MTP MPO Fiber Documentation

What is an MTP Fiber Connector?

MTP® is an acronym for Multi-fiber Termination Push-on and is the standardized terminating end of a multi-fiber cable that supports for all practical intents and purposes up to 24 fiber strands per connector. The MTP fiber connector is an improved, proprietary version of the standard MPO (Multi-Fiber Push-On) connector in respect to attenuation and reflection, yet uses the same form-factor and multiplex push-pul coupling type (SNAP). Developed by US Conec, the MTP connector increases overall performance by implementing structural improvements and higher quality materials.

The ferrule is same as MT (Mechanical Transfer) but is more easily reconnectable.  Over time and under load, an MPO connector may show performance degradation and may compromise reliable transmission of high performance signals. Manufacturing improvements of its structural components have led to reduced insertion losses which will not change excessively under possible temperature fluctuations due to high amounts of traffic and a secure reliable connection can be maintained. The MTP optical connector is fully compliant with the MPO standard and therefore fully backwards compatible and capable of intermating with any MPO related equipment. For additional information, see the difference between MTP and MPO Connectors post.

World's Strongest MTP Cable Assemblies

OptoSpan’s 8, 12 and 24 fiber MTP, MTP Elite and MPO cables feature the new and exclusive FiberShield design. The FiberShield design uses three times the PVC jacket and DuPont Kevlar to protect the delicate optical fibers located inside the cables, resulting in a flexible yet robust 4.5mm cable that is 5x stronger than the standard 3.0mm cable.

MTP FiberShield Quality

• 5x Stronger than ordinary MTP cables!
• US Conec MTP® housing and MT ferrule
• Individual serial number and test report
• ISO 14000 clean room manufacturing

MTP Fiber Cable introduction

An MTP cable is essentially a multi-strand fiber optic cable terminated with high performance MTP® or MTP Elite® connectors on one or multiple ends. Depending on application and compatibility, different styles  of MTP fiber cable assemblies can be identified and rudimentary categorized into: MTP trunk cables, MTP extension harnesses and MTP breakout cables featuring up to 24 fibers per connector and 144 fiber strands per assembly. The MTP fiber cable, basically being an improved MPO fiber cable, meets and exceeds all of the MPO specifications yet provides full compatibility with MPO equipment and accessories. In order to maintain performance, it is recommended to use similar components to avoid complications such as an MTP-MTP connection. Visit our MTP Fiber Connector guide for more information.

Advent of the MTP / MPO Connector

In today’s age of cloud computing and HD video streaming, the push for ever increasing bandwidth and ever decreasing footprint of communication equipment has been relentless. While fiber optic networks are inherently superior to copper in accommodating these requirements, they do pose specific challenges to the network infrastructure design and installation in particular.

A major challenge has been to effectively manage high-density fiber networks and facilitate a high volume of fiber connections between optical networking equipment and components within ever-tighter space constraints. For this purpose, the MPO connector format was developed and ultimately standardized by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) in 1996. Compared to the single and dual fiber LC and SC connectors, the multi-fiber MPO (multi-fiber push-on) design significantly reduces the amount of time, effort and space required to deploy fiber network technologies.

While the MPO connector has been an integral part of data center implementations ever since, improvements to the original design resulted in the MTP (Multi-fiber Termination Push-on) connector. To ensure seamless and even faster deployments, the MTP connector was the first MPO connector to be factory-engineered to appropriate cable lengths. This meant less skill requirements for installation, better quality assurance and simplification of future additions or changes to the optical infrastructure. Ground-breaking at the time but the innovations introduced by the MTP connector eventually became industry standard. The MTP® connector is still evolving and the most technologically advanced multi-fiber connector on the market today, rivaling loss rates that single-fiber connectors saw merely a few years ago!

While MTP cable connectors and adapters provide significant enhancements over MPO, they are fully backward compatible with generic MPO Cable connectors and seamlessly integrate into existing MPO network designs.