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MMF Cables

A type of fiber optic cable that uses multiple central cores in order to facilitate multiplex transmission.

MMF cables have a larger core then their counterpart, (50 or 62.5 microns) and a shorter wavelength (850 or 1300 mm vs 1310 or 1550 mm). MMF uses less expensive optics and is less expensive for enterprise deployment. However, MMF doesn't support high signaling speeds or long distances as well as SMF, so it's usually used in LAN deployments.

There are four categories for MMF cables, as defined by the ISO 11801 standard:

  • OM1 (62.5 micron) - LED transmitters, 1 Gbps speeds
  • OM2 (50 micron) - LED transmitters, 1 Gbps speeds
  • OM3 and OM4 (50 micron) - VCSEL (aka laser optimized MMF; LOMMF)

#III

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