Breakout-style fiberoptic cable, often referred to as just "breakout cable", is basically several jacketed simplex fibers packaged individually inside one jacket. This differs from distribution style cable, in which several tight-buffered fibers are bundled together within the same jacket. The design of the breakout-style cable adds strength to the cable for ruggedised drops, although it does make it larger and more expensive than distribution-style cable. Breakout cable is suitable for short riser

Riser

Riser may refer to:* Riser , a reservoir in a manufacturing mold* Stair riser, the vertical elements in a set of stairs* Drilling riser, a device used on a ship or offshore drilling rig...

 and plenum

Plenum cable

Plenum cable is cable that is laid in the plenum spaces of buildings. The plenum is the space that can facilitate air circulation for heating and air conditioning systems, by providing pathways for either heated/conditioned or return airflows...

 applications and also for use in conduits, where a very simple cable run is planned to avoid the use of any splice box or spliced fibre pigtail.

Because each fiber is individually reinforced, you can divide the cable into individual fiber lines. Each simplex cable within the outer jacket may be broken out and then continue as patch cables, for example in a Fibre To The Desk

FTTX

Fiber to the x is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to replace all or part of the usual metal local loop used for last mile telecommunications...

 application in an office building. This enables connector termination without requiring special junctions, and can reduce or eliminate the need for fiberoptic patch panels or an ODF

ODF

ODF may be an acronym for:* OpenDocument format, a standard for electronic office documents** OpenDocument Fellowship, a volunteer organisation with members around the world to promote the use and development of the OpenDocument format....

. Breakout cable requires terminations to be done with simple connectors, which may be preferred for some situations. A more common solution today is the use of a Fanout kit that essentially adds a jacket to the very fine strands of other cable types.

See also

Fibre pigtail
Fanout kit
Breakout box

Breakout box

A breakout box is an electrical device, usually housed in a box, in which a compound electrical connector is separated or "broken out" into its component connectors. Compound connectors are used where sufficient space for connections is unavailable...

 (copper equivalent)
Patch panel

Patch panel

A patch panel or patch bay is a panel, typically rackmounted, that houses cable connections. One typically shorter patch cable will plug into the front side, whereas the back holds the connection of a much longer and more permanent cable...