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Fiber Color Code: How is it in Fiber Cable, Connectors & Assemblies?

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What is Fiber Color Codes?

Fiber color code is a standard for quickly identifying fibers, cables, connectors and fiber optic assemblies. The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) especially launched the TIA-598 standard. This standard addresses the manufacturer’s fiber color codes to follow and reference.

Let’s introduce fiber optic color codes from this 3 main aspects. We also believe this PDF from TheFOA.org code codes is helpful, You can also download it.

Fiber Color Code: Fiber Cable, Connectors & Assemblies

Why Use Fiber Optic Color Codes?

Using the right fiber color codes makes it easier for technicians to handle and fix fiber optic cables quickly. Network managers can easily tell apart different fiber types and get their details just by checking the color code. This avoids unnecessary checks and cuts down on the time it takes to set up and maintain things.

Fiber Optic Color Codes for Bare Fiber

In today’s fast-paced data centers, where cables with many fibers are common, keeping track of all these connections is crucial. A single device might be linked to dozens or even hundreds of fibers. So, being able to identify each fiber easily is very important. Good color coding of fibers helps keep the network running smoothly, lowers the chance of it going down, and makes the network more reliable. Plus, it makes adding to the network or upgrading it much simpler.

Standards For Color Codes

There is a color code standard in TIA, TIA-598 that addresses fiber optic color codes, which most manufacturers adopt and reference, although there are many exceptions based on customer requirements or preferences. Here is what TIA-598 recommends:

EIA598-A Individual Fiber ColourDIN VDE 0888 Individual Fiber ColourIEC 60794-2 Individual Fiber ColourIEC 60304 Individual Fiber Colour
1 Blue1 Red1 Blue1 Red
2 Orange2 Green2 Yellow2 Green
3 Green3 Blue3 Red3 Blue
4 Brown4 Yellow4 White4 Yellow
5 Slate5 White5 Green5 White
6 White6 Slate6 Violet6 Slate
7 Red7 Brown7 Orange7 Brown
8 Black8 Violet8 Slate8 Violet
9 Yellow9 Aqua9 Aqua9 Aqua
10 Violet10 Black10 Black10 Black
11 Pink11 Orange11 Brown11 Orange
12 Aqua12 Pink12 Pink12 Pink
13 Blue*13 Red*1313 Red*
14 Orange*14 Green*1414 Green*
15 Green*15 Blue*1515 Blue*
16 Brown*16 Yellow*1616 Yellow*
17 Slate*17 White*1717 White*
18 White*18 Grey*1818 Slate*
19 Red*19 Brown*1919 Brown*
20 Black**20 Violet*2020 Violet*
21 Yellow*21 Aqua*21 Buffer 1 Red21 Aqua*
22 Violet*22 Transparent22 Buffer 2 Green22 Transparent*
23 Pink*23 Orange*23 Transparent23 Orange*
24 Aqua*24 Pink*24 Transparent24 Pink*

Fiber Color Code for Inner Fiber ( By Fiber Counts )

6 and 12 cores fiber color code

24 cores fiber color code

48 cores fiber color code

144 cores fiber color code

288 cores fiber color code

432 cores fiber color code

Fiber Color Code for Fiber Connectors & Assemblies

Fiber Color Code for Fiber Connectors such as SC LC FC ST

As FC ST is of metallic body, so the color you can see is their boot.

Fiber typeConnector BodyStrain Relief/
Mating Adapter
62.5/125BeigeBeige
50/125 OM2BlackBlack
50/125 laser optimized (OM3, OM4)AquaAqua
OM5 wideband fiberLimeLime
SinglemodeBlueBlue
Singlemode APCGreenGreen

Fiber Color Code for Cable Jacket

Fiber Color Code for Indoor Fiber Cable

Simple but Valueable Table for Fiber Assemblies Color Code

Color codes make it easy to tell what kind of connector a fiber optic patch cord has. For example, the older types of multimode fibers, OM1 and OM2, are usually beige or black. The newer, better performing OM3 and OM4 fibers are colored aqua and magenta.

For single mode fibers, blue means the connector is UPC, and green means it’s APC. It’s really important not to mix UPC and APC connectors because they won’t work well together.

Fiber ConnectorPolishing TypeFiber TypeConnector ColorFiber Color Code
LCUPCSinglemodeBlueYellow
LCAPCSinglemodeGreenYellow
SCUPCSinglemodeBlueYellow
SCAPCSinglemodeGreenYellow
STUPCSinglemodeBlackYellow
STAPCSinglemodeBlackYellow
MTRJUPCSinglemodeGreenYellow
MTRJAPCSinglemodeGreenYellow
FCUPCSinglemodeMetallicYellow
FCAPCSinglemodeMetallicYellow
LCUPCMultimodeAquaOrange
LCAPCMultimodeAquaOrange
SCUPCMultimodeAquaOrange
SCAPCMultimodeAquaOrange
STUPCMultimodeBlackOrange
STAPCMultimodeBlackOrange
MTRJUPCMultimodeGreenOrange
MTRJAPCMultimodeGreenOrange
FCUPCMultimodeMetallicOrange
FCAPCMultimodeMetallicOrange

Conclusion

For beginners, understanding the basics of fiber color codes is key. It lets us quickly tell different fiber types apart just by looking at the color of the fiber optic jacket, the fiber inside, and the connectors. More importantly, getting good at this can make working with fiber cables faster and reduce the time needed for tasks.

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