Mountain Bell´s all-dielectric policy five years and running

An assessment of Mountain Bell´s all-dielectric fiber-optic policy after five years of experience is presented. In order to eliminate catastrophic failure and slow degradation caused by lightning strikes in fiber optic cables with metallic strength members and/or outer sheaths. Mountain Bell implemented an all-dielectric (nonmetallic) policy for underground fiber optic cables in January 1982, and an all-dielectric policy for fiber optic buried cables in September 1983. Mountain Bell has monitored the trouble history of fiber optic cables and compared the damage incidences and repair expenses with those of copper plant. The results show that the policy is effective. Repair expenses for fiber optic cables are less than 10% of the copper cable repair expenses, when compared on a dollar per sheath mile basis