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Hmm, there isn't much info on the tech and how the cable is physically laid. Here is a forum topic (in French) detailing how it was attempted in France [0] ca.

Hmm, there isn't much info on the tech and how the cable is physically laid. Here is a forum topic (in French) detailing how it was attempted in France [0] ca. 20013 to bring the network up to speed. A technician explains[1] that this method is no longer used on new deployments, because of an unexpected issue: hunter's stray bullets often severed the cables. An interesting video [2] is linked in the top post. Maybe the real innovation is that there is no need for a technician to supervise the thing. But I doubt it: it could be cheaper to pay someone to watch it than to deal with the consequences of a failure. Though I am not sure the one I linked could cross pylons, and as such could be only for HV, not MV lines. As usual for a press release, a lot of marketing speech, light on technical details, and the infographics is bullshit, comparing top-end, almost-future fiber optics with previous gen technologies (100Mbps twisted pair vs 25Tbps fiber) [0] https://lafibre.info/techniques-deploiement/fibre-sur-les-pylones-de-rte/ https://lafibre.info/techniques-deploiement/fibre-sur-les-py... [1] https://lafibre.info/techniques-deploiement/fibre-sur-les-pylones-de-rte/msg152201/#msg152201 https://lafibre.info/techniques-deploiement/fibre-sur-les-py... [2] https://invidio.us/watch?v=ZZ8aioekrhc&t=42 https://invidio.us/watch?v=ZZ8aioekrhc&t=42

derekdahmer 6y ago
> Though I am not sure the one I linked could cross pylons, and as such could be only for HV, not MV lines. IMO the entire point of the post is that they can now run the fiber on the Medium Voltage lines. That allows cost effectively running fiber on existing infrastructure thats much more widespread and passes closer to homes. From the article, MV is the harder challenge for running helical cable than HV because the lines are bunched closer together, can't carry as much weight and have far more obstructions. The cool thing this new approach does is make a compact robot that can run smaller cables and handle obstacles. This is going open up fiber as an option to way more communities where it previously was not cost effective to do so.
dx034 6y ago
I also can't imagine that laying underground empty tubes isn't isn't cheaper over the long term. Sure, much more expensive now but they can be used with very little maintenance for decades and are much more resiliant against weather.
- MayeulC 6y ago
  Unfortunately, our current society tends to favor short returns on investment...
coolgeek 6y ago
> hunter's stray bullets often severed the cables Wait, what? If stray bullets are randomly severing cables - and doing so "often" - they should often be randomly hitting other things, in a frequency corresponding to the size and distribution of the thing(s) being hit. Pardonnez moi for not reading the article. Je ne parle pas Francaise. But this doesn't seem like it could possibly be the reason for why this method is no longer used on new deployments.
- MayeulC 6y ago
  No worries, you still get points for your effort :) (s/Francaise/français/) This also surprised me, hence the "hard to anticipate" bit in the linked post. I guess it stems from multiple factors: high voltage lines being very long, high above ground, and crossing remote areas that might be hunting grounds. Plus, some prey might actually rest on the wires or pylons. I should have written "lead shot" instead of "bullets", as that's a better translation. Such ammunition is commonly used for shooting birds, that can be located in front of or behind the lines. Fiber twisted around the cable also increases its cross-section. It's actually quite likely that they often hit other things, but not human ones (stats say ~140 hunt accidents per year on average there, ~15 deadly, ~20 non-hunters). The cross section of high voltage lines present during hunts on hunting grounds is likely bigger than the human one. Plus, hunters tend not to fire at people or in their general direction, while they don't care about HV lines.
  - coolgeek 6y ago
    Ah, okay, that makes sense now. We call it bird shot here. Birds are also known to perch upon wires, which is another factor that I hadn't considered before. (Actually, I wasn't even thinking about birds at all... I was only considering mammals.)

derekdahmer 6y ago

> Though I am not sure the one I linked could cross pylons, and as such could be only for HV, not MV lines. IMO the entire point of the post is that they can now run the fiber on the Medium Voltage lines. That allows cost effectively running fiber on existing infrastructure thats much more widespread and passes closer to homes. From the article, MV is the harder challenge for running helical cable than HV because the lines are bunched closer together, can't carry as much weight and have far more obstructions. The cool thing this new approach does is make a compact robot that can run smaller cables and handle obstacles. This is going open up fiber as an option to way more communities where it previously was not cost effective to do so.

dx034 6y ago

I also can't imagine that laying underground empty tubes isn't isn't cheaper over the long term. Sure, much more expensive now but they can be used with very little maintenance for decades and are much more resiliant against weather.

MayeulC 6y ago
Unfortunately, our current society tends to favor short returns on investment...

coolgeek 6y ago

> hunter's stray bullets often severed the cables Wait, what? If stray bullets are randomly severing cables - and doing so "often" - they should often be randomly hitting other things, in a frequency corresponding to the size and distribution of the thing(s) being hit. Pardonnez moi for not reading the article. Je ne parle pas Francaise. But this doesn't seem like it could possibly be the reason for why this method is no longer used on new deployments.

MayeulC 6y ago
No worries, you still get points for your effort :) (s/Francaise/français/) This also surprised me, hence the "hard to anticipate" bit in the linked post. I guess it stems from multiple factors: high voltage lines being very long, high above ground, and crossing remote areas that might be hunting grounds. Plus, some prey might actually rest on the wires or pylons. I should have written "lead shot" instead of "bullets", as that's a better translation. Such ammunition is commonly used for shooting birds, that can be located in front of or behind the lines. Fiber twisted around the cable also increases its cross-section. It's actually quite likely that they often hit other things, but not human ones (stats say ~140 hunt accidents per year on average there, ~15 deadly, ~20 non-hunters). The cross section of high voltage lines present during hunts on hunting grounds is likely bigger than the human one. Plus, hunters tend not to fire at people or in their general direction, while they don't care about HV lines.
- coolgeek 6y ago
  Ah, okay, that makes sense now. We call it bird shot here. Birds are also known to perch upon wires, which is another factor that I hadn't considered before. (Actually, I wasn't even thinking about birds at all... I was only considering mammals.)