What color is indoor multimode optical cable

Indoor multimode optical cables are typically color-coded by type: OM1 and OM2 are orange, OM3 is aqua, OM4 can be aqua or violet, and OM5 is lime.

• OM1 (62.5/125 µm): Orange jacket, legacy fiber type, often labeled on the cable for identification .
• OM2 (50/125 µm): Orange or sometimes gray for early installations; also considered legacy .
• OM3 (50/125 µm, laser-optimized): Aqua jacket, widely used in modern networks .
• OM4 (50/125 µm, laser-optimized): Aqua is standard, but some manufacturers use violet to differentiate from OM3 .
• OM5 (50/125 µm, wideband multimode): Lime green jacket, designed for shortwave wavelength division multiplexing .

These colors help technicians quickly identify the fiber type and its performance characteristics, especially in structured cabling environments. For hybrid or custom cables, printed legends may be used to indicate fiber type if the jacket color differs from the standard .

Inside multimode cables, individual fibers are also color-coded following a 12-color sequence for identification: Blue, Orange, Green, Brown, Slate (Gray), White, Red, Black, Yellow, Violet, Rose, and Aqua. For cables with more than 12 fibers, the sequence repeats with stripe variations to maintain unique identification for each strand . This system ensures accurate splicing, termination, and troubleshooting in high-density installations.

By following these color conventions, technicians can:

• Quickly identify fiber type and mode (OM1–OM5)
• Reduce installation errors and downtime
• Ensure compatibility with network equipment and performance requirements

For indoor multimode fiber, orange, aqua, violet, and lime are the primary jacket colors corresponding to OM1/OM2, OM3, OM4, and OM5, respectively, while internal fibers follow the standardized 12-color sequence for strand identification .