Charles Industries (News - Alert) is celebrating its 40^th year as a privately held, diversified manufacturing and technology company serving telecommunications, marine and industrial markets. The company is now in the process of unveiling it new Fiber Flexibility Pedestal.

 

The new product, which is similar in design to Charles’ other fiber interconnect pedestals (one of these is pictured at right) is designed to provide a cost-effective option to fiber distribution hubs with greater flexibility in placement. Fiber distribution hubs (FDH), also referred to as local convergence points (LCP), are typically large metallic cabinets that require concrete pads or buried vaults for placement.

 

In contrast, Charles’ pedestal unit can be buried and the dome removed for convenient access to the splicing area. Its compact size makes it a better choice for small neighbourhoods, trailer parks, and remote locations compared to larger-sized cabinets.

 

The unit is flood-proof, so can be placed in areas where vented FDHs can’t hold up. It comes in three different sizes, for distributing 96, 144 or 288 fibers.

 

Features of the pedestal include a pre-stubbed bulkhead panel and slots for housing 1x32 splitter modules. Technicians can quickly and easily turn up service to subscribers by removing a distribution pigtail from a designated storage "parking lot" and plugging it into the bulkhead panel's connector interfaces. Bend control cable guides keep the pigtails neatly and securely arranged. An inner dome slides over the entire bulkhead panel area, creating a sealed chamber for added environmental protection.

 

The new FDH unit from Charles will be officially launched later this month at the 2008 OSP EXPO in Baltimore, Maryland.