Overcoming Terrain Challenges in Rural Canada with FuturePath Aerial

SOLUTION

A Streamlined Aerial Build with MicroTechnology from Dura-Line
LIKE ALL DEPLOYMENT METHODS, aerial comes with its own unique challenges. Snow and ice loading, which add extra weight to poles, present concerns for any installer, particularly in cold, snowy regions like Ontario.

But in situations like Young’s, where aerial was the only choice, conduit provided distinct advantages over aerial cable alone by minimizing the risks of overloading the poles. Young chose to jet a 144-count micro cable into FuturePath Aerial 2-Way 12.7/10 mm, which provided a second pathway for the added benefit of scaling up as demand grows.

Young and his crew along with Dura-Line’s jetting experts and sales staff jetted 890 meters of 6.3mm, 144-count fiber cable through their FuturePath Aerial 12.7/10 with a 63% fill ratio and average speed of 70 meters per minute. Despite the varied and challenging terrain, the cable installation process took just 13 minutes.

Although this was new territory for Young and many other installers, he noted that his concerns were put to rest by the exceptional quality and performance of FuturePath from Dura-Line.

“Initially we were concerned about it potentially having ‘memory’ because it was flat. One really nice feature we found as we’re learning to deploy the MicroDuct in the air is that it installed just the same as if it was a traditional fiber or coaxial cable. In fact, we had left it outside in sub-freezing temperatures and it paid off the reel with no memory at all – it laid flat, and we lashed it with no problems.”

FuturePath Aerial allows the conduit’s full fiber capacity and maximum pole loading potential to be calculated once, at the very start of the deployment process. The additional pathway means that that the majority of the costs of permitting, leasing, and make-ready are also only incurred at the beginning.

“The beauty of this product is that we’ve done it once and we have the spare pathway, so we don’t have to go through any of that process again,” Young notes.

“It’s for the future – if we do have to get that second cable across that river, we’re not going through TransCanada waterway permitting again, we’re not going through all the permitting for the poles, et cetera, because it’s already been maxed out for the size of the bundled duct and then we can just jet that second fiber through.”

While aerial is still an emerging deployment method in Canada, Young’s experienced crew needed no specialized equipment or training to successfully execute the installation beyond what is standard for utility installations – this meant no additional time or cost was required for retraining.

And with support from Dura-Line, Young had access to expert hands-on technical support whenever needed. Dura-Line’s sales staff and field application engineers worked with Young and his crew during every stage of the project – from planning to installation and beyond – to ensure the smoothest execution possible.