Google Fiber for Communities now has a Web site

Via Jon Hunt's excellent Broadband Policy Watch Web site, Google has rolled out a Google Fiber for Communities Web site. There is not much new information; Google is still promising that they will select a community before the end of the year. Of interest is the focus on microtrenching. This is a technology that Design Nine has been using for several years. We particularly like the Teraspan products. We have used that very successfully in The Wired Road. The picture shows the slot you cut in the street, and then you drop the Teraspan duct which already has the fiber cable enclosed.

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Comments

I'm not so sure that I agree with the practice of trenching hard-top. What happens nine, ten years up the road, when it's time to repave that street? That top layer of pavement can only go so high. The curbing dictates the max height of the hard-top, by design.

Looks like it's already at the max height, and crumbling under the feet of both of these workers. It will be less than ten years in this instance, before a complete repave. Soon, within a year, that crumbling pavement that these workers are installing the cable into, will be removed and a patch will go in its place - hopefully before winter. Eventually, the patching will not be enough and a repave will have to happen.

How deep does your trench go? You should probably be going deeper than the gravel and sand sublayer, if you really want a semi-permanent install. I'm no expert. Just something I noticed and wanted to bring to your attention. Something to think about. You may already be aware.