Patent ID: 7422378

Claim:
A telecommunications cable comprising: a distribution cable including a cable jacket and a plurality of buffer tubes positioned within the cable jacket, the plurality of buffer tubes including a first buffer tube, the distribution cable including a mid-span location where a portion of the cable jacket has been removed and where at least the first buffer tube includes a fiber access location; a flexible closure that surrounds the distribution cable and covers the mid-span location, the closure being factory installed, the closure being elongated along a length that extends along the distribution cable; a tether that branches from the distribution cable at the closure, the tether including a tether jacket, a tether buffer tube positioned within the jacket and at least one strength member; a tether retention block affixed to the distribution cable, the tether buffer tube passing through the retention block and at least the strength member of the tether being affixed to the retention block; a first optical fiber that extends through the first buffer tube of the distribution cable, the first optical fiber being routed out of the first buffer tube through the fiber access location; a second optical fiber that extends through the tether buffer tube, the second fiber being routed into the flexible closure; the first optical fiber being spliced to the second optical fiber at a splice location located within the flexible closure; and the first optical fiber including a breakout portion that extends from the fiber access location to the splice location and the second optical fiber including a breakout portion that extends from the tether retention block to the splice location, the breakout portions of the first and second fibers having an excess fiber length of at least παR dc /180°, wherein R dc equals a radius of the distribution cable measured from a centerline of the distribution cable to an outer surface of the cable jacket and α equals a bend angle of the distribution cable.