Sharing Pipelines, Tunnels, Conduits, Multipurpose Structures, and Rights of Way Among Optical Cables, Gaslines, Sewers, Heating Ducts, Hot Water Pipes, and Potable Waterlines

摘要

Microsoft, Intel, and Google report that the cost of civil works in FTTX deployment is as high as 90% of the total capex and this is the primary reason why the deployment of FTTX has been painfully slow. It is ironic that cable manufacturers for power, voice, video, and data, and their buyers are all interested in saving a few percent while having no desire at all to find ways to cut the cost of civil works. It is like spending most of the R&D budget to slim down a monkey using genetic engineering on a ferry that carries many Indian elephants. This industry asserts at conferences "we do not want to be like the airline industry," but the irony is that the cable and the telecom industry are like the airline industry with little change of direction due to little new blood coming into this industry. This industry is marked by continuous consolidation and manufacturing plants being taken off line. In order to provide engineering guidance to solve the above, ASTM formed F36 in 2001 and has written many standards. Cigre' formed a working group Bl-08 to survey worldwide experience of using multipurpose structures and shared rights of way among power cables, optical cables, and other utilities. Similarly, within IEEE, working group C27 of PES/ICC was formed to document the pros and cons of installing and operating cables in pipelines, tunnels, and rights of way toward producing some useful results. The primary function of this paper is to document the results of the above efforts and to report on the overall track record in this field from the global experience surveyed to encourage the cable industry to consider such innovative cost savings initiatives toward new growth opportunities.