Communications cable and method having a talk path in an enhanced cable jacket

A fiber optic cable comprising:

• at least one optical fiber;
• a core containing said optical fiber;
• a jacket encompassing said core, said jacket formed from a deformable material having a plurality of spaced longitudinal cavities formed therein at radially spaced locations about said core;
• a talk path in at least one of said longitudinal cavities, so as to be readily accessible to field technicians for use in communication along the cable during cable service;
• and
• marking means on the outer surface area of said jacket for indicating the location of said talk path relative to said jacket for assisting the field technicians in locating said talk path.

A method of making a communications cable having a talk path in the cable jacket wherein the talk path may be readily accessed by a field technician, and wherein the cable has enhanced crush, impact, and cut-through resistance, said method comprising the steps of:

• forming a cable core for carrying at least one longitudinally extending primary signal conductor;
• extruding a jacket of a deformable material around the core wherein the jacket contains a plurality of longitudinal cavities formed therein at radially spaced locations about the core;
• said extruding step comprising placing a talk path in at least one of the longitudinal cavities;
• and
• marking the portion of the outer surface area of the cable jacket overlying the talk path to indicate the location of the talk path, so that a field service technician may readily locate the talk path.

A method of forming a cable jacket around a communications cable core having a talk path in the cable jacket wherein the talk path may be readily accessed by a field technician, and wherein the cable has enhanced crush, impact, and cut-through resistance, said method comprising the steps of:

• extruding a jacket of a deformable material around the core wherein the jacket contains a plurality of longitudinal cavities formed therein at radially spaced locations about the core;
• said extruding step comprising placing a talk path in at least one of the longitudinal cavities;
• and
• marking the portion of the outer surface area of the cable jacket overlying the talk path to indicate the location of the talk path, so that a field service technician ma readily locate the talk path.

A method of making a connection to a talk path contained within a longitudinal cavity of a jacket of a cable without disrupting a core of the cable, the talk path being for use by a field service technician during servicing of the cable, the location of the talk path being marked lengthwise along the jacket, said method comprising the steps of:

• locating the lengthwise mark along the cable jacket indicating the talk path position;
• cutting and removing an outer portion of the cable jacket at the mark location, thereby exposing the underlying talk path contained within the longitudinal cavity without disrupting the core of the cable;
• and
• connecting a field communications device to the talk path, to thereby establish a connection to the talk path for use by the field service technician.