2 ms·

I think the costs were just too much to expand as rapidly as they wanted. They experimented with "nanotrenching" in Louisville, burying cable directly in 2-inch

I think the costs were just too much to expand as rapidly as they wanted. They experimented with "nanotrenching" in Louisville, burying cable directly in 2-inch-deep channels directly in the road surface, which ended up in disaster [1]; shortly after, they "paused" expansion, fired their CEO, and went through layoffs. 1: https://gizmodo.com/when-google-fiber-abandons-your-city-as-a-failed-experi-1833244198 https://gizmodo.com/when-google-fiber-abandons-your-city-as-...

dead4today123 3y ago
I lived in Louisville when this happened, and met the guy who came in second place for Louisville portion of Google Fiber. 1. Yes, the microtrench became a disaster, because the material they used to cover the drench stuck to people's tires when it was hot outside and it pulled up. Paving over it would have solved the problem 2. Google chose to hire a lawyer to run the project. The second place guy had installed fiber his entire life, had personal relationships with the people that owned the right of ways to connection poles (ISP). The ISP folks did not like the lawyer and did not work with him and that's why it really died. (according to mr. second place)
- tadfisher 3y ago
  > Yes, the microtrench became a disaster, because the material they used to cover the drench stuck to people's tires when it was hot outside and it pulled up. Paving over it would have solved the problem Paving it over would mean digging the trench deeper, meaning it's no longer a "nanotrench" (Google's experiment) but a "microtrench" (a very popular method of fiber deployment). These are trenches that are cut down below the road surface (12-24 inches), filled in, and paved/sealed on top to match the road surface. For this you need conduit, filler material, asphalt sealant, and a bit more labor.

2 ms·

I think the costs were just too much to expand as rapidly as they wanted. They experimented with "nanotrenching" in Louisville, burying cable directly in 2-inch

by tadfisher 3y ago

dead4today123 3y ago
I lived in Louisville when this happened, and met the guy who came in second place for Louisville portion of Google Fiber. 1. Yes, the microtrench became a disaster, because the material they used to cover the drench stuck to people's tires when it was hot outside and it pulled up. Paving over it would have solved the problem 2. Google chose to hire a lawyer to run the project. The second place guy had installed fiber his entire life, had personal relationships with the people that owned the right of ways to connection poles (ISP). The ISP folks did not like the lawyer and did not work with him and that's why it really died. (according to mr. second place)
- tadfisher 3y ago
  > Yes, the microtrench became a disaster, because the material they used to cover the drench stuck to people's tires when it was hot outside and it pulled up. Paving over it would have solved the problem Paving it over would mean digging the trench deeper, meaning it's no longer a "nanotrench" (Google's experiment) but a "microtrench" (a very popular method of fiber deployment). These are trenches that are cut down below the road surface (12-24 inches), filled in, and paved/sealed on top to match the road surface. For this you need conduit, filler material, asphalt sealant, and a bit more labor.