Fiber Optic Color Code
The color code used for fiber optics is similar to copper, except for the addition of two colors: Rose (11th) and Aqua (12th).
In loose tube cables, this color code is used for tubes, fibers within the tubes, and subgroups (from TIA/EIA 598-A).
- Fiber 1 to 12: Blue, Orange, Green, Brown, Slate, White, Red, Black, Yellow, Violet, Rose, Aqua.
- Fiber 13 to 24: Repeated, but with a black tracer added (except for black, which has a white tracer).
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B L U E |
O R A N G E |
G R E E N |
B R O W N |
S L A T E |
W H I T E |
R E D |
B L A C K |
Y E L L O W |
V I O L E T |
R O S E |
A Q U A |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B L U E |
O R A N G E |
G R E E N |
B R O W N |
S L A T E |
W H I T E |
R E D |
B L A C K |
Y E L L O W |
V I O L E T |
R O S E |
A Q U A |
Jacket Color:
For outdoor cables, the jacket color is usually black polyethelene for both multimode and singlemode cables to prevent UV radiation damage. For indoor cables, the outer most fiber cable jacket may be any color but the de facto industry standard is:
| Orange | OM1 or OM2 multimode (LED) | Yellow | OS1 or OS2 singlemode (VSEL) | Aqua | OM3 or OM4 multimode laser-optimised | Green | OM5 wideband multimode fiber (WBMMF) |
Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) provides higher power, narrower spectral width, smaller spot size and faster data rates than Light Emitting Diode (LED) sources. VCSELs are inexpensive and well suited for low-cost 850 nm multimode transmission systems, allowing for data rates of 1 Gb/s and 10 Gb/s. To fully capitalize on the benefits of VCSELs, fiber manufacturers developed laser-optimized multimode fiber (LOMMF).
Connector Colors:
Since the earliest days of fiber optics, orange, black or gray was multimode and yellow singlemode. However, the advent of metallic connectors like the FC and ST made connector color coding difficult, so colored strain relief boots were often used.
| Brown | OM1 62.5µm multimode | Black | OM2 50µm multimode | Aqua | OM3/OM4 10Gbps 50µm (LOMMF) | Lime | OM5 wideband fiber (LOMMF) | Blue | OS1/OS2 9µm singlemode (UPC) | Green | OS1/OS2 9µm singlemode (APC) |
Ultra physical contact (UPC) vs. angled physical contact (APC) singlemode fiber connectors: with APC the fiber end-face is polished at an 8 degree angle, causing reflected light to reflect into the cladding vs. back toward the source. This increases the return loss. APC and UPC connectors cannot and should not be mated.