land line

[ard]

.
I realized AT&T repair techs were creating work for themselve to keep busy and keep the overtime coming.

Totally.

For many years I was running a WIPOP (wisp) using a T1 line. An ATTt1 comes with a 24x7 service commitment- line down, call, someone rolling even at 2AM.

I cannot tell you how many times the problem was solved 15-20 minutes AFTER they crossed over into the next 'step' in their hourly compensation. Like at 5:15PM.... They were paid for the full day before 5PM, then another 4 or 8 hours at time and a half or double. Even better was weekend and holiday work. Or a late night call that resolves at 8:20AM in the morning- ka-ching.

It got to where I knew each CO, fiber hut, cable bundle and distribution block in the 6 miles between me and the fiber backbone....they'd constantly chase 'quiet pairs' in the various cables. Water would get into the cables, suin comes out and the moisture moves around. It took literally 3 years to get to a stable install.

After 8 years I finally I gave up on ATT and now run a 100MB wireless backhaul.


Still have two copper telco lines though.

 

[EOC_Jason]

I loved seeing in downtown Houston when SBC (now ATT) would stick huge nitrogen tanks in various spots with a tube running down through the manhole cover to pump some gas in the lines to try and keep them dry...

In many areas lines fracture and let water in (which causes static) due to lightning strikes...

 

[kbuhagiar]

I loved seeing in downtown Houston when SBC (not ATT) would stick huge nitrogen tanks in various spots with a tube running down through the manhole cover to pump some gas in the lines to try and keep them dry...

In many areas lines fracture and let water in (which causes static) due to lightning strikes...

All major trunk cables leaving the COs are pressurized, this is SOP.

Back when I was in the trenches (circa 1980) I was assigned to the Gas Pressurization Group for a short while, we had to maintain a minimum of 5 PSI on all underground cables at a distance of 6000 ft from the CO. In the event of a compressor/dryer failure at the CO we would go out to remote locations to place nitrogen tanks on the cables. Seems medieval but it helped to keep the customer in service, which was a priority back then.