10 Astonishing Advantages of EPFU Air-Blown Micro Cables

Still struggling with old, congested ducts?
Traditional fiber construction often means trenching, service shutdowns, and skyrocketing costs—
like performing “open-heart surgery” on a city.

According to the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT) 2024 report, projects using EPFU air-blown micro cables cut the overall cost by 40% and shorten the deployment time by 60%.
Having participated in the technical upgrade of Soctfiber Cable Factory, our team witnessed firsthand how this “minimally invasive technology” transformed the Smart-City project.

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1. Why EPFU Air-Blown Micro Cable Is a Duct-Revolution Technology

Facing limited duct space?
EPFU micro cables have an outer diameter of only 6–10 mm, up to 70% slimmer than conventional fiber cables.

During a duct rehabilitation project, SoctFiber successfully jetted four 12-core EPFU micro cables into a duct originally occupied by 12 power lines—achieving full network expansion with zero excavation.

And “thin” does not mean “weak.”
With a tensile strength of 2000 N (YD/T 1460), EPFU micro cables are 15% stronger than ADSS in pull performance.

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2. A Deep Look: EPFU vs. Traditional Fiber Cable

Index	Standard GYTA Cable	EPFU Air-Blown Micro Cable
Deployment Speed	500 m/day	2000 m/day
Duct Utilization Rate	30%	70%+
Bending Radius	20× cable diameter	10× cable diameter
Fault Restoration Time	8 hours	2 hours

Counterintuitively, although EPFU micro cables are smaller, the HDPE outer sheath combined with aramid yarn strength members allows them to stay flexible even at –40°C (Harbin winter conditions).

SoctFiber’s field tests show that the air-blowing resistance is 22% lower than the European standard, enabling easier and smoother installation.

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3. The 10 “Killer Advantages”

(Validated by SoctFiber Factory Tests)

1. Time Saving: 5 km of ducts completed in 3 days (vs. 3 weeks traditionally)
2. Cost Saving: No trenching—up to 60% reduction in overall deployment cost
3. Space Efficiency: A 40 mm microduct can host four 144-core micro cables
4. Flexible Upgrades: Future expansion is as easy as plug-and-play
5. Enhanced Protection: Anti-rodent and anti-termite (YD/T 901-2017 compliant)
6. Low Friction: Special coating reduces air-flow resistance by 35%
7. High Density: Duct bandwidth utilization improved 3×
8. Easy Maintenance: Faulty sections can be pulled out and replaced independently
9. Corrosion Resistance: Passed 96-hour salt-spray test (GB/T 2423.17)
10. Green & Low-Carbon: Construction-stage carbon emissions reduced 75% (MIIT 2025 certification)

Example:
During a nationwide bank upgrade, EPFU micro cables were deployed without closing the branch, and customers didn’t even notice the installation.

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4. Practical 5-Step Air-Blowing Guide

(SoctFiber Cable Factory Process)

Follow these steps and even beginners can operate like professionals:

1. Duct Inspection: Use duct-inspection robots to detect blockages (mandatory)
2. Microduct Installation: Choose silicon-core composite ducts (friction coefficient < 0.15)
3. Cable Preparation: Heat-shrink seal the cable ends to prevent moisture ingress
4. Jetting Parameters: Air pressure 0.8–1.2 MPa, speed 60 m/min
5. Tension Monitoring: Keep pulling force ≤ 1500 N to avoid fiber strain

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5. Avoid These 3 Deadly Mistakes

⚠ Misconception 1: “Micro cables have weaker performance.”

Wrong. EPFU micro cables use G.657 fibers with attenuation ≤ 0.19 dB/km @ 1310 nm, matching backbone-network level performance.

⚠ Misconception 2: “Any jetting machine will do.”

Unstable air pressure causes micro cable twisting.
Only use hydraulic pressure-regulated jetting machines (e.g., German Jetlyner series).

⚠ Misconception 3: “Microducts can bend freely.”

Although flexible, a bend radius < 0.5 m can collapse the microduct.
Ensure all routing angles are > 120°.

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6. The Future Is Here: How Micro Cable Changes the Game

Example from an industrial development zone:

• Power-duct reuse: 96-core EPFU micro cable jetted into 110 kV power-cable corridors
• Smart street-light network: One pole integrates fiber, monitoring and EV charging
• 5G fronthaul: Reduced base-station fiber cost by 70%

EPFU micro cables are even used in underwater duct repairs.
With robots towing micro cables through damaged submerged conduits, the process is 10× safer than diver operations.

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Choose SoctFiber:

You’re Not Just Buying a Cable — You’re Buying Zero-Anxiety Infrastructure

When an EPFU micro cable flies through a duct at 200 km/h, what you hear is the sound of a smarter city upgrading itself.