Undersea optical fiber telecommunication system and method

摘要

A modular undersea optical fiber telecommunication system includes a plurality of fiber optic cable segments each containing fibers of a fiber type different from at least some of the other cable segments. Each cable segment has a plug unit at one end and a receptacle unit at the opposite end comprising mating halves of an underwater connector. The connector units contain a plurality of optical fiber contact terminals, and each optical fiber in the cable segment is terminated to a respective one of the contact terminals in the plug unit at one end and to a respective one of the contact terminals in the receptacle unit at the opposite end. The plug unit of each cable segment is releasably securable to a receptacle unit of a selected second cable segment and the receptacle unit of each cable segment is releasably securable to a plug unit of a selected third cable segment, such that the optical fibers in the cable segment are connected with the fibers in the second and third cable segments without requiring splices.