Fiber Optic Color Code
Fiber optic cable doesn’t always have numeric labels identifying each individual fiber. When the fibers are identified by color, the standard 12-color sequence can be used to determine the fiber number.
If you’re familiar with the traditional telephone 25-pair color code, you already know the first ten colors. The first five fiber colors are Blue, Orange, Green, Brown, Slate, followed by White, Red, Black, Yellow, Violet. Rose and Aqua finish the 12-fiber sequence.
| Fiber Number | Color |
|---|---|
| 1 | Blue |
| 2 | Orange |
| 3 | Green |
| 4 | Brown |
| 5 | Slate |
| 6 | White |
| 7 | Red |
| 8 | Black |
| 9 | Yellow |
| 10 | Violet |
| 11 | Rose |
| 12 | Aqua |
Remembering the Fiber Color Code
The 12 colors can be reduced to three groups:
BOGBS – WRBYV – RA
If that isn’t much easier to remember than the colors themselves, use:
Broadcast Ops Get Better Signals.
When Routing Broadcasts, You Verify.
Route Audio.
Fiber Counts Above 12
On higher-count fiber cables, the 12-color sequence may be repeated. Additional markings, tracers, buffer tube colors or other identification methods can be used to distinguish one group of fibers from another. If you’re looking at more than one 12-fiber group, verify how that particular cable identifies the groups before relying on color alone.
