Optical fibers are connected to terminal equipment by optical fiber connectors. These connectors are usually of a standard type such as "FC", "SC", "ST", "LC", "MTRJ", "MPO" or "SMA". Optical fibers may be connected to each other by connectors, or permanently by "splicing", that is, joining two fibers together to form a continuous optical waveguide. The generally accepted splicing method is arc fusion splicing, which melts the fiber ends together with an electric arc. For quicker fastening jobs, a “mechanical splice” is used.