Abstract: A method of testing optical fibers in which a reference trace is generated and the power levels of backscattered optical signals are measured are stored according to distance, thereby identifying fiber section ends according to the attenuation in power levels. If a power level attenuation exceeds a predetermined threshold near the end of a section is detected a series of detailed checks is run comparing the trace tested with the reference trace starting with the furthest distance and identifying the first end where there is an increase in attenuation.

Abstract: The method for automatically testing optical fibres in multi-branch networks implements Optical Time Domain Reflectometry technology (OTDR) in which an optical signal pulse is pumped into a fibre and the respective backscattered signal is periodically analysed to obtain attenuation values according to distance. The method is used to identify the fibre and the position in which attenuation increase of the backscattered signal is found even when the signal is sent upstream of each branch point from which the individual fibres to be tested depart.