[AusNOG] Brisbane gets "NBN" early??

[John Edwards]

On 15/10/2010, at 4:07 PM, Bevan Slattery wrote:

> This is less of an issue elsewhere, but people need to think a little bit before you do this stuff everywhere.  There is a reason that Telco has historically been at least 600mm deep too.  

Historically, electrical cables were buried at a depth greater than "a spit", which was the length of the blade on a common spade - so that no-one would get electrocuted - ie: 450mm.

This has been enshrined as an Australian standard, however I've heard an interpretation of the telecommunications act that says that it's ok to have cable at a lesser depth with the permission of the land owner - ie: the council. The act is technically only required where fibre is being installed as a low-impact facility. Everyone considering this should of course get their own legal advice..

FYI, the Adelaide city council specifically forbids microtrenching.

> How is anyone going to "cross" a microtrenched service once it's in place?  The risk of damage is very high.

The idea is that it's cheaper to construct, so carriers can afford diverse paths with this method that mitigate the risks of crossed services and road surface replacement. Microtrenching requires minimal traffic management - there's a Canadian anecdote of one company deploying it with its road crossings at pedestrian-friendly intersections. They were literally using the stop lights to cut the trench in traffic!

John