Planning fiber for a 250-unit high-rise sounded straightforward until it clicked that enough fiber for every unit had to pass through a commercial kitchen on the way to the basement.
The plan uses approximately fourteen 24-strand single-mode fiber cables, each about 300 feet long, with one strand allocated to each unit. In quarters this tight, staging the cable in figure eights is the only way to keep the pull manageable. Fiber to the X, with 10 gig service headed to every unit.
A local contractor brought us in during a surveillance-room remodel. Once the ceiling and walls opened up, we found decades of abandoned cabling that nobody knew was still there.
We cleared out the old cable and installed new runs to current standards. Hopefully, when this room is remodeled again in 30 years, the next crew will not inherit anything like this. We plan to stay involved and keep it maintained.
Customer-installed cable always gets tested before we hang equipment on it. This run arrived at the wall box held in place with Scotch tape, which did not inspire much confidence.
Credit where it is due. The cable passed qualification at multi-gig speeds. The touchscreen only needs 100 megabits, so this DIY run had plenty of headroom. The tape may not have looked promising, but the cable itself was solid.
We are putting the final touches on this 96-strand fiber enclosure. It brings four satellite buildings back to the main building, and everything needs to be checked while the trays are still open and easy to reach.
Once it is sealed and placed underground in the handhole, we may not see it again for a long time. This is the moment to check the routing, labels, slack, and every splice one last time.
Photo note: This field image was digitally modified to remove labels and customer-specific identifiers.
