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View Full Version : any IP network geniuses out there?

ignatiusjreilly
09-12-2000, 02:52 PM
In general, how much does it cost to light a segment of fiber optic cable? For example, if Qwest installed a new segment between San Francisco and LA, how much would it cost to light the fiber once it's in the ground?

One estimate that I've read is $1.5 million per mile, but that seems awfully high.
CandyMan
09-12-2000, 04:14 PM
A lot.

The buildings required on either side (a send and recieve station) are about 10 million dollars each. Its about $100,000 a mile to just lay the fiber.

The company I work for does exactly this. We have from Buffalo, NY through NYC to NJ and up to Toronto.

CandyMan
sailor
09-12-2000, 04:43 PM
what do you mean by "light"? Are you asking for the cost of laying the cable?
UncleBeer
09-12-2000, 05:18 PM
Yeah, it's quite expensive. Candyman's estimates look pretty decent for a rural longhaul run, but once you get into a dense population and area have have to plan distribution and begin adding splices, your costs can skyrocket. Here in Toledo, we've nearly completed a 2400 mile HFC (hybrid fiber-coax) build from the ground up. I believe the total tab for this thing is going to be right around 375 million bucks. That works out to a bit more than $150,000/mile.

The "buildings" that Candyman has mentioned are typically called "head-ends" and I really can't address the cost of those guys except to say it's considerable. I'm more on the distribution side of it. My work starts at the head-end and ends with the user.

Candyman, I'm currently an engineer with these guys, http://www.teamsigma.com
galt
09-13-2000, 05:23 AM
Hrmm. Ok, so assuming no splices, if I bought a pair of (presumably cheap-o) $1500 single-mode media converters (100Base-TX to 100Base-FX) from blackbox.com, how far could these reliably send a single 100mbit signal?
Spiny Norman
09-13-2000, 05:36 AM
Single-mode is longhaul, and BlackBox claim up to 60 kms (37 miles) for full-duplex 100 Mbit Ethernet. I see no reason to doubt that figure, Black Box is cheap but usually reliable enough.

S. Norman
CandyMan
09-13-2000, 07:37 AM
Good deal UncleBeer... I am in IT Application Support/New Technologies at http://www.telergy.net

CandyMan