Patent ID: 7603012

Claim:
A fiber optic cable comprising: a plurality of optical fibers spanning the length of the fiber optic cable; one or more strength members spanning the length of the fiber optic cable, wherein the one or more strength members are capable of withstanding tensile forces greater than each of the plurality of optical fibers; and a jacket positioned around the plurality of optical fibers and the one or more strength members spanning substantially all of the length of the fiber optic cable, wherein at least at one end of the fiber optic cable, the jacket includes: a strength member portion that surrounds the one or more strength members; an optical fiber portion that surrounds the plurality of optical fibers; and a separation portion between the strength member portion and the optical fiber portion, the separation portion being structured such that when force is applied pulling the optical fiber portion from the strength member portion, the separation portion ruptures first to thereby allow the strength member portion and the optical fiber portion of the jacket to peel away from each other at the end of the fiber optic cable, and wherein the fiber optic cable has a bilaterally symmetric cross-section defined by a line of symmetry that divides the plurality of optical fibers into a first group of one or more optical fibers and a second group of one or more optical fibers.