The standard outer jacket color for multimode optical fiber cables is typically Orange for OM1/OM2 and Aqua for OM3/OM4, according to the TIA-598-D/C standard.

Outer Jacket Color for Multimode Fiber

The TIA-598-D/C standard specifies that the outer jacket color of a fiber optic cable indicates the fiber type and mode. For multimode fibers:

• OM1 (62.5/125 µm): Orange jacket
• OM2 (50/125 µm): Orange jacket
• OM3 (50/125 µm, laser-optimized): Aqua jacket
• OM4 (50/125 µm, laser-optimized): Aqua jacket
• OM5 (wideband multimode, 50/125 µm): Lime green jacket These colors provide a quick visual reference for technicians to distinguish multimode fibers from single-mode fibers, which typically have a yellow jacket .

Inner Fiber Color Sequence

Inside multimode cables, each individual fiber is color-coded for identification. The standard 12-color sequence is:

1. Blue
2. Orange
3. Green
4. Brown
5. Slate (Gray)
6. White
7. Red
8. Black
9. Yellow
10. Violet
11. Rose
12. Aqua For cables with more than 12 fibers, the sequence repeats with added stripes or markers to differentiate higher fiber counts .

Connector and Boot Color

Connector boots also follow color conventions to indicate fiber type and polish style:

• Multimode UPC connectors: Beige or Aqua (depending on OM type)
• Multimode APC connectors: Typically not used; APC is mainly for single-mode fibers
• Single-mode UPC: Blue
• Single-mode APC: Green This ensures consistent identification across installations and prevents mismatched connections .

Summary

Using the TIA-598-D/C standard, multimode fiber cables are easily identified by their outer jacket color (Orange for OM1/OM2, Aqua for OM3/OM4, Lime for OM5), while inner fibers follow a 12-color sequence for strand identification. Connector and boot colors further reinforce fiber type and polish style, enabling efficient installation, maintenance, and troubleshooting in complex optical networks .