The Colour of Fibre Patch Cord

    As we all know, different colours of the outer jacket of a fibre patch cord represent different types of fibre optic patch cord. Are you often confused as to how to distinguish a fibre patch cord based on the colour of the outer jacket? Don't worry. We can refer to EIA/TIA-598, a globally recognised standard for fibre optic cabling. Developed by the US Telecommunications Industry Association, EIA/TIA-598 defines the fibre colour coding for different types of fibre patch cords. The code specifies the colour of outer jacket, connector and fibre optic, helping us to better manage fibre patch cords and reduce man-made error.

    The colour of the outer jacket of a fibre patch cord varies with the type of fibre and the application environment, as shown in the table below.

    In addition to the outer jacket colours specified in the EIA/TIA-598 colour standard, some suppliers also classify fibre patch cords with a specific pattern printed on the outer jacket.

    Because of the different polishing for fibre connectors, fibre colour coding is often used to differentiate between fibre optic connector types. However, metal fibre optic connectors such as FC and ST cannot be colour coded, thus some suppliers mark them using special sleeves, the colour of which may vary from supplier to supplier.

    As defined by EIA/TIA-598, in a multi-core fibre optic patch cable, the fibres are usually colour coded in groups of 12 and counted in a clockwise direction.

    Due to the different quantities of fibre cores, there are two cases of fibre optic colour coding as follows.

    If fibre cores are up to 12: In order to distinguish between different fibres, each fibre will be marked with 12 different colours, such as blue for the first fibre and orange for the second, as detailed in the table below.

    If fibre cores are more than 12: The previous 12 colours are usually repeated, but the fibres are marked with another colour to differentiate them, for example the 13th fibre has a blue outer jacket with a black tracer.

    Fibre optic colour coding helps us to visually identify the type of fibre optic patch cord and makes it easier to manage. However, there are so many different types and colours of fibre optic patch cords on the market that sometimes it is not possible to distinguish between them based on this information alone, so you can check the type and specification of the fibre optic patch cords to help you better differentiate them.