Glossary

Outside plant terms, defined plainly.

Plain definitions of the outside plant terms used on this site, for owners and buyers who do not work on poles every day.

Anchor and guy: A guy is a steel wire that runs from a pole to an anchor set in the ground. Together they hold the pole against the pull of the cables attached to it.
As-builts: Drawings that show the plant as it was actually built, including any changes made in the field. They become the owner’s record of the network.
Backbone: The high-capacity fiber routes that connect major network sites and carry traffic between cities or regions.
Birthmark: The stamp or tag on a wood pole that shows its height, class, year of manufacture and treatment. Fielding records it for pole loading analysis.
Connectorization: Fitting connectors to the ends of coaxial cable so it can join amplifiers, taps and other devices in the plant.
Crossover: A point where one aerial line crosses another, such as a cable route crossing a power line. Clearances at crossovers are measured for code review.
Directional boring: A trenchless method that drills a guided path under roads, driveways and other obstacles, then pulls conduit or cable back through it.
Drop: The cable that runs from the street plant to a single customer building.
Electric membership cooperative (EMC): An electric utility owned by its members. In Georgia many are called EMCs, and many now build fiber on their own poles.
Fiber deep: An upgrade that pushes fiber closer to customers in a cable network, shortening the coaxial runs and cutting the number of amplifiers in a row.
Fielding: Collecting pole-by-pole data in the field for make-ready and pole loading: photos, attachment heights, pole tags, midspans, anchors and GPS. Also called a make-ready survey.
Fusion splicing: Joining two optical fibers by melting their ends together with an electric arc. It gives the lowest signal loss of any splice method.
Hardline: Rigid coaxial cable with a solid aluminum outer shield, used for the trunk and distribution sections of cable plant.
Hybrid fiber-coax (HFC): A cable network that carries signals on fiber from the headend to a neighborhood node, then on coaxial cable to customers.
Intelligent transportation systems (ITS): Traffic signals, cameras and sensors that a city, county or state DOT connects over its own fiber and conduit.
Joint use: The shared use of utility poles by more than one owner, such as an electric utility and one or more communication companies, under attachment agreements.
Last mile: The part of a network that reaches individual homes and businesses.
Loose tube: Fiber cable in which the fibers sit loose inside buffer tubes. Each fiber is spliced one at a time.
Make-ready: The work needed on an existing pole line before a new attachment can go up, such as moving existing attachments, fixing clearance problems or replacing a pole.
Mass fusion: Fusion splicing a whole ribbon of fibers, often 12 at a time, in one pass.
Middle mile: The fiber that links a local network to a larger backbone or internet exchange point.
Midspan: The section of cable between two poles. Midspan height is measured where the line crosses roads, driveways and other spans.
Multiple system operator (MSO): A cable company that runs cable systems in many areas.
National Electrical Safety Code (NESC): The US standard for safe clearances and strength on utility poles and lines. Make-ready and pole loading designs are checked against it.
Node split: Dividing one cable node’s service area into two or more by running fiber to a new node, so each node serves fewer customers.
Outside plant (OSP): The physical network outside buildings: poles, strand, cable, conduit, vaults, pedestals and splice closures.
Optical time-domain reflectometer (OTDR): A test instrument that sends light pulses down a fiber and reads the reflections, to measure length and loss and to find splices, bends and breaks.
Overlash: Lashing a new cable onto strand that already carries a cable, instead of placing new strand.
Pedestal: A ground-mounted enclosure that houses splices, taps or connections for buried plant.
Permitting: Getting approval from road and pole owners to place plant: city and county right-of-way permits, DOT encroachment permits and pole attachment applications.
Pole framing: Fitting a pole with the hardware a new attachment needs, such as bolts, brackets and extension arms.
Pole loading analysis: A structural calculation of the forces on a pole from its cables, equipment, wind and ice, used to confirm it can carry a new attachment.
Pole transfer: Moving cables and equipment from an old pole to its replacement.
Power meter test: Measuring how much light arrives at the far end of a fiber, to confirm the total loss is within budget.
Prime contractor: The contractor that holds the contract with the owner and answers for the whole job, including any subcontractors.
Redlines: Field markups, traditionally in red, that show where the built plant differs from the design. They are drafted into as-builts.
Ribbon fiber: Fiber cable in which the fibers are bonded side by side in flat ribbons, so a whole ribbon can be mass fusion spliced at once.
Splice closure: A sealed case that protects fiber or coax splices on a pole, in a vault or in a pedestal. Also called a splice case.
Strand and lash: Placing a steel messenger wire (the strand) between poles, then binding the cable to it with lashing wire.
Turnkey: One contractor delivers the whole project, from design through construction and closeout, under a single contract.
Vault: An underground box with a lid at grade that houses splices or slack cable and gives access to conduit.

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