There is "microtrenching" and then there is microtrenching. Very different things are sometimes described by the same name. Some of what Google tried to go was exceedingly shallow, like 4 inches down. Cheap microtrenching done too quick and too shallow has given the concept a bad name.

There is microtrenched fiber in Vancouver BC that is close to 20 years old now throughout the downtown core that is nearly problem-free. The difference is that it is 12+ inches down and was installed using large, noisy, water cooled diamond-grit concrete saws cutting deep slits into the joints between streets and curbs, or concrete curbs and sidewalks,  duct inserted, then backfilled with grouting. It's deep enough where it crosses roads that re-paving the road by first grinding off the top several inches of surface is extremely unlikely to disturb the duct.

On Thu, Feb 2, 2023 at 5:17 PM Clayton Zekelman <clayton@mnsi.net> wrote:

It may.  We don't use it.  Too many freeze/thaw cycles each winter around here.  It would get destroyed in a few years. 

Google tried to cheap out in Louisville... didn't quite work out https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/7/18215743/google-fiber-leaving-louisville-service-ending - although that was even more sketchy than traditional microtrenching.

As for rural, the business case becomes even more difficult when you're measuring kilometers per home passed instead of homes passed per kilometer...

At 07:58 PM 02/02/2023, Kevin Shymkiw wrote:
Clayton,

Did you leverage things like micro trenching for this project?  I may be mislead, but I thought micro trenching these days has helped drive the cost of doing this down fairly significantly.

Kevin

On Thu, Feb 2, 2023 at 17:56 Clayton Zekelman <clayton@mnsi.net> wrote:

The cost is not low.  Trust me on that.  I've been involved in a pretty massive suburban fibre deployment for the past decade... I expect we'll make money sometime in the 2030's... in time for me to retire.

At 12:13 PM 02/02/2023, Forrest Christian (List Account) wrote:
The cost to build physical layer in much of the suburban and somewhat rural US is low enough anymore that lots of smaller, independent, ISPs are overbuilding the incumbent with fiber and taking a big chunk of their customer base because they are local and care.  And making money while doing it.Â


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Clayton Zekelman
Managed Network Systems Inc. (MNSi)
3363 Tecumseh Rd. E
Windsor, Ontario
N8W 1H4

tel. 519-985-8410
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