IEC 60876-1:2014 applies to fibre optic switches possessing all of the following general features:
- they are passive in that they contain no optoelectronic or other transducing elements,
- they have one or more ports for the transmission of optical power and two or more states in which power may be routed or blocked between these ports,
- the ports are optical fibres or fibre optic connectors. This fifth edition cancels and replaces the fourth edition that was published in 2012 and constitutes a technical revision. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- addition of definitions for the terms for "normally-on,
- "normally-off" and "crosstalk",
- addition of a new Annex E. Keywords: fibre optic switches, transmission of optical power, fibre optic connectors