MTP® is a registered trademark of US Conec, which is the acronym for Multi-fiber Termination Push-on. When it comes to MTP® connectors in daily operations, MPO connector is often seen as an interchangeable term. Though MTP® brand connectors are fully compliant with MPO standards and are fully compatible with MPO brand connectors, nevertheless, MTP® connectors are not totally the same as MPO connectors. Different from MPO which is a standardized interface type, MTP® can be regarded as one high-performance version of MPO connector. MTP® connectors are able to provide quick connection for up to 72 optical fibers, among which 8 fibers, 12 fibers and 24 fibers are the most common types. These connectors can join in different cables to become MTP® trunk cables such as 24-fiber MTP® to MTP® trunk cable or MTP®-LC harness cables, or they can be used to terminate links on cassettes in fiber patch panels through adapters. The components of an MTP® cable connector are illustrated below.
Figure 1: Deconstruction of MTP® fiber connector
Seen with the naked eye, there is very little difference between MTP® connectors and MPO connectors. Both the MPO and MTP® connectors have variants of 12/24/48/72-fiber connectors and have a key on one side of the connector body as well as male and female plug type. However, compared with standard MPO connectors, MTP® connectors offer novel patented features and significant performance improvements.
Figure 2: Female MPO connector vs Female MTP® connector