The problem of been LoS is a big problem in metro as far as I know.
You can't just put a pair of FSO gear without going to the building
owner to talk about rights and cost. Not forgetting lighting protection
and other stuff.
Murphy, Brian S CTR USAF ACC 83 NOS/Det 4 wrote:
I haven't seen any mention of the possible use of FSO (Free Space Optics) by the provider
to restore some reasonable amount of connectivity during an outage due to a fiber cut. I
would expect that having 2 or 3 pairs of FSO boxes to provide a "reduced failover
capacity" in metro areas would be a reasonable measure to ensure service for
extended physical (fiber break, cut, backhoe) outages - although not necessarily for
power. Yes, it would take some time to roll them out and set them up, but less time than
the crew working the splices, and the folks handling the FSO boxes should be different
from the fiber splice truck roll crew.
Note that a power outage would not allow microwave to be an effective
remediation method either.
Plus, FSO's use of lasers (vice microwaves) means no issues with spectrum
(AFAIK). Granted, they have limited distance and require LoS, but using two or
more pairs can probably handle the 80% situation in the metro (unless there is
data to indicate otherwise).
murph
