As fiber deployment accelerates in North America, Asia and Europe, there is a need for field-installed drop cable connectivity solutions that are simple, low in cost, and meet high service standards. Mechanical splicing is being used successfully for FTTH drops in multiple countries representing a range of labor rates and skill levels, and this demonstrates the general applicability of this splice method. It is serving as one of the base technologies for divergent drop cable approaches and broadband delivery methods.

In the case of Japan, where mechanical splicing for drop cables has one of the longest records of use, users report that the process has reduced tool cost by 90 percent, improved productivity by 50 percent, and resulted in a 50-percent overall reduction in the installed cost of each mechanical splice.

The experience of users in Japan, Korea and China confirms that with proper tools and components, mechanical FTTH or fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) drop splices and connections may meet both budget restraints, such as cost-per-splice and time-per-splice, and long-term performance standards. These standards include environmental resistance, pull-out strength and signal integrity. The benefits of mechanical splicing apply to aerial, buried, underground and pedestal fiber-joining requirements in the field, for both indoor and outside applications.