At&t Bell Laboratories

James J Riordan

Francis J Mullin

David M Mitchell

Cecil G Montgomery

Paul W Harbrecht

Frederick L Henklein

An aerial cable (20) includes a transmission portion and a supporting portion. The transmission portion includes a core (21) comprising at least one transmission medium enclosed in a relatively flexible dielectric wrapping material (23). The wrapping material is enclosed by two metallic shields (31, 40) between which is interposed a layer (42) of a waterblocking material. An outer one (40) of the shields is formed with overlapping longitudinal edge portions at least one of which is turned inwardly toward the core. A cavity (44) between those edge portions is provided with a waterblocking material which inhibits the longitudinal flow of water. The supporting portion includes a longitudinally extending strand material (60) capable of supporting a length of the cable which is supported by poles, for example, at ends of the length. A plastic jacket (45) encloses the supporting portion and the transmission portion. A portion (62) of the jacket which encloses the supporting portion is connected by a relatively thick web (66) to a portion which encloses the transmission portion.

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Alpharetta, GA, United States of America

James J Riordan