A cable (302) has (8) fibers (304) are encapsulated by a UV curable layer
(306) having a diameter of approximately (1010) microns, and (16) outer
fibers (316) arranged in a circular formation around the inner fibers
(304). The optical fibers (304) are held in position by means of the UV
curable layer (306) so that the UV curable material of the layer (306)
does not penetrate into the gaps between the optical fibers (304) and the
outermost optical fibers (304) are restrained by the layer from moving
axially. It is found that such an arrangement provides surprisingly
favorable bending properties, making the cable particularly suitable for
installation in a tube by means of blowing.