Outdoor Cabinet
Street and plinth cabinets that house splitters and cross-connects, built to stand up to heat and dust.
In short
What is an outdoor fiber cabinet?
An outdoor fiber cabinet is a street or plinth-mounted housing that joins feeder cables to distribution cables. In FTTH networks it is usually the fiber distribution hub (FDH), holding the main splitters and the patch field that connects each customer path. It has to protect that hardware from heat, dust, water and tampering for many years.
Where it’s used
- FTTH distribution hubs in residential areas
- Cross-connects between feeder and distribution cables
- Splice and patch points on campus and industrial sites
- Splitter housing in new real-estate developments
Buying advice
How to choose an outdoor cabinet.
- 01
Plan for the heat
In Riyadh, summer air temperatures pass 45°C and a cabinet in direct sun gets much hotter. Double-wall or sun-shielded housings and ventilation keep splitters and cords within their rated range.
- 02
Size the patch field for full take-up
A hub sized for first-phase subscribers fills quickly. Size splitter and patch capacity for every premises in the area it serves.
- 03
Think about who opens it
Installers will open the cabinet for years after handover. Clear port labels and organised routing stop one new connection from disturbing another.
What does FDH stand for?
Fiber distribution hub. It is the cabinet in an FTTH network where feeder fibers from the exchange are split and patched out to the distribution cables that serve each area.
What IP rating should an outdoor fiber cabinet have?
Outdoor fiber cabinets are commonly specified at IP55 or higher, which protects against dust and water jets. The operator’s or consultant’s specification sets the exact rating for each project.
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