Quick answer: Use a ribbon fusion splicer for cables with 12+ fibers in ribbon format -- backbone, data center, and central office work. Yet selecting the right fusion splicer—and deploying it correctly—requires understanding splice loss budgets. Fiber Optic Testing Testing is used to evaluate the performance of fiber optic components, cable plants and systems. This depends on various factors, including who is conducting the test and the phase of the project. The question is how much is too much. The estimate, called a "loss budget" is calculated using typical component losses for. A 144-fiber cable can be spliced 144 times on a single-fiber splicer or 12 times on a ribbon splicer.