Thank you for the most useful comment on the thread so far! If I'm buying dark fiber, I'm expecting it to be a bunch of spliced glass from end to end. Maybe (maybe!) a connector or two for patching somewhere. However, something like this would be useful to sell "managed" dark fiber. You still get the strand, but I add these boxes (or something like them) to detect and locate failures non-intrusively. ----- Mike Hammett Intelligent Computing Solutions http://www.ics-il.com Midwest-IX http://www.midwest-ix.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Roel Parijs" <roel.parijs@gmail.com> To: "Rod Beck" <rod.beck@unitedcablecompany.com> Cc: nanog@nanog.org Sent: Monday, June 8, 2020 1:44:39 PM Subject: Re: Outsourced NOC Solutions Hello, Yes, you can install a permanent OTDR meter on the fiber. Exfo used to have them but a very cost effective solution which we have been selling for years is the Adva ALM. https://www.adva.com/en/products/network-infrastructure-assurance/alm You can even monitor the actual customer fiber, since it uses wavelength 1650nm which does not interfere with Grey / CWDM / DWDM signals. Up to 64 fibers per unit, with a maximum distance of 160km and it can even monitor PON networks behind the splitters. The best part for troubleshooting is that it integrates with existing GIS systems which show you the location of the suspected cut on a map. Regards Roel On Mon, Jun 8, 2020 at 8:25 PM Rod Beck < rod.beck@unitedcablecompany.com > wrote: Hi, My colleague and I may be running a new dark fiber network in the Northeast. We need an outsourced NOC to monitor for fiber cuts and serve as a contact point for customers. Am I wrong in believing that there should be a way of lighting a single pair in the cable and then monitoring it for signal disruption? It is not a perfect solution, but arguably better than learning that the cable has been damaged from an irate customer. Best to take any replies off the message board. Thanks. Regards, Roderick. Roderick Beck VP of Business Development United Cable Company www.unitedcablecompany.com New York City & Budapest rod.beck@unitedcablecompany.com Budapest: 36-70-605-5144 NJ: 908-452-8183 1467221477350_image005.png