Use High-Quality Fiber: Choose ITU-T G. A1/B3 fibers for lower attenuation and better bend tolerance. Minimize Connections: Plan your links to use as few connectors and splices as possible. Clean Connections Religiously: A dirty connector is the #1 cause of unexpected. Optical fiber loss in fiber optic communications: Understanding key factors and calculating methods for high-performance systems and applications free to download. Losses can be divided into intrinsic and. Optical power loss (attenuation) refers to the reduction of signal strength as light propagates through fiber. Simply put, it's the weakening of the signal over distance.