Incorrect cable lengths can lead to signal attenuation, which refers to the loss of signal strength as it travels through the cable. This can result in degraded data transmission quality and increased error rates. The Role of Patch Cables in Fiber Networks Patch. Accurate length fixing is a crucial aspect in planning, with the goal of ensuring efficient, safe, and future-proof implementation of fibre optic patch cords. Since there can be issues with even shorter fiber cables we recommend only using fibers with that minimum length. This article explains their concepts, standards, testing methods, and FiberMania's quality assurance workflow to ensure optimal network performance. Fiber optic patch cords are crucial components in. In the test report for a fiber cable, you may often see some data related to fiber insertion loss (IL) and return loss (RL), but do you know what insertion loss and return loss actually mean? How do the values of IL and RL impact the quality of the fiber cable? Are higher values better, or lower. Fiber optic patch cords are often treated as low-risk consumables, yet a large percentage of optical link failures originate at the patch cord level. Unlike backbone cables, patch cords are frequently connected, disconnected, bent, and handled by technicians, making them the most vulnerable.