[LINK] An Overhead NBN

[Jan Whitaker]

At 12:15 AM 8/11/2013, Frank O'Connor wrote:
>Mmmm,
>
>You'd think that using the poles rather than the ducts would be 
>cheaper, quicker and much less labour intensive, and as a bonus 
>easier to diagnose and repair when/if trouble hits. That said, 
>leaving the cable/fibre open to the elements may make it a bit less reliable.
>
>Jan, as probably the only person on the Link List who has actually 
>spliced fibre and participated in running an optic fibre network ... 
>what are your thoughts?

That was a coffee spewing moment. Gee, thanks, Frank! Actually, my 
only experience was a visit by a US West rep in the 1980s when they 
were spruiking fibre optics (we used to call it it's full name back 
then) pretty much on its first commercial exposure. He brought along 
a splicing tool and let us have a crack. I think I still have my 
'nanosecond' length of cable around here somewhere (anyone who knows 
of Admiral Grace Hopper understands that reference). But no, I've 
never had anything to do with actual installation of any sort, so 
don't go by anything I might say on this topic.

Common sense tells me that putting non-destructable (low? 
destructable) components along poles wouldn't be any different than 
putting them underground EXCEPT for the danger of being crashed into 
and broken by some other thing, like a car. Living in a community 
with underground everything, I know we have hardly any power outages, 
unlike other neighbourhoods with trees falling on the cables often. 
I've lived out here 15 years this month and can count on one hand the 
number of power losses, which was due to major upstream distribution 
problems at the generators, not local damages.

Strung cables are easier to service, but do they need servicing other 
than when damaged by external forces? Isn't it the end equipment that 
needs that? That equipment would require access and strong protection.

That's the extent of my thinking. I would just be happy with upgraded 
ADSL connection if I'm not going to be able to get FTTH. Not even 
that is being talked about, unfortunately, while NBN is the centre of 
everyone's attention. This is a no-brainer, but of course I still 
have RIM services. :-(

Jan





Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com

Sooner or later, I hate to break it to you, you're gonna die, so how 
do you fill in the space between here and there? It's yours. Seize your space.
~Margaret Atwood, writer

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