Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it?

   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #21  
I don't know how they splice fiber, but I have seen a trailer that's set up for it. There's a special setup that brings the fiber cable inside the trailer, I assume that it's a controlled environment to some extent and it a slow tedious process.
I'd like to know if someone reads this that knows.
You pretty much covered it.
The trailer being a controlled environment is more for the comfort of the splice crew now days. Plus, they don't have to stop for precipitation. The new fusion splicing equipment is easy as ordering from Amazon now.
A couple of true cuts, and it's all on screen and the computer does the rest.
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #22  
Around here the stuff very often is buried quite a ways from where it’s supposed to be and sometimes it’s just laying on top of the ground.
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #23  
Back in the early 70s, we were digging a trench for new sewer line with a dragline crane. We were about 20 feet from a marked AT&T 1000 pair telephone cable, and five AT&T guys were there watching, when the bucket pulled up a chunk of 4" diameter cable. The operator shut it down and asked the AT&T guys if this was their cable. I thought they were going to faint.
The whole town was cut off from outside calls for two days while they repaired the cable.
Turned out they had marked an old out of service cable instead of the proper one. I'm sure heads rolled over that one.
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #24  
You pretty much covered it.
The trailer being a controlled environment is more for the comfort of the splice crew now days. Plus, they don't have to stop for precipitation. The new fusion splicing equipment is easy as ordering from Amazon now.
A couple of true cuts, and it's all on screen and the computer does the rest.
Yeah, I figured things had advanced a wee bit from the 'handraulic' method of the late 20th Century. 🙃
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #25  
When I had to mess with Fiber splices, we actually polished them by hand. It’s been a while.
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #26  
Back in the early 70s, we were digging a trench for new sewer line with a dragline crane. We were about 20 feet from a marked AT&T 1000 pair telephone cable, and five AT&T guys were there watching, when the bucket pulled up a chunk of 4" diameter cable. The operator shut it down and asked the AT&T guys if this was their cable. I thought they were going to faint.
The whole town was cut off from outside calls for two days while they repaired the cable.
Turned out they had marked an old out of service cable instead of the proper one. I'm sure heads rolled over that one.
Yesterday I was grinding a stump next to a road with utility locate done and were about 3 feet from any marked locations. Problem was at the same time they were horizontal boring and pulling a new fiber optic cable directly under one of the stumps that we were grinding.
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #27  
About 40 years ago I was building a project in SoCal. It was before Dig Alert was required, but I knew that there probably was utilities in the existing dirt road. I called for location service and sure enough there was a telephone line running down the center of the road. I had my superintendent pot hole it and we found a main trunk line which ran from San Diego to LA. At that time everything was copper, no fiber.

The underground contractor was trenching for other utilities, so I called their Supt over and showed him the telco line which was only buried 1’deep. Told him to avoid it.

Unfortunately he went to lunch and forgot to tell the operator. You know what happened next.

Result is that Ma Bell had to set up 2 portable microwave towers on either side of the break. They require a large underground splicing vault.

They spent weeks re-splicing the lines.

Bottom line is that Ma Bell charged the contractor for every minute each and every line that was down, the cost of the towers, vault and splicing time.

It cost the contractor over $500,000 (probably over a million in today’s dollars) and the CONTRACTOR was SELF INSURED!

OOPS :eek:
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #28  
About 40 years ago I was building a project in SoCal. It was before Dig Alert was required, but I knew that there probably was utilities in the existing dirt road. I called for location service and sure enough there was a telephone line running down the center of the road. I had my superintendent pot hole it and we found a main trunk line which ran from San Diego to LA. At that time everything was copper, no fiber.

The underground contractor was trenching for other utilities, so I called their Supt over and showed him the telco line which was only buried 1’deep. Told him to avoid it.

Unfortunately he went to lunch and forgot to tell the operator. You know what happened next.

Result is that Ma Bell had to set up 2 portable microwave towers on either side of the break. They require a large underground splicing vault.

They spent weeks re-splicing the lines.

Bottom line is that Ma Bell charged the contractor for every minute each and every line that was down, the cost of the towers, vault and splicing time.

It cost the contractor over $500,000 (probably over a million in today’s dollars) and the CONTRACTOR was SELF INSURED!

OOPS :eek:
Was he able to remain solvent?
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #29  
I'll bet the poor fellow in the picture wishes he was wearing a face mask at that moment!
 
   / Your Internet went down? I wonder what caused it? #30  
Was he able to remain solvent?

My guess —-

I can’t imagine he paid the bill just because MaBell said he had to pay.

I’m guessing he didn’t pay and MaBell either went to court or decided not to fight. If MaBell won in court the contractor declared bankruptcy and left town.

There was a reason he was uninsured.

MoKelly
 
 
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