Fiber Optic Cable

Optic Trunk Comes Through Milpitas

Sunday my son and I watched as the Utilities Construction Company strung fiber optic cable on top of (turned off) power towers that run parallel to Milpitas Boulevard, about a half block to the east. We chatted with an inspector for the company, who told us that they were going to be stringing the cable all around the Bay Area. This particular cable started in Hayward, so scenes like this will be common in the Bay Area for the next couple of weeks. Unlike another cable laying construction company that has been getting in trouble for laying cable through Indian burial grounds, this company specializes in high tower work, subcontracting the services of helicopters. The linemen nonchalantly hopped from tower to tower on the skids of the chopper. The chopper also brought up tools, equipment and the heavy rope that was first strung from the towers before the cable was pulled through the large bike wheel-sized pulleys. The capacity of the cable will be leased or sold in part to cities, utilities and internet service companies.

Dateline: December 20, 1999
By Ann Zeise, photos by Scott Zeise