We are currently focused on the much larger number of homes in the region that have aerial served utilities.astrorob wrote:any plans to pull fiber in upper rockridge where utilities are undergrounded? ATT is so far a no-show here, or is only nibbling at the edges of the neighborhood.
While pole engineering and the process of aerial construction are reasonably consistent, building to those that are served with underground facilities is dependant upon local municipal standards. We haven't done the research to see if that area has standards for microtrenching in place today, for example. Most cities do not yet, so it's a bit of a task to get through that process.
There is also wide variability in the processes for directional drilling, reinstatement, permit and inspection fees, etc. For example, we recently completed a job in a city where they require and hired a full-time inspector to observe our drill crew as we worked, at a pretty significant expense. The inspector cost a surprising percentage of our total crew cost, substantially increasing the cost of the project. We will avoid working in that City again unless the economics of the network we are building support it.
So, the short answer is, no. The longer answer is, we are scaling up a lot, all around the Bay Area, and in most regions, aerial served homes will be connected first, then we'll "dig"
into the underground processes in each region and assess our next steps. I should also say, uptake success drives how far we can build the network. In other words, if only 15% of homes subscribe, we can only build aerial regions that are lower cost. But if 50% of homes subscribe, we can feasibly build almost anything. This is why for those of you that are located in areas we are not yet reaching, it is particularly important to spread the word about what we are doing - our success in uptake is what drives our expansion! So, tell folks on Nextdoor, on Facebook, at a party, etc about Sonic and our mission, because this results in the best hope for reaching all of you.
