The phrase “Outstanding in their field” has special meaning for me. Clearfield has the great fortune of working with customers throughout the world who help us field-validate new technologies in order to deliver fiber to environments where, frankly, it wasn’t previously viable.
This successful collaborative effort is in evidence again this week with the expansion of our FieldShield Ruggedized Microduct product line. With help from our field partners Country Cablevision, located in the rural mountains of western North Carolina, we were able to develop FieldShield Aerial 500 Microduct that simplifies the placement of fiber in challenging environments.
From key field-findings, we created a product that easily integrates into pole-mounted distribution terminals providing an aerial pole-to-pole distribution and “last mile” drop to the customer premise. Country Cablevision was open with our team about the steep (so to speak) challenge they face in building a FTTH network to every home and business in a two county region. Mount Mitchell is the highest point east of the Mississippi River — so the terrain can be arduous. One of the biggest problems is the long span lengths between utility poles. Drop fibers previously available on the market could not span over 350 feet without support. That meant lashing the fiber to the strand, which was very costly, both for materials and labor.
We’re happy to report that FieldShield Aerial 500 Microduct gets the job done for long haul distances. Country Cablevision’s Dean Russell said, “Long span aerial microduct allows us to go to 500 foot spans between poles, and we can either push or pull the Clearfield FieldShield Optical Fiber all the way to my drop point…I can tell you that we have completed several installation of this product, and it has held up extremely well to our harsh Appalachian Mountain winter snow and ice storms.”
Clearfield COO Johnny Hill put it in bottom-line terms we can all understand: “Long-haul microduct means that utility poles can be 500 feet apart, reducing the number of poles required by more than 40 percent. Customers report that long-haul aerial microduct reduces their cost of deployment by nearly 50 percent.”
To paraphrase Captain Kirk, Clearfield’s goal is “place fiber where no fiber has gone before.” Working with great customer partners in the field makes achieving that goal so much more realistic and rewarding.
For more information on FieldShield Aerial 500 Microduct, click here.