IEC 61073-1:2009 applies to fibre optic splice hardware (mechanical splices and fusion splice protections) for optical fibres and cables. It includes: - fibre optic splice hardware requirements; - quality assessment procedures. This standard does not cover test and measurement procedures, which are described in IEC 61300-1, IEC 61300-2 series and IEC 61300-3 series. This fourth edition cancels and replaces the third edition published in 1999. This edition constitutes a technical revision. The main changes with respect to the previous edition are as follows: - terms and definitions have been reconsidered; - style has been added in classification of requirement; - environmental category has been deleted from classification of requirement; - standardisation structure and standards interlink have been reconsidered. Keywords: fibre optic splice hardware, quality assessment