| Full title | Optical Fiber Cable Color Coding |
| Publisher | Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA), engineering committee TR-42.12 |
| Current edition | ANSI/TIA-598-D (July 2014), with Addendum 1 (additional colours for elements 13 to 16) and Addendum 2 (jacket colour for OM5 indoor cables, 2018) |
| Earlier revisions | 1995, 2001 and 2005 (598-C) |
| Status | Current |
| Related standards | ANSI/TIA-568.3, TIA-492AAAE, IEC 60793-2-10, ISO/IEC 11801-1, EIA-359 |
What it covers
ANSI/TIA-598 defines the recommended identification scheme for individual fibres, fibre units and groups of units within a cable. It also covers colour coding of jackets for indoor premises cables.
Colours are defined by reference to the Munsell colour system (ASTM D1535) and EIA-359 standard colours.
The 12 fibre colours
Fibres are identified in groups of 12, in this fixed order:
| Position | Colour | Position | Colour |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue | 7 | Red |
| 2 | Orange | 8 | Black |
| 3 | Green | 9 | Yellow |
| 4 | Brown | 10 | Violet |
| 5 | Slate | 11 | Rose |
| 6 | White | 12 | Aqua |
The same sequence identifies buffer tubes and units. In a loose tube cable, tube 1 is blue and the first fibre in each tube is blue. Ribbons follow the same colour order for fibres 1 to 12.
Beyond 12
- Positions 13 to 24 repeat the 12 colours with an added identifying mark, such as a stripe or tracer.
- Addendum 1 defines four additional alternative colours for elements 13 to 16. It supports 16-fibre system architectures.
Jacket colours for indoor cables
TIA-598 gives recommended jacket colours that indicate the fibre type:
| Fibre type | Jacket colour |
|---|---|
| Multimode 62.5/125 µm (typically OM1) | Orange |
| Multimode 50/125 µm (typically OM2) | Orange |
| Laser-optimised multimode 50/125 µm (typically OM3 and OM4) | Aqua |
| Wideband multimode 50/125 µm (OM5) | Lime green |
| Single-mode | Yellow |
| Polarisation-maintaining single-mode | Blue |
Addendum 2 (2018) defines the recommended jacket colour for indoor cables containing wideband multimode fibre. This fibre is defined in TIA-492AAAE and in IEC 60793-2-10, and its cabled performance category is OM5 in ISO/IEC 11801-1.
Coloured jackets are generally an indoor convention. Indoor cables still need the fire performance required for their location.
Related standards
| Standard | Relationship |
|---|---|
| ANSI/TIA-568.3 | Defines the performance of cabled fibre, including wideband multimode (OM5) |
| TIA-492AAAE | Wideband multimode fibre specification referenced by Addendum 2 |
| IEC 60793-2-10 | Multimode fibre product specification referenced by Addendum 2 |
| ISO/IEC 11801-1 | Designates the OM5 cabled fibre category |
| EIA-359 | Standard colours referenced for colour identification |
What it means in practice
- Count fibres from blue. Fibre 1 is blue, fibre 12 is aqua.
- In loose tube cable, identify the tube colour first, then the fibre colour inside it.
- Treat the jacket colour as a recommendation. Always confirm the fibre type from the jacket print legend before connecting or splicing.
- Do not confuse aqua as a jacket colour (OM3 and OM4) with aqua as the twelfth fibre colour.
- Lime distinguishes OM5 cable from the aqua used for OM3 and OM4.
Related reading: Fibre optic cable construction: tight buffered vs loose tube · OM4 vs OM5 fibre: what’s the difference.