The small drone was not powerful enough to lift the heavy fibre cable so instead it was used to string a 100m (328ft) length of high-strength fishing line between two points above the trees. The fishing line was attached to a "draw rope" secured to the fibre-optic cable, which was then pulled along the route the drone had forged.
"It's a bit different to connecting an apartment block in London, that's for sure," said Openreach chief engineer Andy Whale. "If we tried running the cable through woods it was also very likely we'd get it caught up in branches and other natural obstructions, so we figured the best option was to fly it in over the top of the tree canopy and then lift it up to make sure it was clear of the tree line."
The cabling job had been all but done in an hour, said Mr Whale. Retired teacher Chris Devismes said: "It has made a world of difference to us. I live here with my two teenage sons and they're often online - watching films, streaming music or Skyping their friends. When all three of us were online at the same time, it could often be a struggle and things would start to buffer and freeze."
Am I the only one who thinks that dropping fibre-optic cables across trees and over fields is going to be a wonderful solution that lasts for all of twenty minutes ?
http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-42180499
Neat idea, but I think you're right.
ReplyDeleteIt'll last until just about the middle of the next big blow.
the small drone was not powerful enough to lift the heavy fibre cable so instead it was used to string a 100m (328ft) length of high-strength fishing line between two points above the trees .
ReplyDeleteThe fishing line was attached to a "draw rope" secured to the fibre-optic cable, which was then pulled along the route the drone had forged