What is the difference between OM1, OM2, OM3, OM4, OM5


Multimode fibers are identified by the OM (“optical mode”) designation as outlined in the ISO/IEC 11801 standard.

OM1, for fiber with 200/500 MHz*km overfilled launch (OFL) bandwidth at 850/1300nm (typically 62.5/125um fiber)
OM2, for fiber with 500/500 MHz*km OFL bandwidth at 850/1300nm (typically 50/125um fiber)
OM3, for laser-optimized 50um fiber having 2000 MHz*km effective modal bandwidth (EMB, also known as laser bandwidth), designed for 10 Gb/s transmission.
OM4, for laser-optimized 50um fiber having 4700 MHz*km EMB bandwidth designed for 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s, and 100 Gb/s transmission.
OM5, for laser-optimized 50um fiber having 28000 MHz*km ( 28GHz*km ) EMB bandwidth designed for 10 Gb/s, 40 Gb/s, and 100 Gb/s transmission.

Physical Difference

Physical difference mainly lies in diameter, jacket color, optical source and bandwidth, which is described in the following table.

Multi Mode Fiber Cable 

Diameter

Jacket Color

Optical Source

Bandwidth

OM1

62.5/125µ

              Orange             

LED

200MHz*km

OM2

50/125µm

          Orange         

LED

500MHz*km

OM3

50/125µm

          Aqua               

VSCEL

2000MHz*km

OM4

50/125µm

            Aqua             

VSCEL

4700MHz*km

OM5

50/125µm

      Lime Green  

   VSCEL

28000MHz*km

Practical Difference

Multimode fibers are able to transmit different distance ranges at various data rate. You can choose the most suited one according to your actual application.

The max multimode fiber distance comparison at different data rate is specified below.

MMF Category Fast Ethernet 1GbE 10GbE 40GbE 100GbE
OM1 2000m 275m 33m   Not specified
Not specified 
OM2 2000m 550m 82m   Not specified
  Not specified
OM3 2000m   Not specified
300m 100m 70m
OM4 2000m   Not specified
550m 150m 150m
OM5   Not specified ​
  Not specified
550m 150m 150m