[RTC List] The fiber-optic cable frenzy

[William Van Hefner]

Dwight,

Unfortunately, state law already legally prohibits both contractors and
individuals from doing ANY digging on public or private lands without
first giving two days notice to a regional clearinghouse for the state's
various utility companies. All utility companies must by law respond
within 48 hours to the location of the dig site and visibly "mark off" the
EXACT location of their underground lines.

There is a very well established contact point for this service that even
the most feeble-minded contractor should be able to remember. It's 8-1-1.
The Federal Communications Commission established this service in 2005. By
law, all telephone companies in the United States must allow free access
to the 8-1-1 service from all telephones, even payphones. You should be
able to dial 8-1-1 from anywhere in the country to be connected to the
nearest regional Underground Service Alert (USA) call center. It is open
24/7.

This brings-up an interesting point. There are exactly three possibilities
in the scenario that happened earlier this week. The first, is that the
contractor broke the law and never bothered dialing 8-1-1 as it was
required to. Second, the contractor did make the call, but AT&T never
bothered to show-up and mark off the cable; or 3, The contractor called
and AT&T showed-up. The AT&T employee responsible for marking off the
location of the fiberoptic cable was "off". Oops.

The only reason that I mention this is because there have been a number of
cases across the country where the utility company actually marked-off the
location incorrectly, endangering the lives of contractors (some cases
have involved underground electrical cables or natural gas lines) and
causing extensive damage to underground utilities. In the case here, I am
pretty sure that the contractors themselves are the ones legally
responsible for calling USA, not Cal-Trans. If they did not call 2 days
before digging, the contractor is undoubtedly liable for civil damages and
state fines. If AT&T marked-off the location incorrectly, the contractor
is off the hook (no pun intended).

If anyone in the local media is reading this, I suggest that it would be a
good idea to see if public records are available (FOIA?), showing whether
or not the contractor did indeed make such a call and give appropriate
notice. You can find more info on 8-1-1 service at the below websites. Of
course, you can always call 8-1-1 yourself as well, assuming that some
idiot hasn't accidentally dug-up your only connection to the outside world
beforehand.

http://www.call811.com - The Common Ground Alliance. Helps promote 8-1-1 use.
http://www.811.org - Includes a list of regional call centers
http://www.answers.com/topic/utility-location - How to identify USA markings.

I would also suggest that if it does not already exist, the Humboldt
County Board of Supervisors draft legislation in this County that provides
for SERIOUS FINANCIAL PENALTIES for any contractor who fails to give
appropriate notice to USA and (illegally) digs, resulting in loss of vital
utility services. Heck, why not even make it a criminal offense,
punishable with actual jail time? Personally, I think that the persons
responsible for our latest catastrophe deserve at least a thorough cavity
search. Perhaps this would actually make contractors "think twice, before
you dig".

-- 

William Van Hefner
President

Vantek Communications, Inc.
3144 Broadway, Ste 3
Eureka, CA 95501-3838
707.476.0833 ph
800.331.4638 fx
e-mail: vantek at sonic.net

> Hello Folks.
>
> There were a few things I almost said, while glimpsing the comments
> the past few days, but like many of you, I was cramming for time.
> Having now travelled south to Silicon Valley where I'll be at a
> training session here for this next week, I drove by the problematic
> area of US 101.  Greg, you stated 4 times, if one was in Arcata, or
> north of Eureka, I have counted 5 times.
>
> What I have observed several times going south, and now taken even
> more exceptional notice of, is hillside slippage, and signed "buried
> cable" with what appears to be survey markings both before and after
> the work area.  Seeing just where the red painted darts are, it would
> appear that variation from the signage is as much as 10 feet
> difference.  My thought on observing all of this, and the obvious
> propensity for blue goo and sandstone slides-slipouts in our region
> would be creating some new rules for the contractor(s).
>
> If this sort of thing happened in any of our metropolitan areas of
> the state the contractors would be slapped some heavy fines by
> Caltrans; - enough to be an incentive to be proactive.  You would
> think after the first cut in this same area somebody would have
> learned something.  So I would further propose not only penalties but
> a proactive idea go with that.  What I have in mind is that the
> contractor be recommended if not "required" to post bypass routing
> and switching, with help from fiber-optic consultants.  While that
> might also sound expensive, the fines imposed for the negligence
> (especially after it happening the first time) should be equitably
> considered in conjunction with the economic setback to the region
> from such an occurrence.  Additionally, since a bypass routing of
> cabling and switching would only be for the duration of the project,
> those assets could also be taken down and carried to other such
> projects.
>
> While that's not a substitute for a redundant fiber project, and
> slides or slip-outs are a reality of the regions geology, this should
> be something to consider.   Also one other comment about the
> redundancy...   It's my understanding that one of the reasons to not
> run "north" along the coast was because of the time, expense and red-
> tape of such things as the Coastal Commission.  However, one should
> note, if they have not yet heard, - Charter Cable will expand its
> fiber optic line from the north beyond Crescent City, now planned for
> Klamath.  Why not reconsider a redundant "coastal link" with Oregon
> via the ridge line (e.g. Bald Hills Road) to Klamath rather than
> strictly thinking US 101 (north of Trinidad)?
>
> Meanwhile, there is a great YouTube parody online of "The Day the
> Internet Goes Down!"   As Jay Leno would have said "Tuesday the
> Internet went out in Eureka, uh, well, we have footage, let's take a
> look..."
>>   The internet is out! The office goes crazy!
>> When you work as a broadband producer, you have to be ready for
>> this...
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIxvpjREwyI
>
> This RTC List should enjoy this one after the threads posted here the
> last few days ;-)
>
> Regards,
> Dwight
>
>
> ------------------------
> "Think Different; Work Creative"
> Angels Knoll Enterprises
> Dwight Winegar, ACN, AABA, ACHDS
> Apple Consulting for SOHO, Consumers, Seniors, and Education
> Arcata, CA to Brookings, OR
> dwightw at mac.com  | 707-496-6324 Mobile
> ------------------------