LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: Greg Lehey <grog@lemis.com>
  To  : David Lloyd <lloy0076@rebel.net.au>
  Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 16:11:27 +1030

Re: Broadband options in SA (was Re: ADSL talk suggestion)

On Monday, 27 November 2000 at 16:17:19 +1030, David Lloyd wrote:
>
>> That's interesting.  I don't see any reason not to hang fibre from
>> power masts.  In the last 3 years, I've had my phones cut off 4 times
>> for over a day (longest was 5 days) as a result of backhoe damage.
>> That won't happen if it's 10 metres up in the air.  And it's a lot
>> cheaper to lay for people in outlying places like where I live.
>
> Generally overhead cables look rather dreadful and decrease the
> ambient niceness of an area. You'll note that in many new
> developments the cabling is and must be placed underground. It costs
> approximately $10000 per metre (yes it is that high) to take
> overhead underground. It's a lot easier to install the cables
> underground at the start than to string even more services above
> ground...
>
> Underground cables generally:
>
> * don't get blown over by wind
> * don't cause street trees to be lopped
> * are less likely to cause fires
> * don't get done in by backhoes if people are actually a little more
> careful about what they're doing and are used to having the cables
> underground
>
> I can see your point in the cables being cheaper to place above
> ground, but I think - and this is my opinion - that cable should be
> installed underground where budget, technical feasibility and
> perhaps the absence of people with backhoes ( :-P it's a joke )
> exist...

All very good stuff, and definitely the way to go in the city.  As I
mentioned, I'm out in the sticks, between Echunga and Meadows.  I'm
probably the only person down our road at the moment who wants
broadband access, and as you say, laying 5 km of underground fibre
would be prohibitively expensive.  In addition, we already have
overhead power cables, so it would make more sense to make the
transition at the same time they make the transition to underground
power.

Greg
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