The end face of a fiber optic cable must be kept absolutely clean. Dirt or dust can lead to connection failures. It is imperative that certain procedures be followed in the handling of these cables to avoid damage and/or limiting their usefulness. Yet the materials differ greatly. So, dirt between the optical connections and bad quality compo-nents. Learn proper fiber optic cable storage and handling: temperature control, bend radius, connector protection, and long-term storage best practices. Fiber optic cables are precision-engineered transmission media designed to carry data as pulses of light through glass or plastic fibers.