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Telecommunication systems currently being considered for deployment will use large numbers of Wavelength Division Multiplexers/Demultiplexers (WDMs) and uniform or nonuniform couplers (or splitters) in the outside plant. These passive fiber optic (PFO) components will be installed in pedestals, be deployed in aerial cables and be buried underground; and they will be expected to exceed the high reliability and low maintenance of the copper they replace. In order to demonstrate the long-term capability of the PFO components to perform their function reliably, they must pass a comprehensive reliability test program which attempts to duplicate the stresses which the components are expected to experience over a 20 year operating life. The qualification test requirements for PFO components are addressed in Belicore Technical Advisory TA-NWT-001221 "Generic Requirements for Passive Fiber Optic Component Reliability Assurance Practices" 1 PFOcomponents are currently being produced by several technologies, i. e. ,fused biconic taper, integrated waveguiding substrate, or GRIN-rod lens. The generic requirements in TA-NWT-001221 are based on application requirements and were developed without regard for a particular manufacturing technology. Bellcore has undertaken a program to support these generic requirements by subjecting PFO components from several manufacturers to accelerated stress tests. The tests are based on industry accepted standard test procedures (principally EIA/TIA), and the test conditions are based on the environments the components are expected to encounter in the field. The requirements of the proposed qualification test program, the tests being performed in support of these generic requirements and the results obtained to date, are the subject of this paper.
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