Automated large-scale fiber cross-connecting switch using a fiber handling method

Summary form only given. Fiber termination modules (FTMs), which terminate both subscriber and office-equipment cables and cross connect between these cables, are one of the most important equipment in optical access networks. For future optical access networks that employ fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) architecture, it is important to lower the total cost, including the operational cost for cross-connecting at FTMs. Compactness and high reliability are also required for FTMs. To satisfy these requirements, automated cross-connecting switches are crucial. In this paper a new configuration for a large-scale automated fiber cross-connecting switch, which is capable of cross connecting between more than 4000 subscriber cables and 4090 office-equipment cables, is proposed.