with a slight curvature for better core alignment

## Terminating fiber with pigtails

Fiber optic pigtails are utilized to terminate fiber optic cables via fusion or mechanical splicing, and high-quality pigtail cables paired with correct fusion splicing practices offer the best performance possible for fiber optic cable terminations. You’ll find them in fiber optic management equipment like ODFs, fiber terminal boxes, and distribution boxes.

## Why singlemode OS2

Singlemode fiber provides users with a greater transmission rate plus nearly 50 times longer distance than multimode fiber, though singlemode is more expensive than multimode. The most basic difference between the two is the size of the fibers’ core, along with the associated loss (attenuation) and fiber bandwidth. When replacing or installing on-premises and access network fiber, we recommend replacing legacy OS1 with a new bend-insensitive OS2 (ITU-T G.657A1) singlemode cabling system for longer reach and enhanced link performance. Minimum bending radii can be further optimized, but that sacrifices fiber attenuation and cost.

## Where APC connectors matter

Some applications are more sensitive to return loss and call for APC connectors — for example, higher optical wavelength ranges (above 1500 nanometers) like those used for RF video signals, where reflected light can adversely impact the signal. That’s why most cable companies and other FTTX providers use APC connectors in outside plant applications, and why APC is common in passive optical applications (both GPONs and passive optical LANs), since many of those systems also use RF signals to deliver video. Future higher-speed passive optical networks and other WDM applications running higher wavelengths over singlemode fiber will likely also require the reduced return loss of APC connectors.