
FiOS vs. Cable During a Windstorm - jzdziarski
http://www.zdziarski.com/blog/?p=639
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jsz0
I work in the industry. This is an accurate representation of the two
technologies for the most part except both technologies rely on batteries when
commercial power is lost. With cable the power supply (might be more than one
per node) is located on a pole or ground enclosure. With FIOS/FTTH the battery
is located in the ONT powered at the customer's home in most cases that also
includes a built in battery. Either way you'll have to bring your own power
past the 8-12 hour mark of a major outage. Everything else comes down to
staffing and good emergency planning. Keeping tree's trimmed away from
overhead utilities is also essential. Towns or communities that mandate more
underground utilities almost always fair better in large wind/storm outages.

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jzdziarski
Thanks. Made mention of the battery or other power source needed in the home.

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fleitz
Not sure if the anyone knows it or not but in the last picture is one of
Comcast's cable amps laying on the ground. (The grey bit with the heat sink)

Note, I don't work for Comcast, but I used to work for the local cable
provider. I didn't spend much time in the field but from what I recall that
grey box is either, a cable amp, or the fibre to cable converter. Most cable
plants now have fibre from within 1 km of your house.

One of the other really crappy things about cable is that squirrels will chew
the cable until they hit the sheath of the cable, once that happens when it
rains the water will eventually suck all the way to the amp as the cables heat
and cool. It massively degrades the signal quality while this happens and if
left long enough will eventually kill the amp. The water travels both
directions and if your connections are tight enough will actually go all the
way to your house. It usually doesn't penetrate the house as the temperature
fluctuations aren't great enough inside.

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ghshephard
Re: Squirrels (and other rodents) and communications cable. This is what is
typically used to deter the rodents, and prevent water damage:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icky-pick>

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jrockway
How was the cellular network? I assume that's what most people use these days
to call 911? I haven't ever had a landline in my adult life. (OK, I have a
twisted pair, but it is data-only.)

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nkassis
What about regular phone lines? If those telephone poles were down doesn't
that mean they also had no service?

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jzdziarski
Neither Comcast nor Verizon use POTS lines around here. Everything is routed
across their cable/fiber network. While the poles themselves were down, a
majority of the wiring was still intact. The power went out as a result of
over 400 transformers blowing, and a manual shutdown of most circuits for
safety. Enough of the lines were connected in order for Verizon's fiber to
remain connected (most of which is not underground here), and the same was
true of Comcast's coax... it just didn't have the signal strength to make it
back to the CO without power.

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aditya
Verizon FIOS vs Comcast might be a better title, no?

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jzdziarski
Technologically, this could be anybody's FiOS, or anybody's Cable.. I realize
FiOS is more of a trade name, but the general design of 'fiber to the last
mile' is being adopted by others too. Fairpoint I believe is also using the
FiOS moniker due to deals w/Verizon. So IMO it's more about the two
technologies and why one's superior in this situation.

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amock
FiOS isn't fiber to the last mile, it's fiber to the home, which is a huge
difference. AT&T U-verse is fiber to the last mile and copper the rest of the
way and it has nowhere near the same speed.

