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Fiber companies often emphasize the technology's environmental benefits when compared to cable and copper
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Like most construction, building fiber optic networks can still disrupt land and ecosystems
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There are some strategies that can mitigate environmental impact, like micro-trenching
Fiber companies have made being environmentally friendly a central part of their messaging — especially when it comes to comparing the technology to its counterparts, like cable and copper. Fiber is often referred to as a “passive” technology because it is uses passive optical networking, or PON, technology, which requires unpowered optical splitters instead of electricity to power it.
Unless you’ve managed to miss the deluge of fiber marketing over the past few years, you’ve probably heard that “fiber is greener.”
Bre Grandstaff, chief of staff for Lumos, told Fierce Network this week the company has so far replaced 95% of its copper network with fiber. The new fiber technology is greener than services provided over copper wires because it requires “far fewer manufacturing materials, lasts longer and consumes less energy through data transmission than copper,” Grandstaff said. "These advantages make fiber internet a good choice for consumers looking to reduce their carbon footprint."
Indeed, Dan Hays, telco leader at PwC, said fiber optic networks are viewed as more energy efficient and use less environmentally-harmful materials than most traditional copper-based networks.
However, Hays said that like most construction projects, the installation of fiber optic networks can cause “significant land disruption and energy usage.” In part, due to the transportation and usage of heavy equipment for trenching and burying of vast networks of cables.
Installing underground fiber cables depends on trenching equipment to carve into the earth, reaching depths of over 3 feet, according to a January blog from the Fiberoptix Team. As trenchers uproot vegetation and loosen soil, they could destroy forest understories, grasslands or delicate wetland environments.
“This excavation tears through existing ecosystems, decimating natural habitats in its wake,” they wrote.
Optical fibers made of glass are made of silica sand, a high-purity quartz that transmits light signals. The FiberOptix team said exposure to mine tailing and dust could leak heavy metals into nearby environments, and in some cases could increase risk of illnesses such as tuberculosis and asthma.
“Mining-related contamination also spreads through rainfall runoff into watersheds. A single poorly managed site can dump aluminum, iron and boron at levels toxic enough to wipe out aquatic populations,” they wrote.
Ensuring greener fiber builds
The future of fiber construction doesn’t have to look so bleak. There are some things that the industry can be doing to minimize impact.
For example, the FiberOptix blog suggested construction companies can “limit machinery weight and soil waste to reduce compaction” and “re-establish native plant species post-construction.”
Hays said the broadband construction industry has a number of other techniques at its disposal to minimize their impact. That could include the use of existing telephone and electric utility poles to hang cables or employing newer technologies such as micro-trenching and horizontal drilling to minimize land disturbance.
Mike Skudin, senior director of Kinetic Construction Optimization, said a cascaded architecture allows reduced fiber counts, which helps miniaturize the needed fiber gear. Basically, smaller cables mean smaller casings, requiring smaller equipment that “lessens distribution and shortens wait times for fiber placement and repair when necessary.”
Kinetic’s Construction Optimization Architecture Team (COAT) has been using its residential-plows since 2022, smaller specialized plows designed to minimize soil disruption by creating a narrow plow line for cable installation. Skudin also touted micro-trenching, an industry technique that creates a small, narrow trench along existing roadways or pavements to lay fiber cables.
Hays said micro-trenching doesn’t work for all locations or soil conditions, but it is currently the most “widely used technique.” Micro-trenching can minimize the amount of land, vegetation and paved surfaces disturbed during installation, reducing material consumption and waste in the process and speeding restoration.
To lessen the environmental impact of fiber optic network construction will require a strong partnership between network operators, construction companies and municipal governments, Hays added. For fiber companies building with public money, sustainable techniques need to be specified in bidding processes, he said, with projects being subject to audit and financial penalties for non-compliance.
Similarly, Hays said municipal permitting and inspections are an important mechanism to ensure that everyone involved is minimizing the impact of fiber projects. While the cost of more sustainable techniques can be greater at times, “there are real savings in reduced energy usage, land restoration costs and the avoidance of costly penalties.”
To read more about industry sustainability efforts click here.