Viable. Flexible. Reliable. ITG’s new Branching Unit
By Nancy Poirier and Yves Baribeau International Telecom Group’s Universal NY Branching Unit (NYBU) has been specially developed for repeaterless submarine telecommunication systems. The major goal of the branching unit design was to be capable of standardizing the manner with which various types of cables may be secured to have continuous load distribution. ITG’s first NYBU was successfully deployed during the Bahamas Internet Cable System (BICS) installation in December 2000. Reliability of submarine systems has always been an important criterion for route and system engineering. Although it is known that festoon systems lack any internal restoration path, system installers continue to prefer the festooned to the branched configuration; this being due mainly to the fact that festooned networks were always simpler and at lower cost. ITG designed and built an ultra compact, fast and easy to assemble passive branching unit. The NYBU can 49
accommodate very high fiber count and is adaptable to any cable types, making it a cost effective solution for reliable branched systems. The primary design objective of the NYBU was to make it very reliable. A reduced number of pieces would simplify the assembly and thus diminish the risk of incorrectly installed or forgotten parts. The NYBU mono-block design meets this requirement and is assembled with a combination of only 10 different pieces plus standard hardware (o-ring, screws and heat shrink tubes). Readily available material and hardware were procured to maintain high quality, low cost and fast delivery. Most branching units are developed for one specific type of cable and require extensive development to be adapted to others. The ITG design team looked at the main cable types available and determined that the NYBU could be modified with only minor changes. A universal design provides adaptability in a timely manner and with minimal engineering cost. The unit is designed to be assembled onboard a laying vessel without the use of