Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) now offers Home Deployment Kits designed to streamline fiber to the home (FTTH) customer installations. Use of the kits can knock almost 30 minutes off the average FTTH installation call, says the company. It also can be used in scenarios where customers wish to install services themselves, “keeping residents and fiber technicians at a safe distance,” Clearfield adds.
The Home Deployment Kits cover the fiber connection from outside the home to the point where the customer equipment is located inside the home. While variances in premises size, shape, and building material require technicians to use different types of fasteners to attach fiber, Clearfield says its kits include all the necessary materials. For example, the kits include four types of outside plant test access points (TAPs):
- The new CraftSmart TAP-Base which is splice only, limited slack storage, NEMA 4
- The new CraftSmart TAP-Flex which is plug-and-play, 25-foot incoming slack storage, NEMA 3S
- The YOURx TAP, also plug-and-play but for 50-foot incoming/100-foot outgoing slack storage, NEMA 4 requirements
- The FieldSmart TAP, which is plug-and-play, 100-foot incoming/200-foot outgoing slack storage, NEMA 4.
Other elements of the kit include a new consumer-friendly CraftSmart Fiber Outlet for inside wiring, fiber patch cords, and FieldShield drop fiber as needed. Clearfield says the contents of the Home Deployment Kit can be used with any fiber type but are optimized for FieldShield FLEXDrop pre-terminated entrance fiber. After installing the entrance fiber, the CraftSmart Fiber Outlet terminates the fiber inside the home.
Clearfield expects to have kits available for shipping in May.
“With everything needed for a home installation all in one box, not only are truck rolls reduced, but service providers will have everything from fasteners to the correct length of patch cord right at their fingertips,” commented Kevin Morgan, chief marketing officer at Clearfield. “We anticipate service providers will save time and money for any deployment model, suiting even the most challenging home installations.”