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Are overhead fiber optic cables secure?

C

colore

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 18, 2010
Messages
419
Hello

There is a choice to install fiber optic cable via both underground and overground ways.

Would prefer overground so that there is no mess with digging the pavements etc but are they really secure? E.g. cannot they be easily physically tampered etc?

Or are they any other reasons not to go overground?

Thank you
 
I presume that the end-point is secure either way?

Go cheap. Wedging sth. inbetween to grab data off is hard without decline in signal integrity.

Go underground if your company contract is special enough.
 
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The main advantage to underground is that it's simply better protected from weather. But if you're putting it in a conduit or pvc pipe, I don't see any difference between underground or overground in that scenario.
 
colore said:
Hello

There is a choice to install fiber optic cable via both underground and overground ways.

Would prefer overground so that there is no mess with digging the pavements etc but are they really secure? E.g. cannot they be easily physically tampered etc?

Or are they any other reasons not to go overground?

Thank you
Click to expand...
The advantage of burial fiber over running it overhead is the fiber is easier for it to be damaged if its ran overhead.
 
cyberblogger said:
The advantage of burial fiber over running it overhead is the fiber is easier for it to be damaged if its ran overhead.
Click to expand...
As long as some knuckle-head doesn't dig into it with his digger and it's not so shallow that when he rolls over the dirt it's buried in like a jackass it doesn't get crushed.

I mean, I haven't had that happen to me, but my brother's septic and pipes were damaged like 5 times in one year because of people rolling through the yard in their trucks/suvs. otoh, the power and cable lines that come from the pole haven't been damaged in the 8 yrs I've lived here, hurricanes and all that. They did replace the neighbor's cable line soon after I moved in, but that's bc it was old af, insulation cracking.
 
Nobu said:
As long as some knuckle-head doesn't dig into it with his digger and it's not so shallow that when he rolls over the dirt it's buried in like a jackass it doesn't get crushed.

I mean, I haven't had that happen to me, but my brother's septic and pipes were damaged like 5 times in one year because of people rolling through the yard in their trucks/suvs.
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Yep, if burial is done right burial should be better.
 
I recall reading that one can fit spy devices on exposed phone lines, not sure if that can be the case with fiber optics?
 
fiber is light signals so I am not sure they could without splicing something inline
 
colore said:
I recall reading that one can fit spy devices on exposed phone lines, not sure if that can be the case with fiber optics?
Click to expand...

Surely you most of the spying happens at the telco/isp office. Less mess than going out in the field.
 
I can't speak for state of the art fiber taps that may or may not be available to LEA and other government types but commercial fiber taps are not something you would not notice. To be clear, they are not small. That said, accidental interference is FAR more likely with overhead lines vs underground. Do it right. Do it once.
 
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