A fiber optic cable and connector assembly is disclosed. In one aspect, the assembly includes a cable optical fiber, an optical fiber stub and a beam expanding fiber segment optically coupled between the cable optical fiber and the optical fiber stub. The optical fiber stub has a constant mode field diameter along its length and has a larger mode field diameter than the cable optical fiber. In another aspect, a fiber optic cable and connector assembly includes a fiber optic connector mounted at the end of a fiber optic cable. The fiber optic connector includes a ferrule assembly including an expanded beam fiber segment supported within the ferrule. The expanded beam fiber segment can be constructed such that the expanded beam fiber segment is polished first and then cleaved to an exact pitch length. The expanded beam fiber segment can be fusion spliced to a single mode optical fiber at a splice location behind the ferrule.