PUD Fiber update
Here is an update I received today from Mark Sullivan of Local Tel. I unabashedly recommend Local Tel as a provider for this service. For several years it was their assistance that helped keep our Lake Wenatchee email system functioning before we got it operating off the website. They are a local outfit with good technical support right here in Wenatchee and I feel they have proven themselves to us and earned our support. If you wish to subscribe to the coming fiber service I encourage you to contact them without delay at 888-8888.
Here is a note from Mark Sullivan of Local Tel about the current status of the service:
Hey George: I called and talked to the PUD engineer and he said they were behind by almost a month. They had to release some of the building crews for repair and line work after the fires, and so they are behind. Instead of beginning to light at the end of July as previously planned they will begin to light homes at the end of August. What a bummer… We continue to get orders from up there so as soon as it is lit… we are really going to be busy… September is going to be quite a busy month… I would suggest to your lake Plain/Wenatchee customers to plan for September, and return our calls ASAP so they can get on the installation schedule early on, so as to not delay the process any more than necessary… As soon as the PUD says they are ready to go, we will begin the scheduling. Scheduling will be a challenge up there as it is so far to travel just to get there. We do have our own installer that lives in the area up there, but scheduling flexibility is going to be critical up there. So the more available times that the customers have to schedule the installation the better. Also for those customers who do not have overhead power, they should verify that they have communication conduit to their home. If have underground utilities and they do not have communication conduit then the PUD may have to trench or boar to their home. If they have power conduit only, the PUD may be able to use that conduit to feed the fiber as well (since fiber is non-conductive). If some customers want to run Communication Conduit themselves, the PUD has been giving it to home owners and we can help you arrange for that. If the customers need the PUD to either Trench or Boar this could significantly delay the installation process as they do not have that many fiber trenching or boaring crews available. With the usual first snow-fall in October, this could create problems getting everyone completed by then.
If you have any question I can be contacted by email at marks@localtel.net
Mark Sullivan
LocalTel Communications
341 Grant Road
East Wenatchee, WA 98802
Office 509-888-9163 ext.
Toll Free 800-992-2112
Cell 509-668-1070
I talked with the PUD fiber group today. They had some interesting info regarding fiber installation.
For those with underground utilities (which is most, I think), the PUD doesn’t yet know if they can use the existing power conduit to run the fiber cable from the pole to an individual home. The issue is with the Dept of Labor and Industries, which oversees all electrical issues in Chelan County. The PUD has been talking with L&I for many weeks trying to get permission to use the power conduit. They have another meeting in the next 2 weeks and hope to get it resolved then.
The PUD can only put the fiber into conduit which they own, so they can’t use the phone line conduit. If L&I doesn’t give them permission to use the PUD existing power conduit, then new conduit and trenching will be required.
This would be really unfortunate - a lot of extra work and time — and delay in getting the fiber in.
July 24th, 2008 at 9:26 am