A 1×16 bare-fibre PLC (Planar Lightwave Circuit) splitter takes one single-mode optical fibre input and splits it into sixteen output fibres. “Bare fibre” means the pigtails have no pre-attached connectors (or minimal), so the ends are typically fusion-spliced into the distribution system. These devices are widely used in FTTH (Fibre-to-the-Home), PON (Passive Optical Network) and broader optical distribution networks for splitting a signal from one source to many drop points. For example, a product listing describes: “1×16 Bare Fiber PLC Splitter, 250 µm, Singlemode, No Connector.