We buy surplus fiber optic cable

Fiber is read on the reel, not on the glass. Reels arrive as single-mode or multimode, loose tube outside plant or tight buffer inside plant, in plenum and riser constructions, from 2 strands up to 144. OS2, OM3 and OM4 are the types that come through most often.

The value here sits in the reel, not the glass. Glass is cheap and splicing is not, so an intact reel with test data and a readable length can go straight to another route, while cut fiber becomes a small recovery item. That distinction drives the whole review.

Single-mode, multimode and strand count

Single-mode cable carries one path and is used for distance. Multimode carries several and is used within buildings and campuses. OM3 and OM4 are the grades that appear on current work, with OS2 on anything leaving a building or crossing a site.

Strand count runs from 2 up to 144 on the reels we see, and it is printed on the jacket along with the type. A 144-strand reel and a 12-strand reel are the same size drum but not the same item, so the count is recorded first.

Loose tube outside plant against tight buffer inside plant

Loose tube cable puts each fiber in a gel-filled tube inside the jacket, which protects it from moisture and from the movement that comes with outdoor installation. Tight buffer cable puts a coating directly on the fiber and is used indoors, where it can be connectorized easily.

Plenum and riser versions of the indoor cable carry the same logic as copper: the jacket compound is chosen for where it runs. We list construction as part of the description, because an outside plant reel will not substitute for a plenum run in a return air space.

Intact reels, test data and cut fiber

A reel that has never been unspooled, with the factory length and the test sheet, is the best case. Test data matters because it proves attenuation before the cable was handled, and a route owner will ask for it. Without the sheet the reel is still bought, but read with less confidence.

Cut fiber has limited recovery value because the glass itself is not worth much and a splice takes a technician and a fusion set. A short cut length with connectors on both ends is a jumper and is read differently. Say which you have, since a coil of cut fiber and a box of jumpers are not the same lot.

Fiber in this region moves with the carriers and the campuses. Utility and telecom duct banks run along I-35, MoPac and the SH-130 corridor, and a route change leaves reels in a laydown that were cut for the original path. Those reels are usually long and well documented.

Institutional work at UT Austin, Texas State in San Marcos and the school districts across Williamson and Hays counties produces indoor reels and jumpers. A campus rewire leaves a dozen part reels and a box of patch cables. Data center builds along SH-71 add plenum reels in quantity, often still sealed and tagged.