Comparison Study of Installing Fiber Optic Cable in University Campuses Using Trenchless Techniques Relative to Open Cut

摘要

The downtowns and business districts of the metropolitan areas are characterized by high-density population, soaring volume of electronic data transfer, congested underground space, and aesthetic paved or landscaped ground surface. In recent years, many of these communities installed fiber optic networks to supply the required broadband. Consequently, trenchless solutions were sought to provide economical construction methods that diminish disturbance to the community. HDD and in-sewer fiber installations provide economical trenchless solutions. The in-sewer fiber technology uses robots in no-man entry gravity sewers and drains to install fiber optic networks. University campuses share the same above characteristics of downtowns and business districts. The universities need to transfer high volume of data for education, research and development, and administrative activities. It is imperative that every classroom, lab, office, and dorm on the university campus has a fast Internet connection. Also many universities are converting to distance learning (teaching classes via the Internet). Economical and efficient communication between the universities and research institutions amplifies the return on the limited funds allocated for research and development. This study evaluates the hypothesis that trenchless installation of the fiber optic network is more beneficial than open cut installation on university campuses. In the last five years, many universities installed their fiber optic network using the open cut technique, which has caused numerous inconveniences to their campuses. Bowling Green State University (BGSU) just completed the Supernet project where BGSU replaced its old copper backbone and main rings with fiber optics cables. The study uses the BGSU campus as a guide to simulate an average size campus. The simulated model was used to quantify and estimate the cost of the HDD, in-sewer fiber, and open cut solutions and to discuss the advantage and disadvantage of each solution. The research indicates that trenchless techniques are viable alternative construction methods for installing fiber networks on university campus.