Prysmian Launches EcoSpan™ Cables with FlexRibbon™ Technology to Enhance Rural Broadband Deployment

November 18, 2024

Prysmian recently launched its latest fiber and connectivity innovation, EcoSpan™ cables with FlexRibbon™ technology, designed to enhance rural broadband deployments.

EcoSpan cable with FlexRibbon™ technology is a new low fiber-count rural cabling solution that can easily be spliced as ribbons or single fibers, installs like a drop cable with P-Clamps and is available in counts from 24F to 72F.

“Our new EcoSpan cable offers the convenience of an aerial drop, while supporting much longer spans and fiber counts up to 72,” said Jon Fitz, Director of Advanced Business Solutions for North America Telecom, Prysmian North America. “Our U.S. design team developed it specifically for rural broadband, and it’s made right here in Tennessee and the Carolinas.”

Prysmian’s EcoSpan cable is optimized for rapid installation on pole lines and is compatible with high-strength wedge clamps and mass-fusion splicing. Unlike traditional fiber drop, it can safely be used for spans up to 300′ under NESC Heavy loading.

Additional features of EcoSpan cable include:

• Rapid, economical deployment with wedge-clamp style hardware
• Flexible ribbons for easy mass-fusion splicing and routing in splice trays
• Smaller and lighter than designs with traditional (flat) ribbons
• Fibers are organized in a buffer tube for ease of management during splicing
• Dry water-blocked
• Standard 250um fibers
• No bonding or grounding required
• Robust 200kpsi fiber
• Reliable lifetime performance

In October, Prysmian was named as one of only 20 wire and cable manufacturers to self-certify certain products by the Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements for the Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) program — a $42.45 billion grant program created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and administered by the Department of Commerce. With this Self-Certification status, Prysmian underscores its commitment to fostering domestic manufacturing while supporting critical infrastructure expansion initiatives across the United States.

Prysmian has made significant investments across its North American footprint to support the growing need for fiber infrastructure and the BEAD program funding, including a $30M investment in its Jackson, Tennessee factory to retool the facility from legacy copper to fiber optic cable production, and a $50M multi-year modernization project at its Claremont fiber facility to enhance process capabilities, systems, and technologies to support future growth.

To learn more about Prysmian’s EcoSpan cable with FlexRibbon technology, visit https://na.prysmian.com/product-center/telecoms/ecospan-with-flexribbon.