Patent ID: 8687930

Claim:
A cable, comprising: a polymeric cable jacket; a polymeric buffer tube within the jacket, the buffer tube defining an interior; a plurality of optical fibers arranged as ribbon stack and located in the interior, wherein a ribbon stack freespace is less than 1.5 mm; and at least one strength member at least partially embedded in the jacket, wherein the at least one strength member includes a first pair of strength members on one side of the jacket and a second pair of strength members on an opposite side of the jacket, wherein the at least one strength member has a strength member area and the ribbon stack has a ribbon stack fiber area, wherein a product of the strength member area and strength member elastic modulus is a strength member EA, and a product of the ribbon area and ribbon stack elastic modulus is a ribbon stack EA, and wherein the ratio of ribbon stack EA to strength member EA is at least 0.0015 times the number of optical fibers in the ribbon stack.