MTP® and MPO Cable FAQs

What is fiber MPO?

MPO (Multi-Fiber Push On) cables are capped with MPO connectors at either end. MPO fiber connector is for ribbon cables with more than 2 fibers, which is designed to provide multi-fiber connectivity in one connector to support high bandwidth and high-density cabling system applications. MPO connector is compliant with the IEC 61754-7 standard and the U.S. TIA-604-5 standard. At present, MPO connectors are typically available with 8, 12, 16 or 24 fibers for common data center and LAN applications, and 32, 48, 60, 72 fiber counts are also possible in large scale optical switches for specialty super high- density multi-fiber arrays.

What is fiber MTP?

MTP® cables, short for (Multi-Fiber Pull Off), are equipped with MTP® connectors at either end. MTP® connector is a trademark by US Conec for a version of the MPO connector with improved specifications. So MTP® connectors are fully compliant with all generic MPO connectors and can interconnect directly with other MPO based infrastructures. However, the MTP® connector is a multiple engineered product enhancement to improve mechanical and optical performance when compared to generic MPO connectors.

Is MTP compatible with MPO?

Yes, MPO and MTP connectors are 100% compatible and interchangeable. MPO and MTP connectors both conform to SNAP (form factor and multiplex push-pull coupling) and are fully compliant with IEC-61754-7 and TIA-604-5 (FOC155).

Is MTP better than MPO?

Yes. The MTP® connector is a high-performance MPO connector engineered for better mechanical and optical performance.

Is MPO MTP male or female?

MTP connectors can either be male or female, often referred to as the gender type of a connector. The male connector has pins, whereas the female connector has no pins (see image below for reference).

What is the difference between Type A and Type B MPO/MTP?

Type A MPO/MTP adapters all have a key up on one side and the mating connector key down on the other side. Type B trunk cable uses key up connector on both ends. This type of array mating results in an inversion, which means the fiber positions are reversed at each end.

What is an MTP® Elite?

The MTP® Elite version provides lower insertion loss compared to the standard MTP® fiber optic cable. The maximum insertion loss for a mated pair is 0.35db vs 0.6db for multimode fiber cables, and 0.35db vs 0.75db for single-mode fiber cables.

What is an MTP® Pro cable?

The MTP® PRO patch cord is pre-terminated with MTP® PRO connectors and factory-polished for low loss performance. With a novel design featuring simplicity and reliability, the MTP® PRO connector offers quick and effective polarity and pin reconfiguration in the field while ensuring product integrity and performance.

Should I use MTP® or MPO cable for high-density cabling systems?

Both MTP® and MPO fiber optic cables can be used for high-density cabling structures, but MTP® connector is an enhanced version of MPO connector to improve optical and mechanical performance in the data center cabling architecture.