LinuxSA Mailing list archives

  From: John Edwards <isplist@pinnacle.net.au>
  To  : David Lloyd <lloy0076@rebel.net.au>
  Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 16:59:35 +1030

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

David Lloyd wrote:

> Generally overhead cables look rather dreadful and decrease the ambient
> niceness of an area. You'll note that in many new developments the

This is relevant in Adelaide, since council/resident objection to
overhead cables prevented Foxtel and Optus from getting a hold on the
PayTV market here. ETSA have no such problem, since they already have
cables and ducts everywhere, along with council permission that doesn't
explicitly specify that their cables are just for electricity. There's
even talk of running fibre down the centre of power cables for
protection.

> 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...

Most cabling contractors will quote something like $40-$60 per metre for
underground cabling (from memory), not including the cost of seeking
permission. They have some really cool digging tools that can make it
under pavement etc without needing to disturb the surface past the
starting point. I imagine the $10K figure includes getting lawyers
involved in addition to electrical engineers.

When I had Telstra do a new trench across an ashphalt driveway to suit
fibre, along with a new pit and steel tube down the side of the building
to the trench, the cost was $800. The damage that can be caused by
pulling fibre through a town's existing old copper network is best left
for another thread, and perhaps makes the $10000 figure looks reasonable
:)
 
> 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

Good points, but I doubt you're using equipment conforming to an IEEE
standard if the overhead fibre is going to cause fires!
 
If we are to believe the X-files, apparently there are American Telco's
happy to deliver T3's using overhead fibre to rural areas :) Surely a
FreeBSD lead developer is at least as important as an Evil Artificial
Intelligence..

John Edwards

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