Google 'Toilet ISP' Gag Not Without Precedent

1sockchuck writes "Yesterday, Google's annual April Fools' joke featured Google TiSP, a free home wireless broadband service that connected via a 'commode-based router' and runs fiber cabling through the sewer system. This is actually not without precedent. Back in the dot-com boom, delivering broadband through sewers was the focus of CityNet Telecom, which raised $375 million in funding from major VC and private equity firms in 2000 and 2001. The company used remote-controlled robots to lay fiber through sewer lines and actually created sewer-based networks in Albuquerque and Indianapolis before merging with Universal Access in 2003."

Comments

Other pipelines, too

[UnderCoverPenguin]

Many years ago, I met an engineer from a natural gas company that installed data fiber in its network of gas pipelines. He explained to me how they designed a modified pipeline "pig" to string the fiber optic cables.

Re:Other pipelines, too

[Anonymous Coward]

If I recall right, there was a firm in Texas that was going to run fiber optic cables through gas lines and made deals with the pipeline owners. In court action however, that company was stopped from doing so as the court decided that easements for right of way the pipeline companies had were only for pipelines and not for fiber optic cables. Wish I had the details on this but I seem to be too tired to chose the right search words. I do remember that something about the suit made me suspicious as to why the land owner filed it.

Re:Other pipelines, too

[moosesocks]

Really? I'd think that would reduce capacity, and make maintenance unbearably difficult. It would likely prevent any future 'pigs' from traveling through the pipe, and require a portion of the line to be shut down and evacuated before any maintenance could be performed.

Of course, I could be completely wrong.

Wasn't Paris (city) doing this too?

[NBK]

I watched some Mega-Cities series of documentaries from National Geographic and there was one about Paris and it's sewer system. A large part of it was talking about how they were using it to run Fibre throughout the city. I'm pretty sure it was the same US company doing it too, robots and all. It was a fibre/wireless network.

Re:What?

[MichaelSmith]

They could be using storm sewers, in which case, it wouldn't be particularly unpleasant to maintain

Once I got called out during heavy rain because a system went down due to flooding under the false floor. The building had been flooded through the phone cable pipe. The tech who came out from the phone company told me with a straight face that their network is virtually an additional storm water system.

We opened a pit down hill from my building, tugged on a cable and cleared the blockage which had caused the flood.

Re:What?

[rtb61]

Fibre through storm water or sewer is a fantasy, have you seen the device they use to clear storm water and sewer blockages. That spinning bit on the end of drain rooters would have an interesting time with any cable in the pipe. As for large bore pipes where people can walk though them, they are so infrequent that it is pointless and the typical repair solution of relining the inside of those pipes would interfere with any cable fixed to the walls of the pipe.

The same hurdle remains as always, holding your breath while your capital flows out until you have sufficient network in the ground to start generating income, while the incumbent copper telcos drastically drop their prices in order to starve you out and try to pick up your fibre optic network on the cheap at the bankruptcy auction.

It really has to be done on an international scale, where you generate sufficient capital to target a less populous western countries (fewer connections and easier access), gain a dominant position in that market with your fibre optic network and with that revenue, and some additional capital, expand into other more complex markets (with the gained technical expertise and experience).

Fiber in Sewer, I own the former CityNet fiber net

[sewerfiber]

Nice to see this on Slashdot. I'm the guy that purchased much of the former CityNet/Universal Access fiber assets out of bankruptcy. I own the Albuquerque ring. In the 7 years since this network has been operational it has only had 1 single failure. That happened while the ring was in bankruptcy and no body was looking after it. When you compare this to the normal way people put fiber in the ground, its night and day. The local CLEC's here in ABQ have at least 1 to 3 fiber cuts per year in the downtown central business district, where the former CityNet network lives. Fiber in the sewer is highly viable and very low cost to deploy. In fact our company is in the process starting new construction in several different cities around the western US. We own the robots and are purchasing more robot assets to help build networks. With fiber to the home/curb/business/sink growing like crazy, this technology makes it very easy, low cost and QUICK to deploy. We hold patents or exclusive licenses to patents on the technologies involved. I'd post our website, but knowing what SlashDot would do to our poor widdle bandwidth, we don't want to get killed. :) If you want more information contact me via sewerfiber@gmail.com