Is this AT&T Fiber or Sonic Fiber?

Internet access discussion, including Fusion, IP Broadband, and Gigabit Fiber!
8 posts Page 1 of 1
by user83742 » Sat May 19, 2018 2:51 am
I live in the infamous street 33rd Ave between Fulton St and Cabrillo St in San Francisco.

Our utility poles are in the backyard. Sonic skipped over our street in 2017. AT&T has been busy installing fiber all over our neighborhood.

I took a picture for Dane Jasper in 2016 of the utility pole in the backyard. Today, I took another photo and compared it to the one in 2016.

https://imgur.com/a/uiEl9Fj

Notice the loop in 2016 is now gone and is replaced by some sort of tube.

Is this Sonic Fiber or AT&T Fiber? Or something else?
by dane » Mon May 21, 2018 11:23 am
I think that's just copper, judging from the splice case type.

Q: how does this back-of-lot pole lead get fed? Is it interconnected aerially to Fulton or Cabrillo, or does it go underground at one end? I suspect the latter, because I can't find any feed into the back from either end of either block.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by users234234 » Mon May 21, 2018 11:35 pm
It comes underground.
by dane » Tue May 22, 2018 8:52 am
users234234 wrote:It comes underground.
In that case, you're out of luck for now at least. SF's DPW does not currently allow new trenchless utility construction, so it's not feasible for a new market entrant who does not have pre-existing conduit to reach any underground-served premises in the City.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by users324312 » Wed May 23, 2018 6:00 pm
dane wrote:
users234234 wrote:It comes underground.
In that case, you're out of luck for now at least. SF's DPW does not currently allow new trenchless utility construction, so it's not feasible for a new market entrant who does not have pre-existing conduit to reach any underground-served premises in the City.
Thanks for answering.

AT&T has a conduit to the front of our house for the home phone line. By any chance, do you know if they could string fiber through it?

I know this isn't related to Sonic but I'd appreciate your answer.

PS. Our whole street is still hoping for Sonic to come.
by dane » Thu May 24, 2018 10:21 am
Yes, AT&T could use their existing conduit to bring in new fiber, if there is room in it or if they removed some copper to make room.

This is a huge advantage for the telephone incumbent and the cable TV franchise: they got conduit, generally free or at cost of materials only, as development and building occurs. This is why SF DPW's disallowing trenchless new utility construction is particularly frustrating. It's not a level competitive playing field to begin with, and blocking new construction just exacerbates that issue.
Dane Jasper
Sonic
by user928392 » Thu May 24, 2018 2:05 pm
dane wrote:Yes, AT&T could use their existing conduit to bring in new fiber, if there is room in it or if they removed some copper to make room.

This is a huge advantage for the telephone incumbent and the cable TV franchise: they got conduit, generally free or at cost of materials only, as development and building occurs. This is why SF DPW's disallowing trenchless new utility construction is particularly frustrating. It's not a level competitive playing field to begin with, and blocking new construction just exacerbates that issue.
Is trenchless new utiltiy construction the same as micro trenching?

How can we help? Which politician can we call?

PS. We'll switch to Sonic as soon as it's available. I love what you guys are about and I've been promoting you guys on NextDoor even though we can't get it on our street.
by dane » Thu May 24, 2018 3:50 pm
user928392 wrote:Is trenchless new utiltiy construction the same as micro trenching?
Wireline communication utilities are now built using two methods: horizontal directional drilling (HDD), also known as "boring", and microtrenching. A microtrench takes advantage of the physically small size of modern fiber optic cables, by cutting a slot just 1/2" to 1.5" wide, and typically 4" to 12" deep. Each of these "trenchless" deployment methods is critical to building any communications network today, and the City of San Francisco's Department of Public Works (DPW) currently disallows both.
How can we help? Which politician can we call?
The Board of Supervisors is considering a measure that would require SF DPW to allow microtrenching. But as currently drafted, it requires an 18" depth cut - this isn't microtreching, because a saw blade that can cut that deep must be much wider than 1.5", so the result is that the roadway or sidewalk must have much more costly repair. It also simply won't work because all of the pre-existing utilities begin at 18". The beauty of microtrenching is that at 4"-12", it does not ever reach the level where prior utilities are located.

But SF's DPW does seem determined to block microtrenching, and in a hearing just last week, a representative stated DPW's concern that a microtrench would cut the laterals to the homes of pre-existing utilities, including not only communications and power, but also gas and water. They seemed, intentionally or not, to confuse the Supervisors who were present. I think that DPW's priority is keeping the roads and sidewalks in the best possible shape, and broadband deployment is not their main goal.

But, it is pretty simple: Microtrenching is 4"-12", and existing utilities are at 18"-36", so there should be no conflict.
PS. We'll switch to Sonic as soon as it's available. I love what you guys are about and I've been promoting you guys on NextDoor even though we can't get it on our street.
Thank you very much for spreading the word! Achieving a very high uptake is the key to our continued expansion in San Francisco and beyond, so telling others about Sonic's service is the best thing you can do to enabled us to reach all of you in the future!
Dane Jasper
Sonic
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