Open ditch policies

Submitted by acohill on Fri, 04/27/2007 - 07:51

It is spring, and around the country, many communities are starting water, sewer, and road projects of one kind or another. On the way back and forth to a project Design Nine is working on, I pass a water line project--a couple of miles of new water line along a major artery and business corridor, and the main route between two communities.

Any telecom duct going in the ditch? Nope. None. Zilch. For a very small incremental cost, duct could be put in alongside the water line that would provide an opportunity to create a major new fiber connection between those two towns, as well as hooking up businesses and homes along the way.

Another region is talking about the need for regional fiber connectivity, but a couple of years ago, they installed a major water line between two key towns and did not bother to put duct in the ditch. Now it is going to cost them a lot more to go back and install fiber.

Every community and planning region should have an open ditch policy that requires planners to evaluate water and sewer projects to see if fiber and duct should be installed, and to look at road repaving and sidewalk upgrades and improvements the same way.

The key to making this relatively simple is to spend a little money developing a community telecom infrastructure plan that outlines where fiber is needed. Once that is done, it is simple to determine if a duct or fiber should be installed alongside a water or sewer line.