英文全称：Universal Jointing Consortium
简称：JUC
中文名称：环球接头联盟
官方网站http://www.ujconsortium.com

The philosophy of Universal Jointing for fibre optic cables was conceived in the late 1980’s. In November 1990, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, BT (Marine) Ltd., and Les Cables de Lyon, formed a consortium in contemplation of jointly entering into an agreement with the TAT9 fibre optic cable system purchasers to supply a Universal Joint and Universal Coupling (UJ/UC), for installation and maintenance. This new jointing approach (and technology) was aimed at allowing cable owners to avoid the need and expense of having to use a variety of manufacturer-specific cable jointing equipment.

The Universal Joint (UJ) is allowing manufacturers and cable owners alike, the freedom to install and purchase various underwater telecommunications cable types from different suppliers for the construction and maintenance of their networks. The standard UJ joint offers cable-specific components designed to fit together with a set of common piece parts using common tools for assembly.

The Universal Joint / Universal Coupling (UJ/UC) Consortium—which originally introduced the UJ/UC technology platform—has now grown into the Universal Jointing Consortium (UJC) with four members consisting of Alcatel Submarine Networks in France, Global Marine Systems Ltd. in the UK, Kokusai Cable Ship Co., Ltd. in Japan, and Tyco Telecommunications (US) Inc. in the USA. In addition to UJ/UC products, the UJC supports and maintains the Universal Quick Joint (UQJ) product platform. Consortium members each have specific responsibilities and work together to provide UJ, UC, and UQJ technology to worldwide cable operators, cable manufacturers, and maintenance contractors. It is testament to the effectiveness of the Consortium that these jointing technologies and standards have been adopted by the majority of optical undersea telecommunication cable maintenance authorities worldwide.

Generally, the UJ (provides a connection between cables) and UC (provides a connection between a cable and an optical housing, such as repeaters, branching units, etc.) are used in long-haul networks which are typically over 400 kilometres in length such as across Atlantic or Pacific routes. Networks of this length require the installation of repeaters or amplifiers at regular intervals along the cable to boost the optical signal as it travels down the fibre. In contrast, the UQJ was developed to meet the needs of the unpowered, non-repeatered, short-haul cable market.

Consortium Coordinator 
Mr. Henri Palacin
40 rue de la Capelette
62231  Coquelles
FRANCE
Tel: +33 6 15 32 75 78
Fax: +33 1 44 51 98 45
coordinator@ujconsortium.com