Fiber Optic Cable - Direct Burial

[justfreeze]

Controls guy here with not much installation experience but when they say direct burial for fiber optic cable do they mean trenching or digging and simply placing armored fiber optic cable directly in the trench then recovering with dirt? Or do they mean trenching or digging and placing the fiber optic cable in innerduct that is placed in conduit/pvc then recovering with dirt?

 

[iwire]

Direct burial means without conduit.

 

[justfreeze]

Thanks. How do the telecommunication companies install fiber optic cable alongside roads if they can't put it in the air? Direct Burial or In innerduct? It seems direct burial wouldn't be a reliable long term option.

 

[fmtjfw]

Thanks. How do the telecommunication companies install fiber optic cable alongside roads if they can't put it in the air? Direct Burial or In innerduct? It seems direct burial wouldn't be a reliable long term option.

Depend on how tough the cable sheath is. Lead covered, paper insulated, buried cable lasts "forever" unless dug up or water leaks in.
They run fiberoptic cable across the seabeads between continents.

 

[don_resqcapt19]

Thanks. How do the telecommunication companies install fiber optic cable alongside roads if they can't put it in the air? Direct Burial or In innerduct? It seems direct burial wouldn't be a reliable long term option.

Both are often used...for lower fiber counts, they normally "plow" or trench in a direct bury fiber cable. For larger fiber counts and future access they often use directional boring to install an duct with multiple inner tubes, then the blow bare fiber into one or more of the tubes.

 

[justfreeze]

Depend on how tough the cable sheath is. Lead covered, paper insulated, buried cable lasts "forever" unless dug up or water leaks in.
They run fiberoptic cable across the seabeads between continents.

Both are often used...for lower fiber counts, they normally "plow" or trench in a direct bury fiber cable. For larger fiber counts and future access they often use directional boring to install an duct with multiple inner tubes, then the blow bare fiber into one or more of the tubes.

Thanks for the info!