WO2024011242A1 - Indexing architecture with enhanced signal path routing flexibility - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a telecommunication optical fiber distribution architecture including fiber indexing branches and enhanced signal path routing flexibility. In certain examples, a flexibility terminal can be used to define a branching location for originating multiple branches each defined by terminals that are daisy chained together. The flexibility terminal can include demateable connection locations for allowing feeder signals to be selectively connected to signal lines of the branches. The signal lines of the branches can include indexed signal lines that are passed through indexing terminals in an indexed configuration and are indexed toward drop lines of the indexing terminals, non-indexed signal lines that are passed through indexing terminals in a non-indexed configuration, and point-to-point terminals for accessing the non-indexed signal lines.

Description

INDEXING ARCHITECTURE WITH ENHANCED SIGNAL PATH ROUTING FLEXIBILITY

Cross-Reference to Related Applications

This application is being filed on July 7, 2023, as a PCT International application and claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/359,040, filed on July 7, 2022, and claims the benefit of Indian Provisional Application No. 202341017734, filed March 16, 2023, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entireties.

Background

Optical networks are becoming increasingly more prevalent in part because service providers want to deliver high bandwidth communication capabilities to customers. There is a need for advanced fiber optic network architectures for more effectively and efficiently extending fiber optic networks to an ever increasing number of customers. In certain prior architectures, optical fibers can be dropped at various terminals along a network while a remainder of the fibers are indexed between terminals. Indexing provides an active optical fiber at a consistent fiber position at a multi-fiber interface, thereby simplifying terminal design and configuration. Example fiber optic indexing devices, systems and architectures are disclosed by US Patent Nos. 9,348,096; 9,766,414; 9,851,525; 9,557,498; 10,833,463; and 10,151,897 and by PCT International Publication No. W02020/046681.

Summary

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a telecommunication optical fiber distribution architecture including fiber indexing branches and enhanced signal path routing flexibility. In certain examples, a flexibility terminal can be used to define a branching location for originating multiple branches each including terminals that are daisy chained together. The terminals can include indexing terminals and point-to-point terminals. The flexibility module can include demateable connection locations for allowing feeder signals to be selectively connected to signal lines of the branches. The signal lines of the branches can include indexed signal lines and non- indexed signal lines. The non-indexed signals can be accessed at the point-to-point terminals.

One aspect of the present disclosure relates to a telecommunication optical fiber distribution architecture including a first set of indexed PON optical fibers and a separate second set of indexed PtP optical fibers. One or more optical fibers may drop from the first set in the forward direction. One or more optical fibers may drop from the first set in the rearward direction. One or more optical fibers may drop from the second set in the forward direction. One or more optical fibers may drop from the second set in the rearward direction. The PON optical fibers carry optical signals that have been split (e.g., power split, wavelength split, etc.) more than the optical signals carried by the PtP optical fibers.

A variety of additional inventive aspects will be set forth in the description that follows. The inventive aspects can relate to individual features and to combinations of features. It is to be understood that both the forgoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the broad inventive concepts upon which the examples disclosed herein are based.

Brief Description of the Drawings

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the description, illustrate several aspects of the present disclosure. A brief description of the drawings is as follows:

FIG. l is a schematic depiction of a flexibility terminal in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an enlargement of a connectorized end of a fiber optic stub feeder cable of the flexibility terminal of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of a connection module of the flexibility terminal of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic depiction of an alternative flexibility terminal in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic depiction of a fiber optic architecture incorporating the flexibility terminal of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a first indexing terminal configuration of the architecture of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a second indexing terminal configuration of the architecture of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a non-indexing terminal configuration of the architecture of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a schematic depiction of a fiber optic indexing architecture that distributed signals to chains of optical tapping terminals;

FIG. 10 is an enlarged schematic view of a first indexing terminal configuration of the architecture of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is an enlarged schematic view of a second indexing terminal configuration of the architecture of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged schematic view of a third indexing terminal configuration of the architecture of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is an enlarged schematic view of an optical tap chain of the architecture of FIG. 9; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic view of another example indexing terminal that separately indexes both PON and PtP optical signals.

Detailed Description

Reference will now be made in detail to example aspects of the present disclosure that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to a telecommunication optical fiber distribution architecture including a flexibility terminal used to enhanced signal path routing flexibility between indexing branches. In certain examples, a flexibility terminal can be used at a branching location where multiple indexing branches originate. The branches can include terminals that are chained together by optical cables such as multi-fiber stub cables or multi-fiber patch cables. The terminals can include indexing terminals and point-to-point terminals. The flexibility module can include demateable connection locations for allowing feeder signals to be selectively connected to and disconnected from signal lines of the branches. In certain examples, any given feeder signal line can be coupled to any number of different branch lines to provide enhanced signal routing flexibility. In certain examples, optical fibers of a first feeder cable can be optically coupled to optical fibers of first and second different branch cables such that the fibers are split between the first and second branch cables. In certain examples, each of the branch cables can be coupled to a different patching module with the coupling between the cables and the modules being provided by mated multi-fiber ferrules such as mated male (e.g., pinned) and female (e.g., unpinned) MPO ferrules. Each of the patching modules can include a patching arrangement that can include a plurality of demateable connection locations such as demateable single fiber connection locations for allowing feeder fibers to be coupled to the branch fibers of the branch cables through the patching modules. The demateable connection locations can include fiber optic adapters such as single fiber optical adapters (e.g., LC or SC fiber optic adapters for optically coupling together LC or SC fiber optic connectors). The architecture also allows for the easy reconfiguration of the system to provide different services to different subscribers as needed. The architecture further allows for the capacity of a given installation be installed with a first capacity at a first day and expanded to a larger second capacity at a second day by adding another feeder cable at the second day. The signal lines of the branches can include indexed signal lines and non-indexed signal lines. The non-indexed signals can be accessed at the point-to-point terminals.

FIG. 1 depicts an example flexibility terminal 20 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. The flexibility terminal 20 includes a housing 22 that can be sealed and rated for outdoor environmental use (e.g., can include sealed cable pass-through ports and hardened/sealed exterior connector ports) or can be adapted only for indoor use. The flexibility terminal 20 includes one or more connection modules 24 positioned within the housing 22. The connection modules 24 (e.g., patching modules) each include a plurality of single-fiber demateable connection locations 26 (see FIGS. 1 and 3) each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a branch multi-fiber ferrule 28 (e.g., see positions 1-12 at FIG. 3) by optical fibers 23. As depicted at FIG.l, the connection modules 24 include first and second connection modules 24a, 24b having the same configuration and including first and second singlefiber demateable connection locations 26a, 26b and first and second branch multi-fiber ferrules 28a, 28b. The flexibility terminal 20 also includes a fiber arrangement 30 including a plurality of feeder optical fibers 32. The feeder optical fibers 32 have first ends 36 terminated at a multi-fiber ferrule 38 and second ends 40 terminated at single fiber connectors 42 (e.g., LC or SC connectors). As depicted at FIG. 1, the fiber arrangement 30 is initially installed with some of the single fiber connectors 42 plugged into the first single-fiber demateable connection locations 26a and some of the single fiber connectors 42 plugged into the second single-fiber demateable connection locations 26b. In other examples, the demateable connection locations can include demateable multi-fiber connection locations (e.g., MPO adapters) and the fiber arrangement can include multi-fiber connectors terminating multiple ones of the feeder optical fibers. In the depicted example, the flexibility terminal 20 does not include any passive optical power splitters or components for performing passive optical power splitting. In the depicted example, the flexibility terminal does not include any wavelength division multi -pl exers.

As depicted at FIG. 3, the single-fiber demateable connection locations 26 include fiber optic adapters 46 (e.g., SC or LC fiber optic adapters) for receiving and coupling the single fiber connectors 42 of the feeder optical fibers 32 with single fiber connectors 43 of the connection module 24. The adapters 46 can include ferrule alignment sleeves 48 for aligning ferrules 51, 53 of the coupled fiber optic connectors 42, 43 such that the optical fibers supported by the ferrules of the fiber optic connectors are optically coupled together. The fiber optic adapters 46 also include outer and inner ports 47, 49 for respectively receiving and securing the fiber optic connectors 42, 43 with their corresponding ferrules 51, 53 positioned within the ferrule alignment sleeves 48. The connection modules 24 include optical fibers 23 optically connecting the fiber optic connectors 43 installed within the inner ports 49 to designated fiber positions of the branch multi -fiber ferrule 28. In other example, ferrule-less connectors and optical connection systems can be used. Example single fiber ferrule-less connectors and connection systems are disclosed by PCT International Publication No. WO 2013/117589 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

The branch multi-fiber ferrule 28 can be part of a demateable multi-fiber connection location that can be hardened and sealed or can be non-hardened and unsealed. The demateable multi-fiber connection location is used to connect branch cables to the feeder fibers 32 through the flexibility terminal 20. In one example, the multi-fiber ferrule 28 can be an MPO ferrule (e.g., a male or female MPO ferrule) adapter to mate with a corresponding MPO ferrule 29 (e.g., a male or female MPO ferrule) of a branch cable. In other examples, multi-fiber ferrule-less connectors and multi-fiber ferrule-less bare fiber alignment systems can be used at the branch demateable multi-fiber connection locations. Multi-fiber bare fiber alignment systems are disclosed by PCT International Publication No. WO 2020/112645 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the fiber arrangement 30 is depicted as being part of a feeder stub cable arrangement including a stub cable 60 routed into the housing 22. The stub cable 60 includes the feeder fibers 32 which extend from a first end 62 of the stub cable 60 to a second end 64 of the stub cable 60. The multi-fiber ferrule 38 (see FIG. 2) is located at the first end 62 of the stub cable 60. The first ends 36 of the feeder fibers 32 are secured at the multi-fiber ferrule 38 and the second ends 40 of the feeder fibers 32 are secured at the ferrules of the single fiber connectors 42. The portion of the stub cable 60 extending outside the housing 22 is preferably jacketed and reinforced with strength members such as Aramid yarn. The second end 64 of stub cable 60 can include a fan-out 67 where the feeder optical fibers 32 are broken out from the jacketed portion of the stub cable 60 to form connectorized fiber optic pigtails. FIG. 4 depicts an alternative configuration in which the first ends of the feeder optical fibers 32 are terminated at a multi-fiber ferrule 70 that is part of a demateable multifiber connection location 71 at the housing 22. The demateable multi-fiber connection location 71 allows the feeder optical fibers 32 to be coupled to the optical fibers of the feeder cable in the form of a patch cord 72 terminated at each end by multi-fiber connectors 73 including multi-fiber ferrules. In other examples, multi-fiber ferrule-less connectors and multi-fiber ferrule-less bare fiber alignment systems can be used at the feeder demateable multi-fiber connection locations.

FIG. 5 depicts an example fiber distribution architecture 100 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure which incorporates the flexibility terminal 20 to enhance signal routing flexibility. The flexibility terminal 20 functions as an origination location for branching multiple fiber distribution branches 120 depicted at FIG. 5 as first and second distribution branches 120a, 120b respectively optically coupled to the first and second connection modules 24a, 24b via demateable multi-fiber connections defined between multi-fiber ferrules 29 (see FIG. 3) that couple to the multi-fiber ferrules 28a, 28b. The first and second branches 120a, 120b can include indexing terminals 122, 124 and non-indexing terminals 126 interconnected by signal lines (e.g., the signal lines can be defined by optical fibers of patch fiber optic cables or stub fiber optic cables). The indexing terminals 122, 124 can include indexing fibers, non-indexing fibers for passing optical signals through the terminals, and drop fibers for accessing signals carried by one or more indexed signal lines. The non-indexing terminals (e.g., point-to-point terminals) include non-indexing fibers for passing signals through the terminals without using indexing fibers to pass signals through the terminals, and include drop fibers for accessing signals carried by one or more non-indexed signal lines. The terminals can include housings that are environmentally sealed and rated for outdoor environments, or can be configured designed for only indoor use.

FIG. 6 depicts the indexing terminal 122 which includes signal lines 130 corresponding to the fiber positions (e.g., positions 1-12) of the branch multi-fiber ferrule 28a, 28b from which the branch 120a, 120b along which the indexing terminal originates. The indexing terminal 122 is configured to pass a first plurality of the signal lines 130a through the indexing terminal 122 in an indexed manner. The signal lines 130a are routed between multi-fiber ferrules 142, 144 that can be at the end of a stub cable or at a demateable connection location. The multi-fiber ferrules 142, 144 are shown respectively coupled to multi-fiber ferrules 146, 148 corresponding to downstream and upstream components (e.g., stub cables, patch cables, demateable connection locations at terminals). As depicted, the signal lines 130a are defined at least in part by indexing fibers that are indexed (e.g., shifted) one position from the multi-fiber ferrule 142 to the multi-fiber ferrule 144 (e.g., the signal lines 130a are indexed from positions 2-8 at the multi -fiber ferrule 142 to positions 1-7 at the multifiber ferrule 144). The indexing terminal 122 is configured to also pass a second plurality of the signal lines 130b through the indexing terminal 122 in a non-indexed manner. As depicted, the second plurality of the signal lines 130b are defined at least in part by non-indexed fibers routed from positions 9-12 of the multi -fiber ferrule 142 to positions 9-12 of the multi-fiber ferrule 144. The indexing terminal 122 further includes a drop line 150 coupled to position 1 of the multi-fiber ferrule 142. The drop line 150 is shown coupled to an input of a passive optical power splitter 152. The indexing terminal 124 of FIG. 7 has the same configuration as the indexing terminal 122 except two drop lines 150 are depicted coupled to positions 1 and 2 of the multifiber ferrule 142, and signal lines 130a are shifted from positions 3-8 of the multi-fiber ferrule 142 to positions 1-6 of the multi-fiber ferrule 144. At the non-indexing terminal 126 of FIG. 8, the signal lines 130 are all defined by non-indexing fibers 160 routed in a non-indexed matter between multi-fiber ferrules 162, 164 that are coupled in-line with their respective branches 120a, 120b. As depicted, the non-indexing fibers 160 can connect positions 1-12 of the multi-fiber ferrule 162 to positions 1-12 of the multi-fiber ferrule 164. While positions 1-8 are interconnected by non-indexing fibers at the nonindexing terminals 126, it will be appreciated that positions 1-8 correspond to the signal lines 130a. Positions 9-12 of the non-indexing terminals 126 correspond to the signal lines 130b. The non-indexing fibers 160 corresponding to positions 9-12 include connectorized fiber optic pigtails 170 having connectorized ends 172 optically connected at a first demateable connection location 174 that can include fiber optic adapters. The optical connections provided at the demateable connection location 174 allow the signal lines 130b to be passed through the terminal 126. To access the signal lines 130b at the terminal 126 for drop applications, a corresponding one or more of the pigtails 170 can be unplugged from the first demateable connection location 174 and plugged into a second demateable connection location 176. The second demateable connection location 176 can include fiber optic adapters for coupling the selected ones of the connectorized pigtails 170 to drop lines 177. The drop lines 177 can include connectorized ends 178 adapted to be coupled to the connectorized ends 172 of the selected pigtails 170 at the second demateable connection location 176.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the fiber positions of the branch multi -fiber ferrules 28 include a first group of fiber positions G1 (e.g., positions 1-8) corresponding to the drop lines 150 and the signal lines 130a and a second group of fiber positions G2 (e.g., positions 9-12) corresponding to the signal lines 130b. As depicted at FIG. 5, selected feeder fibers 32a plugged into the demateable connection locations 26 corresponding to the first group of fiber positions G1 provide lower optical power than selected feeder fibers 32b plugged into the demateable connection locations 26 corresponding to the second group of fiber positions G2. As shown at FIG. 5, the feeder fibers 32a receive signals from a passive optical power splitter 200 at a distribution terminal 202, while the feeder fibers 32b receive signals which have not been power split at the distribution terminal 202 (e.g., the power splitter 200 was bypassed) and therefore have higher signal power than the signals carried by the feeder fibers 32b. An indexing terminal 122 is shown installed between the distribution terminal 202 and the flexibility terminal 20.

Referring to FIG. 5, the first connection module 24a includes X (e.g., twelve) of the demateable single fiber connection locations 26, the second connection module 24b includes X (e.g., twelve) of the second single fiber connection locations 26, and wherein the fiber arrangement includes X (e.g., twelve) of the feeder optical fibers 32. In one example, the connection module 24a includes at least as many of the first single fiber connection locations 26 as a number of the feeder optical fibers 32 present at the fiber arrangement 30; and connection module 24b also includes at least as many of the single fiber connection locations 26 as the number of the feeder optical fibers 32 present at the fiber arrangement 30. In one example, a single-fiber connection capacity provided by the first and second connection modules 24a is at least twice the number of feeder optical fibers 32 present at the fiber arrangement 30. In one example, the fiber arrangement 30 is an initial fiber arrangement that is initially installed at the terminal, and a secondary fiber arrangement 230 can be added at a later date to at least partially fill the single-fiber capacity provided by the first and second connection modules 24a, 24b. In one example, the initial fiber arrangement 30 and the secondary fiber arrangement 230 can each include groups Gl; G2 of feeder fibers having different optical signal power levels. In one example, the initial fiber arrangement 30 and the secondary fiber arrangement 230 can have identical configurations or can have different configurations.

As depicted at FIG. 5, at least some of the single fiber connection locations 26 of the module 24a and at least some of the fiber connection locations 26 of the module 24b are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement 30. As depicted art FIG. 5, at least half of the total number of fiber connection locations 26 provided by the combination of the modules 24a, 24b are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement 30.

As described herein, indexed optical fibers include a plurality of optical fibers that are routed between first and second multi-fiber connection locations in a shifted manner such that a first and second ends of each of the optical fibers are located at a different fiber position of the first multi-fiber connection location as compared to the second multi-fiber connection location. In a preferred example, the first and second multi-fiber connection locations each include a multi-fiber ferrule (e.g., an MPO ferrule) which defines a sequence of fiber positions (e.g., at least one row of fiber positions). In other examples, the multi-fiber connection locations can be defined by another type of structure such as a bare fiber alignment system of the type disclosed by PCT International Publication No. WO 2020/112645 which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. As described herein, a drop fiber of an indexing system is a fiber that is routed from a multi-fiber connection location at which indexing fibers are terminated to a drop location rather than being routed to the opposite multi-fiber connection location to which the indexing fiber are terminated. The drop location can include a drop port which can include a single or multi-fiber connection location, an input to a passive optical power splitter, an input to an optical power tap or other structure. As described herein, non-indexed optical fibers include optical fibers that are routed between first and second multi-fiber connection locations in a non-shifted manner such that a first and second ends of each of the optical fibers are located at the same fiber position of the first multi-fiber connection location as compared to the second multi-fiber connection location.

FIG. 9 depicts another fiber optic architecture 300 in accordance with the principles of the present disclosure. The architecture 300 includes a plurality of indexing terminals 322 daisy chained together with signal paths being routed through the indexing terminals in an indexed manner and signal paths being dropped at the indexing terminals 322. The indexing terminals 322 can be configured to drop different numbers of signal lines from the daisy chain path (e.g., FIG. 10 shows an indexing terminal 322a with 2 drops; FIG. 11 shows an indexing terminal 322b with 4 drops; and FIG. 12 shown an indexing terminal 322c with 1 drop). Chains of optical power taps 330 are shown coupled to the signal paths dropped at the indexing terminals 322. The optical power taps 330 can be housed within tap terminals 331. Tap lines 340 from the passive optical power taps 330 are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters 332 within the tap terminals 331. The optical power splitters 332 have outputs adapted to be coupled to drop cables 336 routed to subscriber locations 338. The optical power taps 330 can provide asymmetric optical power splitting and can be configured such that a generally equal amount of optical power is tapped at each of the power taps 330. In this way, the total optical power dropped at the indexing terminal can be evenly divided between the tap terminals 331 of the tap chain. At least some of the taps 330 can bifurcate input signals between tap lines 340 and pass-through lines 341. The percentage of the optical power of an input signal that is tapped off and sent through the tap line 340 can increase with each downstream tap 330 to allow the total optical power provided to a given chain to be evenly distributed. In certain examples, chains of taps 330 (as shown at FIG. 13) can be optically connected to the connectorized pigtails 170 of the non-indexing terminals 26 such that the pass-through signal lines 130b can be used to service chains of the tap terminals 331 having connection locations for connecting to subscriber locations 338 (e.g., via drop cables 336).

FIG. 14 illustrates another example fiber optic architecture 400 including a first multi-fiber ferrule 402 and a second multi-fiber ferrule 404 between which PON (Passive Optical Network) optical fiber lines are indexed and PtP (Point-to- Point) optical fiber lines are indexed separately from the PON optical fiber lines. As the term is used herein, a PON optical fiber line carries an optical signal that is split upstream (e.g., at a fiber distribution hub or similar network node) and is intended for use in a passive optical network. As the term is used herein, a PtP optical fiber line carries an optical signal that is intended for a point-to-point network connection and that has been split fewer times than a PON optical fiber line. An optical fiber line is formed with one or more optical fibers optically coupled together.

Each of the multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 defines a first set of sequential fiber positions each configured to receive a respective one of the PON optical fiber lines and a second set of sequential fiber positions each configured to receive a respective one of the PtP optical fiber lines. In certain examples, the fiber positions of the first set do not overlap with the fiber positions of the second set. In certain examples, the number of sequential fiber positions in the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule 402 is the same as the number of sequential fiber positions in the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule 404. In certain examples, the number of sequential fiber positions in the second set of the first multi-fiber ferrule 402 is the same as the number of sequential fiber positions in the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule 404. In certain implementations, the fiber positions of the first set are disposed in a common row with the fiber positions of the second set at the first multi-fiber ferrule 402 (e.g., are both disposed in a row of 12 fiber positions of an MPO ferrule). In certain implementations, the fiber positions of the first set are disposed in a common row with the fiber positions of the second set at the second multi-fiber ferrule 404 (e.g., are both disposed in a row of 12 fiber positions of an MPO ferrule).

At least one PON drop fiber line 406 drops from between the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 to allow the indexing of at least some of a remainder of the PON optical fiber lines. In certain examples, the PON drop fiber line 406 extends from a beginning one of the first set of sequential fiber positions of the first multi-fiber ferrule 402. In the depicted example, the PON drop fiber line 406 extends from position 1 of the first multi-fiber ferrule 402. The PON drop fiber line 406 carries the PON optical signal to a connector 420 that provides a demateable fiber optic connection location to another portion of the network and/or an end subscriber. In the example shown, the connector 420 is a single-fiber connector. In other examples, multiple PON drop fiber lines 406 can be routed to a multi-fiber connector 420.

In certain implementations, the forward PON drop fiber line 406 is one of multiple forward PON drop fiber lines 406. Two forward PON drop fiber lines 406 are shown in the example depicted in FIG. 14. In some implementations, the fiber optic architecture 400 incudes at least one forward PON drop fiber line 406 and at least one rearward PON drop fiber line 408. The forward PON drop fiber line 406 is optically coupled to the first multi-fiber ferrule 402, but not to the second multi-fiber ferrule 404. The rearward PON drop fiber line 408 is optically coupled to the second multi-fiber ferrule 404, but not to the first multi-fiber ferrule 402. In certain examples, the rearward PON drop fiber line 408 is coupled to an ending one of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule 404 and extends to a fiber optic connector 424 (e.g., a single fiber optic connector). In certain implementations, the rearward PON drop fiber line 408 is one of multiple rearward PON drop fiber lines 408. Two rearward PON drop fiber lines 408 are shown in the example depicted in FIG. 14. In other implementations, the architecture 400 does not include any rearward PON drop fiber lines 408.

PON indexing fiber lines 410 are indexed between the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 to carry the indexed PON optical signals. In certain implementations, the PON indexing fiber lines 410 are the remaining fiber lines extending from the first set of sequential fiber positions that are not dropped between the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404. In the example shown in FIG. 14, six PON indexing fiber lines 406 extend from fiber positions 3-8 on the first multi -fiber ferrule 402 to fiber positions 1-6 on the second multi-fiber ferrule 404. The forward PON drop fiber lines 406 extend from positions 1 and 2 on the first multi-fiber ferule 402. The rearward PON drop fiber lines 408 extend from positions 7 and 8 on the second multi-fiber ferule 404. In other examples, a different number (e.g., one, three, four, etc.) of PON drop fiber lines 406, 408 and a different number (e.g., four, five, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, etc.) of PON indexing fiber lines 410 are possible.

At least one PtP drop fiber line 412 drops from between the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 to allow the indexing of at least some of a remainder of the PtP optical fiber lines. In certain examples, the PtP drop fiber line 408 extends from a beginning one of the second set of sequential fiber positions of the first multi-fiber ferrule 402. In the depicted example, the PtP drop fiber line 408 extends from position 9 of the first multi-fiber ferrule 402. The PtP drop fiber line 412 carries the PtP optical signal to a connector 422 that provides a demateable fiber optic connection location to another portion of the network and/or an end subscriber. In the example shown, the connector 422 is a single-fiber connector. In other examples, multiple PtP drop fibers 408 can be routed to a multi-fiber connector 422.

One forward PtP drop fiber line 412 is shown in the example depicted in FIG. 14. However, in certain implementations, the forward PtP drop fiber line 412 is one of multiple forward PtP drop fiber lines 412. In some implementations, the fiber optic architecture 400 incudes at least one forward PtP drop fiber line 412 and at least one rearward PtP drop fiber line 414. The forward PtP drop fiber line 412 is optically coupled to the first multi-fiber ferrule 402, but not to the second multi-fiber ferrule 404. The rearward PtP drop fiber line 414 is optically coupled to the second multi-fiber ferrule 404, but not to the first multi-fiber ferrule 402. In certain examples, the rearward PtP drop fiber line 414 is coupled to an ending one of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule 404 and extends to a fiber optic connector 426 (e.g., a single fiber optic connector). One rearward PtP drop fiber line 4148 is shown in the example depicted in FIG. 14. However, in certain implementations, the rearward PtP drop fiber line 414 is one of multiple rearward PtP drop fiber lines 414. In other implementations, the architecture 400 does not include any rearward PtP drop fiber lines 414.

PtP indexing fiber lines 416 are indexed between the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 to carry the indexed PtP optical signals. In certain implementations, the PtP indexing fiber lines 416 are the remaining fiber lines extending from the second set of sequential fiber positions that are not dropped between the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404. In the example shown in FIG. 14, three PtP indexing fiber lines 416 extend from fiber positions 10-12 on the first multi-fiber ferrule 402 to fiber positions 9-11 on the second multi-fiber ferrule 404. The forward PtP drop fiber line 408 extends from position 9 on the first multi-fiber ferule 402. The rearward PtP drop fiber line 414 extends from position 12 on the second multi-fiber ferule 404. In other examples, a different number (e.g., two, three, four, etc.) of PtP drop fiber lines 408, 414 and a different number (e.g., four, five, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, etc.) of PtP indexing fiber lines 416 are possible.

In certain implementations, the fiber optic architecture 400 may be disposed within a terminal body 418. In some implementations, the first and second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 are disposed at inner ports of adapters 430, 432, respectively, held by the terminal body 418 (e.g., see FIG. 14). In other implementations, the first and/or the second multi-fiber ferrules 402, 404 terminate stub cables extending outwardly from the terminal body 418. In some implementations, the connectors 420, 422, 424, 426 terminating the drop fiber lines 406, 408, 412, 414 are disposed at inner ports of adapters held by the terminal body 418. In other implementations, one or more of the connectors 420, 422, 424, 426 may be disposed external of the terminal body 418 to terminate stub drop cables extending outwardly from the terminal body 418.

In the example shown in FIG. 14, an upstream node 440 provides the PON optical signals and the PtP optical signals to the first multi-fiber ferrule 402 (e.g., to the terminal 418). In certain examples, the upstream node 440 includes a third multifiber ferrule 442 that receives PON optical fiber lines 444 and PtP optical fiber lines 446. In certain implementations, the PON optical fiber lines 444 are split at the node 440 from a single optical fiber. In certain examples, the PtP optical fiber lines 446 are not split at the node 440. Accordingly, the optical signals carried by the PtP optical fiber lines 446 are stronger (e.g., have more optical power, include more wavelengths ranges, etc.) than the PON optical fiber lines 444. A fiber cable 450 optically couples the third multi-fiber ferrule 442 to the first multi-fiber ferrule 402 (e.g., at the adapter 430). Aspects of the Disclosure

Aspect 1. A fiber optic architecture comprising: a flexibility terminal comprising: a housing; a first connection module positioned within the housing, the first connection module each including a plurality of first single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a first branch multi-fiber connection location; a second connection module positioned within the housing, the second connection module each including a plurality of second single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a second branch multi-fiber connection location; a fiber arrangement including a plurality of feeder optical fibers, the feeder optical fibers having first ends terminated at a feeder multi-fiber connection location and second ends terminated at single fiber connectors, wherein the fiber arrangement is initially installed with some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the first single-fiber demateable connection locations and some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the second single-fiber demateable connection locations; a first fiber distribution branch including first signal lines corresponding to the fiber positions of the first branch multi-fiber connection location, the first fiber distribution branch including a first indexing terminal and a first point-to-point terminal, wherein the first indexing terminal include at least one first drop line for accessing one of the first signal lines, wherein the first indexing terminal is configured to pass a first plurality of the first signal lines through the first indexing terminal in an indexed manner, wherein the first indexing terminal is configured to also pass a second plurality of the first signal lines through the first indexing terminal in a non-indexed manner, and wherein the first point-to-point terminal is configured to provide drop access to at least one of the second plurality of first signal lines; and a second fiber distribution branch including second signal lines corresponding to the fiber positions of the second branch multi-fiber connection location, the first fiber distribution branch including a second indexing terminal and a second point-to-point terminal, wherein the second indexing terminal include at least one second drop line for accessing one of the second signal lines, wherein the second indexing terminal is configured to pass a first plurality of the second signal lines through the second indexing terminal in an indexed manner, wherein the second indexing terminal is configured to also pass a second plurality of the second signal lines through the second indexing terminal in a non-indexed manner, and wherein the second point-to-point terminal is configured to provide drop access to at least one of the second plurality of second signal lines.

Aspect 2. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 1, wherein the fiber positions of the first branch multi-fiber connection location include a first group of fiber positions corresponding to the first drop line and the first plurality of first signal lines, wherein the fiber positions of the first branch multi-fiber connection location include a second group of fiber positions corresponding to the second plurality of first signal lines, and wherein selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the first demateable connection locations corresponding to the first group of fiber positions provide lower optical power than selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the first demateable connection locations corresponding to the second group of fiber positions.

Aspect 3. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 2, wherein the fiber positions of the second branch multi-fiber connection location include a first group of fiber positions corresponding to the second drop line and the first plurality of second signal lines, wherein the fiber positions of the second branch multi-fiber connection location include a second group of fiber positions corresponding to the second plurality of second signal lines, and wherein selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the second demateable connection locations corresponding to the first group of fiber positions provide lower optical power than selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the second demateable connection locations corresponding to the second group of fiber positions.

Aspect 4. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 1, wherein the first connection module includes X of the first single fiber connection locations, wherein the second connection module includes X of the second single fiber connection locations, and wherein the fiber arrangement includes X of the feeder optical fibers.

Aspect 5. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 4, wherein X equal 12. Aspect 6. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 1, wherein the first connection module includes at least as many of the first single fiber connection locations as a number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, wherein the second connection module includes at least as many of the second single fiber connection locations as the number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, and wherein a single-fiber connection capacity provided by the first and second connection modules is at least twice the number of feeder optical fiber present at the fiber arrangement.

Aspect 7. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 6, wherein the fiber arrangement is an initial fiber arrangement that is initially installed at the terminal, and wherein a secondary fiber arrangement can be added at a later date to at least partially fill the single-fiber capacity provided by the first and second connection modules.

Aspect 8. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 1, wherein at least some of the first single fiber connection locations and at least some of the second fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

Aspect 9. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 1, wherein at least half of the first and second single fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

Aspect 10. A terminal comprising: a housing; a first connection module positioned within the housing, the first connection module each including a plurality of first single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a first branch multi-fiber connection location; a second connection module positioned within the housing, the second connection module each including a plurality of second single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a second branch multi-fiber connection location; a fiber arrangement including a plurality of feeder optical fibers, the feeder optical fibers having first ends terminated at a feeder multi-fiber connection location and second ends terminated at single fiber connectors, wherein the fiber arrangement is initially installed with some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the first singlefiber demateable connection locations and some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the second single-fiber demateable connection locations.

Aspect 11. The terminal of aspect 10, wherein the first connection module includes X of the first single fiber connection locations, wherein the second connection module includes X of the second single fiber connection locations, and wherein the fiber arrangement includes X of the feeder optical fibers.

Aspect 12. The terminal of aspect 11, wherein X equal 12.

Aspect 13. The terminal of aspect 10, wherein the first connection module includes at least as many of the first single fiber connection locations as a number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, wherein the second connection module includes at least as many of the second single fiber connection locations as the number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, and wherein a single-fiber connection capacity provided by the first and second connection modules is at least twice the number of feeder optical fiber present at the fiber arrangement.

Aspect 14. The terminal of aspect 13, wherein the fiber arrangement is an initial fiber arrangement that is initially installed at the terminal, and wherein a secondary fiber arrangement can be added at a later date to at least partially fill the single-fiber capacity provided by the first and second connection modules.

Aspect 15. The terminal of aspect 10, wherein at least some of the first single fiber connection locations and at least some of the second fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

Aspect 16. The terminal of aspect 10, wherein at least half of the first and second single fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

Aspect 17. The architecture of any of aspects 1-9 or the terminal of any of claim 10- 16, wherein the feeder multi-fiber connection location, and/or the first branch multifiber connection location, and/or the second branch multi-fiber connection location include a multi-fiber ferrule including at least one row of fiber positions. Aspect 18. A method for installing a fiber optic architecture, the method comprising: using a flexibility terminal to define a branching location for originating multiple branches each defined by terminals that are daisy chained together, the flexibility terminal including demateable connection locations for allowing feeder signals to be selectively connected to signal lines of the branches, the signal lines of the branches including indexed signal lines that are passed through indexing terminals in an indexed configuration and are indexed toward drop lines of the indexing terminals, non-indexed signal lines that are passed through indexing terminals in a non-indexed configuration, and point-to-point terminals for accessing the non-indexed signal lines.

Aspect 19. The method of aspect 18, wherein the flexibility terminal includes first and second branch multi-fiber ferrules respectively coupled to first and second ones of the branches, wherein the method includes selectively connected feeder lines to signal lines of the branches by plugging connectorized ends of the feeder lines into selected ones of the demateable connection locations.

Aspect 20. The method of aspect 19, wherein the feeder lines include first feeder lines having a first optical power level and second feeder lines having a second power level higher than the first power level, wherein the second feeder lines are installed by plugging connectorized ends of the second feeder lines into demateable connection locations corresponding to the non-indexed signal lines, wherein the first feeder lines are installed by plugging connectorized ends of the first feeder lines into demateable connection locations corresponding to the indexed signal lines, wherein the first and second feeder lines have first ends coupled to a feeder multi-fiber ferrule and second ends including the connectorized ends, and wherein after installation some of the first and second feeder lines are coupled to the first branch multi-fiber ferrule and others of the first and second feeder lines coupled to the second branch multi-fiber ferrule.

Aspect 21. The method of aspect 20, wherein the feeder lines are initial feeder lines, wherein the initial feeder lines are coupled to only a portion of a total number of fiber positions provided by the first and second branch multi-fiber ferrules, and the method includes the step of connecting secondary feeder lines to previously unused ones of the fiber positions at a later date to increase a capacity of the fiber optic architecture.

Aspect 22. The method of aspect 18, wherein passive optical power splitting is not performed at the flexibility terminal.

Aspect 23. The method of aspect 18, wherein at last one of the non-indexed signal lines provides service to a chain of passive optical power taps.

Aspect 24. The method of aspect 23, wherein tap lines from the passive optical power taps are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters.

Aspect 25. The architecture of aspect 1, wherein the first point-to-point terminal provides drop access for connecting at least one of the second plurality of first signal lines to a chain of passive optical power taps.

Aspect 26. The architecture of aspect 25, wherein tap lines from the passive optical power taps are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters.

Aspect 27. A fiber optic architecture comprising: a plurality of indexing terminal daisy chained together with signal paths being routed through the indexing terminals in an indexed manner and signal paths being dropped at the indexing terminals; chains of optical power taps coupled to the signal paths dropped at the indexing terminals, wherein tap lines from the passive optical power taps are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters.

Aspect 28. A fiber optic architecture comprising: a first multi-fiber ferrule having a first set of sequential fiber positions and a second set of sequential fiber positions, the fiber positions of the second set being different from the positions of the first set, the fiber positions of the first set receiving PON optical signals and the fiber positions of the second set receiving PtP optical signals; a second multi-fiber ferrule having a respective first set of sequential fiber positions and a respective second set of sequential fiber positions, the fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule being different from the fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule, the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule corresponding to the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule and receiving PON optical signals; a forward PON drop fiber line optically coupled to a beginning one of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule; a rearward PON drop fiber line optically coupled to an ending one of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule; a plurality of PON indexing fiber lines indexed between at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule and at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule; a forward PtP drop fiber line optically coupled to a beginning one of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the first multi-fiber ferrule; a reverse PtP drop fiber line optically coupled to an ending one of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule; and a plurality of PtP indexing fiber lines indexed between at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the first multi-fiber ferrule and at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule.

Aspect 29. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 28, wherein the forward PON drop fiber line is one of a plurality of forward PON drop fiber lines.

Aspect 30. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 28, wherein the rearward PON drop fiber line is one of a plurality of rearward PON drop fiber lines.

Aspect 31. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 28, wherein the forward PtP drop fiber line is one of a plurality of forward PtP drop fiber lines.

Aspect 32. The fiber optic architecture of any of aspects 28-31, wherein the first and second sets of sequential fiber positions of the first multi-fiber connector are disposed along a common row. Aspect 33. The fiber optic architecture of aspect 32, wherein the first set of sequential fiber positions includes eight fiber positions and wherein the second set of sequential fiber positions includes four fiber positions. Having shown and described aspects and implementations of the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that the depicted and described aspects and implementations are merely examples of how certain concepts may be put into practice and are not intended to limit such concepts to the details of any particular aspect or implementation.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A fiber optic architecture comprising: a flexibility terminal comprising: a housing; a first connection module positioned within the housing, the first connection module each including a plurality of first single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a first branch multi-fiber connection location; a second connection module positioned within the housing, the second connection module each including a plurality of second single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a second branch multi-fiber connection location; a fiber arrangement including a plurality of feeder optical fibers, the feeder optical fibers having first ends terminated at a feeder multi-fiber connection location and second ends terminated at single fiber connectors, wherein the fiber arrangement is initially installed with some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the first single-fiber demateable connection locations and some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the second single-fiber demateable connection locations; a first fiber distribution branch including first signal lines corresponding to the fiber positions of the first branch multi-fiber connection location, the first fiber distribution branch including a first indexing terminal and a first point-to-point terminal, wherein the first indexing terminal include at least one first drop line for accessing one of the first signal lines, wherein the first indexing terminal is configured to pass a first plurality of the first signal lines through the first indexing terminal in an indexed manner, wherein the first indexing terminal is configured to also pass a second plurality of the first signal lines through the first indexing terminal in a non-indexed manner, and wherein the first point-to-point terminal is configured to provide drop access to at least one of the second plurality of first signal lines; and a second fiber distribution branch including second signal lines corresponding to the fiber positions of the second branch multi-fiber connection location, the first fiber distribution branch including a second indexing terminal and a second point-to-point terminal, wherein the second indexing terminal include at least one second drop line for accessing one of the second signal lines, wherein the second indexing terminal is configured to pass a first plurality of the second signal lines through the second indexing terminal in an indexed manner, wherein the second indexing terminal is configured to also pass a second plurality of the second signal lines through the second indexing terminal in a non-indexed manner, and wherein the second point-to-point terminal is configured to provide drop access to at least one of the second plurality of second signal lines.

2. The fiber optic architecture of claim 1, wherein the fiber positions of the first branch multi-fiber connection location include a first group of fiber positions corresponding to the first drop line and the first plurality of first signal lines, wherein the fiber positions of the first branch multi-fiber connection location include a second group of fiber positions corresponding to the second plurality of first signal lines, and wherein selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the first demateable connection locations corresponding to the first group of fiber positions provide lower optical power than selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the first demateable connection locations corresponding to the second group of fiber positions.

3. The fiber optic architecture of claim 2, wherein the fiber positions of the second branch multi-fiber connection location include a first group of fiber positions corresponding to the second drop line and the first plurality of second signal lines, wherein the fiber positions of the second branch multi-fiber connection location include a second group of fiber positions corresponding to the second plurality of second signal lines, and wherein selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the second demateable connection locations corresponding to the first group of fiber positions provide lower optical power than selected ones of the feeder fibers plugged into the second demateable connection locations corresponding to the second group of fiber positions.

4. The fiber optic architecture of claim 1, wherein the first connection module includes X of the first single fiber connection locations, wherein the second connection module includes X of the second single fiber connection locations, and wherein the fiber arrangement includes X of the feeder optical fibers.

5. The fiber optic architecture of claim 4, wherein X equal 12.

6. The fiber optic architecture of claim 1, wherein the first connection module includes at least as many of the first single fiber connection locations as a number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, wherein the second connection module includes at least as many of the second single fiber connection locations as the number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, and wherein a single-fiber connection capacity provided by the first and second connection modules is at least twice the number of feeder optical fiber present at the fiber arrangement.

7. The fiber optic architecture of claim 6, wherein the fiber arrangement is an initial fiber arrangement that is initially installed at the terminal, and wherein a secondary fiber arrangement can be added at a later date to at least partially fill the single-fiber capacity provided by the first and second connection modules.

8. The fiber optic architecture of claim 1, wherein at least some of the first single fiber connection locations and at least some of the second fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

9. The fiber optic architecture of claim 1, wherein at least half of the first and second single fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

10. A terminal comprising: a housing; a first connection module positioned within the housing, the first connection module each including a plurality of first single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a first branch multi-fiber connection location; a second connection module positioned within the housing, the second connection module each including a plurality of second single-fiber demateable connection locations each optically connected to a separate fiber position of a second branch multi-fiber connection location; a fiber arrangement including a plurality of feeder optical fibers, the feeder optical fibers having first ends terminated at a feeder multi-fiber connection location and second ends terminated at single fiber connectors, wherein the fiber arrangement is initially installed with some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the first singlefiber demateable connection locations and some of the single fiber connectors plugged into the second single-fiber demateable connection locations.

11. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the first connection module includes X of the first single fiber connection locations, wherein the second connection module includes X of the second single fiber connection locations, and wherein the fiber arrangement includes X of the feeder optical fibers.

12. The terminal of claim 11, wherein X equal 12.

13. The terminal of claim 10, wherein the first connection module includes at least as many of the first single fiber connection locations as a number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, wherein the second connection module includes at least as many of the second single fiber connection locations as the number of the feeder optical fibers present at the fiber arrangement, and wherein a single-fiber connection capacity provided by the first and second connection modules is at least twice the number of feeder optical fiber present at the fiber arrangement.

14. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the fiber arrangement is an initial fiber arrangement that is initially installed at the terminal, and wherein a secondary fiber arrangement can be added at a later date to at least partially fill the single-fiber capacity provided by the first and second connection modules.

15. The terminal of claim 10, wherein at least some of the first single fiber connection locations and at least some of the second fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

16. The terminal of claim 10, wherein at least half of the first and second single fiber connection locations are vacant after installation of the fiber arrangement.

17. The architecture of any of claims 1-9 or the terminal of any of claim 10-16, wherein the feeder multi-fiber connection location, and/or the first branch multi-fiber connection location, and/or the second branch multi-fiber connection location include a multi-fiber ferrule including at least one row of fiber positions.

18. A method for installing a fiber optic architecture, the method comprising: using a flexibility terminal to define a branching location for originating multiple branches each defined by terminals that are daisy chained together, the flexibility terminal including demateable connection locations for allowing feeder signals to be selectively connected to signal lines of the branches, the signal lines of the branches including indexed signal lines that are passed through indexing terminals in an indexed configuration and are indexed toward drop lines of the indexing terminals, non-indexed signal lines that are passed through indexing terminals in a non-indexed configuration, and point-to-point terminals for accessing the non-indexed signal lines.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the flexibility terminal includes first and second branch multi-fiber ferrules respectively coupled to first and second ones of the branches, wherein the method includes selectively connected feeder lines to signal lines of the branches by plugging connectorized ends of the feeder lines into selected ones of the demateable connection locations.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the feeder lines include first feeder lines having a first optical power level and second feeder lines having a second power level higher than the first power level, wherein the second feeder lines are installed by plugging connectorized ends of the second feeder lines into demateable connection locations corresponding to the non-indexed signal lines, wherein the first feeder lines are installed by plugging connectorized ends of the first feeder lines into demateable connection locations corresponding to the indexed signal lines, wherein the first and second feeder lines have first ends coupled to a feeder multi-fiber ferrule and second ends including the connectorized ends, and wherein after installation some of the first and second feeder lines are coupled to the first branch multi-fiber ferrule and others of the first and second feeder lines coupled to the second branch multi-fiber ferrule.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the feeder lines are initial feeder lines, wherein the initial feeder lines are coupled to only a portion of a total number of fiber positions provided by the first and second branch multi-fiber ferrules, and the method includes the step of connecting secondary feeder lines to previously unused ones of the fiber positions at a later date to increase a capacity of the fiber optic architecture.

22. The method of claim 18, wherein passive optical power splitting is not performed at the flexibility terminal.

23. The method of claim 18, wherein at last one of the non-indexed signal lines provides service to a chain of passive optical power taps.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein tap lines from the passive optical power taps are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters.

25. The architecture of claim 1, wherein the first point-to-point terminal provides drop access for connecting at least one of the second plurality of first signal lines to a chain of passive optical power taps.

26. The architecture of claim 25, wherein tap lines from the passive optical power taps are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters.

27. A fiber optic architecture comprising: a plurality of indexing terminal daisy chained together with signal paths being routed through the indexing terminals in an indexed manner and signal paths being dropped at the indexing terminals; chains of optical power taps coupled to the signal paths dropped at the indexing terminals, wherein tap lines from the passive optical power taps are optically coupled to inputs of passive optical power splitters.

28. A fiber optic architecture comprising: a first multi-fiber ferrule having a first set of sequential fiber positions and a second set of sequential fiber positions, the fiber positions of the second set being different from the positions of the first set, the fiber positions of the first set receiving PON optical signals and the fiber positions of the second set receiving PtP optical signals; a second multi-fiber ferrule having a respective first set of sequential fiber positions and a respective second set of sequential fiber positions, the fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule being different from the fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule, the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule corresponding to the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule and receiving PON optical signals; a forward PON drop fiber line optically coupled to a beginning one of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule; a rearward PON drop fiber line optically coupled to an ending one of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule; a plurality of PON indexing fiber lines indexed between at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the first multi-fiber ferrule and at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the first set of the second multi-fiber ferrule; a forward PtP drop fiber line optically coupled to a beginning one of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the first multi-fiber ferrule; a reverse PtP drop fiber line optically coupled to an ending one of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule; and a plurality of PtP indexing fiber lines indexed between at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the first multi-fiber ferrule and at least some of a remainder of the sequential fiber positions of the second set of the second multi-fiber ferrule.

29. The fiber optic architecture of claim 28, wherein the forward PON drop fiber line is one of a plurality of forward PON drop fiber lines.

30. The fiber optic architecture of claim 28, wherein the rearward PON drop fiber line is one of a plurality of rearward PON drop fiber lines.

31. The fiber optic architecture of claim 28, wherein the forward PtP drop fiber line is one of a plurality of forward PtP drop fiber lines.

32. The fiber optic architecture of any of claims 28-31, wherein the first and second sets of sequential fiber positions of the first multi-fiber connector are disposed along a common row.

33. The fiber optic architecture of claim 32, wherein the first set of sequential fiber positions includes eight fiber positions and wherein the second set of sequential fiber positions includes four fiber positions.