Microduct Cables - Unlocking Fibre Network Efficiency for the Future
The demand for faster, more reliable digital infrastructure continues to rise. Yet in many UK towns and cities, rolling out new fibre optic networks has become increasingly difficult. Existing ducts are congested with legacy cables, and installing new ducts is disruptive, time-consuming, and expensive.
For alt-net companies under pressure to cut costs and accelerate deployments, the solution lies in miniaturisation and packing more fibres into the same space through microduct cables.
Why Microducts Are Changing Fibre Deployments
Microducts are small ducts designed to house compact fibre optic cables with exceptionally high fibre counts. By enabling operators to install more fibres within limited duct space, they offer a future-proof approach to connectivity.
Prysmian has led the way in developing microduct cables that combine ultra-high fibre counts with reduced diameters. Our Prysmian Sirocco Extreme 864f cable, for example, contains 864 fibres within just a 9.8mm diameter cable, delivering 11.5 fibres per square millimetre without sacrificing performance.
This innovative cable incorporates BendBright technology to reduce signal loss from tight bends and ensure a reliable performance even on the most challenging of routes. In addition, testing has shown this exceptional performance can be expected to last for over 50 years, allowing operators to plan for long-term lifecycle cost efficiency.
The cable's small diameter enables it to be installed in microducts as small as 12mm diameter for new installations, opening new possibilities for fibre optic connectivity.
Microduct cables have become a popular choice for future-fit applications, such as long-haul data centre interconnection, city-centre and FTTH networks, because they enable rapid deployment and provide future-proof scalability. Their small footprint also provides sustainability benefits, due to the use of fewer raw materials.
Prysmian's Karona Overblow System
Innovation does not stop with the cable. The cable's small diameter also makes it ideal for installation in existing ducts, which already contain an active optical fibre using air-blowing technologies.
Prysmian's innovative Karona Overblow System uses compressed air injected at the duct inlet to blow the Prysmian Sirocco cables up to 800m in an existing duct.
Overblowing makes cable installation faster and more cost-effective because an installation will require less civil engineering work, which can be up to 70% of the cost of an installation.
Installing the cable into a pre-existing duct reduces lead times by eliminating the need to apply for planning licences. Overblowing is far more environmentally friendly because it eliminates the need to dig trenches and to remove spoil from the site.
For telecommunications companies seeking to upgrade congested networks quickly and sustainably, the Karona Overblow System provides a proven, future-fit solution.
Scaling Fibre Networks with Microduct Cables
Prysmian’s Sirocco microduct cables and the Karona Overblow System demonstrate how innovation in miniaturisation, density, and installation technology can transform fibre rollouts, reducing costs, accelerating deployment, and minimising environmental impact.
The challenge of scaling fibre optic networks in congested cities is here to stay. But with microduct cables that combine ultra-high fibre counts with reduced diameters, combined with innovative installation methods, operators can continue to expand capacity efficiently.