Pigtail SC/APC 12 colors SM G657A1 0.9mm OFNR 3M, semitight

Pigtail SC/APC 12 Colors SM G657A1 0.9 mm OFNR 3M, Semitight from Red Cable Technology (RCT) is a 12-color pigtail set on bend-insensitive G.657A1 single-mode fiber, made for terminating fiber optic cables through fusion or mechanical splicing. Every leg runs 3 meters of 0.9 mm OFNR-jacketed fiber into an SC/APC connector — pair a quality pigtail with correct fusion splicing and you get the best termination performance possible. These pigtails drop right into fiber management equipment like ODFs, fiber terminal boxes, and distribution boxes.

Features & Specs:

• 12 color-coded pigtails with SC/APC connectors — APC (green) polish for low return loss; as a reminder, UPC connectors are blue while APC connectors are green
• Bend-insensitive single-mode fiber, ITU-T G.657A1 — the de facto standard for bend-insensitive non-dispersion-shifted (NDSF) SMF in premises cabling, chosen for its optimized balance of performance and cost
• ITU-T G.657A1 and A2 are fully compliant with G.652D, delivering enhanced, low-loss fiber; minimum bending radii can be optimized, though that trades off fiber attenuation and cost. Bend-insensitive NDSF is defined in ITU-T G.657 with different minimum bending radii characteristics: G.657A1 (10 µm)
• 0.9 mm buffered fiber, OFNR-rated jacket, 3 m length, semitight buffer
• SC connector: snap-in design with a 2.5 mm ferrule (like the ST) — simple, rugged, and low cost, known for excellent performance; simple push-on/pull-off operation makes it a popular choice
• Single-mode fiber delivers a greater transmission rate plus nearly 50 times longer distance than multi-mode fiber — but it costs more than multi-mode; the most basic difference is core size, along with the associated loss or attenuation and fiber bandwidth
• Tight-buffered construction uses 900 µm buffered fibers; the core is guarded by a two-layer coating — the first plastic, the second waterproof acrylate — so the core is never at risk of exposure the way it can be in loose-buffered cable
• Fibers sit inside dielectric strength members (FRP) and a rugged polyurethane outer jacket, giving superior environmental and mechanical protection
• Fiber count for tight-buffered cable ranges from 1 to 144 fibers; 2, 6, 12, and 24 are most common, with 48, 96, and 144 available for specific applications

## Why APC connectors

Some applications are more sensitive to return loss and call for APC. In higher optical wavelength ranges (above 1500 nanometers) — the bands used for RF video signals — reflected light can hurt the signal, which is why most cable companies and FTTX providers use APC connectors in outside plant applications. APC is also the go-to in passive optical applications (GPONs and passive optical LANs), because 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 need APC’s reduced return loss as well.

## On the upgrade path

Weighing on-premises versus access-network fiber replacement or new installation: we recommend replacing legacy OS1 with a new bend-insensitive OS2 (ITU-T G.657A1) SMF cabling system to support longer reach with enhanced link performance.