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A Twisty Maze Of Sewerbot Links, All Different
skids writes "Look before you sit! Sewer systems all
over the world are under seige by robots laying fiber to the curb -- and
beyond. There's even a standards body forming. (Doesn't that consitute a one-level recursion of 'pipes carrying filth'?)" It's been a while since we last mentioned these things.
That's why there's redundancy in the links. Fiber connections always have two or more links going through physically distant paths. Too many uninformed people operating backhoes around every city.
do we really need the roto-rooter guy taking out our broadband connection?
Speaking as a guy who was a plumber for ten years, I guarantee some guy with a drain snake will be cutting these on a regular basis. When you have 200 feet of snake and the run from the toilet to the curb is 100 feet blades won't know the difference between fibre lines and fibrous roots. Unless they can affix these lines to the uppermost part of the pipe, and they only use the large trunks, they are going to have problems.
"It then drags three steel conduits -- casing that houses the fiber and shields it from the sewage"
In this article they have a bit at the end detailing how it works. First the robot inserts steel rings into the pipe, then it drags the steel conduit into the pipe and attaches it to the rings.
The cable is then blown through the conduit with pressurized air.
I'm also fairly certain that if a site with fiber optic cable in its sewer pipes had plumbing problems, they'd be sure to let the plumber know before hand. There may even be warning lables attached to said pipes.
-kidlinux.