A single fibre optic cable has a diameter smaller than that of a human hair, yet it is capable of simultaneously carrying a phone conversation between every single person on earth! Each one of the properties on our network will have two of these fibres running directly into the house or business – one to carry all the anticipated needs (video, audio, security, landline and mobile communications) and the second as a spare in case there are other services that emerge in the decades to come.
By themselves fibre strands are delicate, so they are encased in outer tubing with a propylene covering, typically 6mm in diameter. They do not carry any power or voltage, they simply use light to carry the information. Fibre optic cables are not affected by electrical interference, they do not degrade in performance over the distances involved, and are unaffected by the presence of other radiation. They can be laid alongside (or indeed even within) water pipes, and alongside mains electricity cables.
As our preference is for them to be buried in the ground, your service will not be subject to weather or physical damage outages. They can however be damaged by accidental digging – we bury them below spade depth in gardens, below ploughing depth in fields, and in micro-channels on the side of the road. We lay a detectable marker tape above them to show the route, before damage is done to the cable beneath.
There is no need for the old poles and wires once everyone is taking the full-fibre service from us, so this is better both aesthetically, as well as removing roadside hazards or pavement blockages. We do not need ugly roadside cabinets – everything between our head end equipment and your property is securely and unobtrusively buried.