Aerial Cable(ABC Cable)

Aerial cable is used any time you need to string an insulated or protected cable overhead between poles or towers, rather than burying it underground. The core applications fall into two big groups.

Power distribution: Aerial Bundled Cable (ABC) and Covered Conductor bring low- or medium-voltage electricity down residential streets, across wooded areas, or into tight urban alleys. Because they are insulated or covered, they drastically cut down faults caused by tree branches, animals, and wind-blown debris.
Fiber optic communication: ADSS, OPGW, and Figure-8 aerial fiber cables carry voice, data, and video signals along utility corridors. They let you deploy high-speed broadband on existing power line structures without the cost and permissions of trenching.

You will also see aerial cables used for short campus or industrial networking links, remote monitoring backhaul, and temporary event connections where rapid deployment matters more than hiding the cable underground.

No. A coaxial cable is a specific type of signal transmission cable designed for RF communication, television, internet, and CCTV systems. An aerial cable refers to the installation method, meaning the cable is installed overhead. Some coaxial cables can be manufactured for aerial installation, but aerial cables can also include power cables, fiber optic cables, and other communication cables.

Aerial cables strike a practical balance between safety, reliability, and installed cost. Compared with bare overhead conductors, the insulation almost eliminates phase-to-phase faults caused by wind-blown contact, makes it far safer to run lines through trees and close to structures, and greatly reduces the risk of electric shock from accidental contact. Fewer faults mean fewer outages. Because the cables need much less clearance, you can often avoid the expense and disruption of wide, cleared-out electrical corridors. Against underground cables, aerial systems are generally less expensive to build and much quicker to install – there is no trenching – and finding and repairing a fault is a matter of visual inspection, not excavation. When a self-supporting design is used, you also eliminate the need for a separate messenger wire, keeping the system straightforward and fast to deploy.

The answer depends on your operating voltage, the span length between poles, the installation environment and the standard your project calls for. For residential low-voltage distribution, a bundled ABC cable to IEC 60502-1, AS/NZS 3560.1, SANS 1418 or NF C33-209 is typical. Where the cable must support itself over moderate spans without a messenger, a self-supporting design such as CAAI or an alloy-core CAAPI cable works well. Service drops from pole to house are usually duplex, triplex or quadruplex cables. For medium-voltage lines through dense vegetation, track-resistant tree wire (15–35 kV) is the standard choice. Our comparison table above will help you narrow things down quickly, and if you are still unsure, just tell us your voltage level, typical span and the standard you are working to – we will match you to the right product.

For the power cables listed here — ABC and Covered Conductor — support is purely mechanical:

ABC bundles are typically suspended by a suspension clamp attached to the pole, or by a messenger wire if the cable design includes one. The neutral conductor often doubles as the supporting element.
Covered conductor is strung on standard pin insulators and tie wires, just like a bare line, but with care to avoid damaging the covering at the tie points.

In both cases, support hardware must be sized to match the cable diameter and maximum allowable tension. Never use undersized clamps — they concentrate stress and can crush the insulation.

For power aerial cables, connection is done without stripping the whole conductor length, which preserves the weather-proof integrity:

Mid-span taps and service connections (ABC): Use insulation-piercing connectors (IPCs). These bite through the XLPE insulation and make secure contact with the aluminium conductor, all while keeping the connection point sealed against moisture. No need to cut or remove the main conductor insulation.
Line terminations and joints: Apply heat-shrink or cold-shrink termination kits that seal the cut end of the cable against water ingress. The termination must cover both the conductor insulation and the outer sheath to create a continuous water block.
Covered conductor connections: Standard compression connectors can be used, but the covering must be removed only at the connector barrel. The connector and exposed aluminium are then protected with a weather-proof heat-shrink sleeve.

A universal rule: leave a service loop at every connection point. Temperature expansion, wind sway, and ice loading constantly move an aerial cable, and the loop absorbs that movement so the splice or connector does not become a mechanical weak point.

Routine maintenance for an aerial fiber plant is mostly about keeping your eyes on the cable and fixing small things before they become large outages.

Annual visual patrols. Walk or drive the line and look for cracked or abraded outer sheaths, loose tie wires, sagging bundles, and signs of tracking or corona damage.
Vegetation management. Branches rubbing on ABC or covered conductor will eventually wear through the sheath. Trim back any growth that can touch the cable under normal sway.
Hardware checks. Look for corrosion on suspension clamps, wedge grips, and pole brackets. A rusted-through clamp can drop an entire span.
Thermal inspection. A thermal camera survey during peak load can spot developing high-resistance connections at IPC taps before they burn clear.
Repair sheath damage immediately. A small cut in the PE outer jacket lets moisture migrate along the conductor. Seal it promptly with a weather-proof repair tape or heat-shrink repair sleeve to keep the dielectric strength intact.