ANRITSU CORPORATION announced that UK installation specialist Birch Technical Services has invested in Anritsu’s Multi Channel Fibre Tester MT9100A, becoming the first installation contractor in the EMEA region to own the instrument
With the investment in the MT9100A, Birch Technical Services is extending its in-house testing capabilities into multi-core fibre. The company brings experience across fibre network design, installation, fusion splicing, testing and certification, as the optical communications industry explores new approaches to increasing transmission capacity.
Frame Communications, an Anritsu distributor in the UK and Ireland, helped facilitate the sale, providing engineering-led pre-sales and on-site support. Its involvement highlights the value of regional partners in driving local sales.
Multi-core fibre uses multiple independent cores within a single cladding to increase transmission capacity through space division multiplexing, creating a need to measure inter-core crosstalk alongside conventional optical transmission characteristics. Anritsu’s MT9100A addresses these requirements with single-ended testing, removing the need for an operator or measurement instrument at the far end.
The MT9100A simultaneously measures attenuation loss, return loss and crosstalk across up to four connected cores, improving efficiency compared with sequential power-meter testing. Automatic pass/fail judgement supports troubleshooting, while its portable, battery-powered design enables laboratory and field use.
“Multi-core fiber has huge potential, but making it practical to deploy means giving engineers the right tools to test and troubleshoot it. That’s exactly where the MT9100A fits. We can support customers not just with the technology, but with the knowledge and training needed to use it effectively,” said Sophie Barc, UK & Ireland Director Sales at Anritsu.
“Our engineers have spent years getting fiber characterisation right on conventional networks, and multi-core is the next step. Being the first installation contractor in the EMEA region with the MT9100A puts us in a position to support customers as their multi-core requirements come through, rather than waiting for the market to arrive,” said Matt Birch, Director, Birch Technical Services.
For Birch Technical Services, the investment provides a foundation for developing the practical skills, measurement workflows and field experience needed to support customers as multi-core fibre moves towards wider adoption.
Pictured from left to right: a representative of Birch Technical Services, Andy Cole (Anritsu), Sophie Barc (Anritsu), Matt Birch (Birch Technical Services), Paul Cattell (Frame Communications), Mike Field (Frame Communications)
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