The two primary industry-accepted methods for fiber optic cable splicing are fusion splicing and mechanical splicing. The choice between them depends on performance requirements, budget constraints, and the specific application environment. Understanding the differences is key to planning a. Fiber optic joints or terminations are made two ways: 1) splices which create a permanent joint between the two fibers or 2) connectors that mate two fibers to create a temporary joint and/or connect the fiber to a piece of network gear. Technological evolution now enables successful fiber connections using any of these methods, in most environments. Unlike connectors, which are used for temporary joints, splicing creates a. So in essence, fiber optic splicing is a process used to join two separate fiber optic cables together.