EXFO Launches Fiber Inspection Probe for All Field Network Architectures

Taking into consideration today’s customer needs in harsh outside plant environments, EXFO has used its expertise and leadership in optical testing to bring to market the new FIP-400 optical probe product family. Along with its rugged and ergonomic design, the FIP-400 boasts the best resolution on the market for a field handheld probe, enabling the detection of faults and scratches down to 1 micron.

Optical networks are constantly being pushed to their limits to satisfy bandwidth demand, thus requiring network service providers (NSP) to perform under tight network tolerances. With such limited headroom, dirty or faulty connectors are becoming the No. 1 hindrance in optical networks. The new FIP-400 helps NSPs to significantly improve their fault-detection rate with the highest resolution on the market for a field probe, while enabling the reduction of capital expenditures with a durable field-optimized design.

The FIP-400 is compatible with the entire EXFO portfolio of products such as the EXFO FTB-200 OTDR , EXFO FTB-150 OTDR, FOT-930 MaxTester and the newly launched AXS-200 SharpTESTER platform. The FIP-400 can also be used with a new lightweight, handheld viewer, featuring a high-brightness TFT screen that renders crisp images of fiber endfaces even in bright sunlight conditions. Customers will be pleased to discover the same look, feel and high quality that they like about EXFO products in this new versatile solution.

This new fiber inspection tool ranks among the most versatile solutions in the industry with a variety of tips for connector compatibility and even an adapter to fit with the last generation of EXFO probes currently deployed in the field.

“With the introduction of this next-generation fiber inspection microscope, EXFO is leveraging the unique experience it has gathered from its technology and market leadership to deliver the features and functionality that customers are requesting in their day-to-day operations,” said Etienne Gagnon, EXFO’s Vice-President of Product Management and Marketing. “In today’s environment, whether NSPs are rolling out FTTx networks in adverse outside plant conditions or deploying a leading-edge 40 Gbit/s backbone network, ensuring fiber connector cleanliness is paramount. The FIP-400 Fiber Inspection Microscope, which is compatible with all of our existing test platforms or available as a stand-alone kit, enables EXFO to offer a unique set of test solutions for the installation and maintenance of fiber-optic networks.”