Batteries the Focus of AT&T Investigation

An anonymous reader writes "AT&T is focusing on the batteries supplied by Avestor as the cause of its 2006 equipment explosion in a suburban Houston neighborhood. The carrier says it has 17,000 of those same batteries still in its network. Some photos of the equipment that was shredded in the blast are also available."

Comments

The real reason for the explosion?

[Lost Penguin]

All that NSA snooping equipment was designed to self destruct if proof was recorded that the Neocons were behind 9-11.....

Sounds alot like

[JamesRose]

"It's 1 year later, and we still don't have a clue waht the hell is going wrong, it could happen again any time, so what we're going to do is blame a relatively cheap component manufactured by a third party and replace it.

Re:Sounds alot like

[Firethorn]

My thought would be: What else in the cabinet could cause such an explosion? I mean, the equipment should be fused; there should be enough circuit breakers and fuses in the lines to prevent electricity from creating such a large bang; so a short or capacitor shouldn't do it. Properly constructed circuit boards aren't even all that flammable, much less explosive enough to destroy a cabinet.

What's the most reactive chemical area around? The battery. It's a lithium type - and warns that it could catch fire/explode if damaged.

It's certainly not a 'cheap component' - it's stated to be more expensive than other battery types.

Re:China: Possible Source of Problem

[ScrewMaster]

No kidding ... for several months while I had AT&T Broadband for cable service I never could get a decent picture. Internet speeds were nothing to write home about either. Techs came out a number of times (usually contractor types, not AT&T-trained) and one of them put in an amplifier. Which worked just fine at amplifying the noise (and he stuck $90 on my bill.)

Finally I called to cancel my service because I wasn't getting that for which I was paying. The operator convinced me to give them one more try ... I said OK. Next day (a Sunday, believe it or not) this cherrypicker truck pulls up, with AT&T emblazoned on the side. This time I got a technician that had been through AT&T's in-house training program and wasn't afraid to get off his ass and climb a few poles. So he spent about three hours going down the street, pole-by-pole, until he called down and said "Whoops! Here's your problem" and tossed down a few feet of burned and blackened cable with squirrel toothmarks all over it, right down to the bare copper. It was a mess. So he replaced the cable for the whole block and we all got a great picture (and I got my 4 mbits/sec back.) Guy was pretty cool, really knew his stuff. It was like dealing with the AT&T of old. He also took the price of that stupid wideband amp off my bill -and- let me keep it! So I kept my service for a few more years until I moved.

I never found any squirrel bones, but I hope the 90 VDC feed cooked the little bastard.