Patent ID: 8175434

Claim:
An all-dielectric self-supporting optical fiber cable, comprising: a longitudinally extending, dielectric, central strength member; a plurality of longitudinally extending buffer tubes helically stranded in a single layer around the central strength member with a lay length not higher than 220 mm; more than 288 optical fibers bound together as bundles with color-coded thread inside the single layer of buffer tubes; an inner polymeric jacket extending around the single layer of buffer tubes; at least one dielectric outer strength member positioned around the inner jacket and, together with the central strength member, increasing the modulus of elasticity of the all-dielectric self-supporting optical fiber cable, the outer strength member including multiple strands of material having high tensile strength, wherein a first half of the strands is wrapped in a clockwise direction around the inner jacket and the second half of the strands is wrapped in a counter-clockwise direction around the inner jacket; and an outer jacket surrounding the outer strength member, wherein the optical fiber cable is self-supporting in an aerial installation.