Fiber Optic Cable Color Codes

TIA/EIA-598 Optical Fiber Cable Color Coding 

The fiber optic cable color code is based on the 10 colors that are used for plastic insulated conductor copper cables. Two more colors(Rose and Aqua) have been added to bring the optical fiber color code to 12.

The following fiber color code is for 12 fiber strands.

For cables that consist of more than 12 strands, the color code repeats itself. Each group of 12 strands is identified with some other means such as:

• Multiple buffer tubes each with 12 or less strands either numbered or colored following the same color code, e.g., 1st tube is blue, 2nd is orange, etc.
• 24 strand groups with the color code repeating with some variation, e.g., the 1st group of 12 strands are solid colors and the 2nd group are solid colors with a stripe or some other identifying mark.

Fiber Cable Jacket Colors

For outdoor aerial and burial type cables, the jacket color is usually black polyethelene for both multimode and singlemode cables.

For indoor cables, the outer most fiber cable jacket may be any color but the de facto industry standard is:

• Orange for multimode fibers
• Yellow for singlemode fibers

This is also generally true for fiber optic patch cords.

TIA-598C Recommendations on Fiber Cable Jacket Color

Colored outer jackets or print may be used on Premises Distribution Cable, Premises Interconnect Cable or Interconnect Cord, or Premises Breakout Cable to identify the classification and fiber sizes of the fiber.

When colored jackets are used to identify the type of fiber in cable containing only one fiber type, the colors shall be as indicated in the following table. Other colors may be used providing that the print on the outer jacket identifies fiber classifications in accordance with subclause 4.3.3. Such colors should be as agreed upon between manufacturer and user.

Unless otherwise specified, the outer jacket of premises cable containing more than one fiber type shall use a printed legend to identify the quantities and types of fibers within the cable. The following table shows the preferred nomenclature for the various fiber types, for example "12 Fiber 8 x 50/125, 4 x 62.5/125."

When the print on the outer jacket of premises cable is used to identify the types and classifications of the fiber, the nomenclature of the following table is preferred for the various fiber types. Distinctive print characters for other fiber types may be considered for addition to this Table at some future date.

NOTES:
1) Natural jackets with colored tracers may be used instead of solid-color jackets.
2) Because of the limited number of applications for these fibers, print nomenclature are to be agreed upon between manufacturer and enduser
3) Other colors may be used providing that the print on the outer jacket identifies fiber classifications per subclause 4.3.3.
4) For some Premises Cable functional types (e.g., plenum cables), colored jacketing material may not be available. Distinctive jacket colors for other fiber types may be considered for addition to Table 3 at some future date.

Fiber Optic Connector Color Codes

Since the earliest days of fiber optics, orange, black or gray was multimode and yellow singlemode. However, the advent of metallic connectors like the FC and ST made color coding difficult, so colored boots were often used. The TIA 568 color code for connector bodies and/or boots is Beige for multimode fiber, Blue for singlemode fiber, and Green for APC (angled) connectors.