32 Years of the Digest ... founded August 21, 1981Copyright © 2014 E. William Horne. All Rights Reserved.Previous Issue (Or search the Telecom Digest archives to go back further) The Telecom Digest for Aug 18, 2014 |
| Messages in this Issue: | |
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| Re: How Verizon lets its copper network decay to force phone customers onto fiber | (rvh40) |
| Re: How Verizon lets its copper network decay to force phone customers onto fiber | (Bill Horne) |
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| Date: Sat, 16 Aug 2014 13:38:53 -0400 (EDT) From: rvh40@remove-this.insightbb.com To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How Verizon lets its copper network decay to force phone customers onto fiber Message-ID: <107758648.8098791.1408210733418.JavaMail.root@insightbb.com> >Verizon offers $50,000 reward in copper thefts >New Castle News >Friday, August 15, 2014 6:11 am There is a small number of companies in any location which accept metal for recycling. If Joe Schmoe shows up at the depot with a truckbed full of copper cable, they know he didn't come across it legitimately. Every recycling facility I've ever seen keeps records. I'd bet two bits that VZ could unwind this mystery in an afternoon, a lot cheaper than fifty K. Of course the $50K reward is also a deterrent, to keep other people from following those footsteps. |
| Date: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 15:11:35 -0400 From: bill@horneQRM.net (Bill Horne) To: telecomdigestsubmissions.remove-this@and-this-too.telecom-digest.org. Subject: Re: How Verizon lets its copper network decay to force phone customers onto fiber Message-ID: <20140817191135.GB16331@telecom.csail.mit.edu> On Sat, Aug 16, 2014 at 01:38:53PM -0400, rvh40@remove-this.insightbb.com wrote: > >Verizon offers $50,000 reward in copper thefts > > There is a small number of companies in any location which accept metal for recycling. > > If Joe Schmoe shows up at the depot with a truckbed full of copper > cable, they know he didn't come across it legitimately. > > Every recycling facility I've ever seen keeps records. I'd bet that a majority of such thefts are committed by men whom are in the recycling industry: people who are able to cover their tracks easily. There have been cases where reels of cable vanished from telephone company marshalling yards, only to be re-delivered at an inflated price when the yard foreman called for emergency replacements. Aerial or underground type cable is also in demand for ordinary interior runs, if the price is right: I've seen cable which was designed for aerial mounting installed inside buildings, and when I asked why such extravagnace was allowed, the answer was always "We got it at a good price". > I'd bet two bits that VZ could unwind this mystery in an afternoon, > a lot cheaper than fifty K. Maybe, but don't forget that it's a big country and there is always demand for communicaitons wire. Aerial cable is amazingly tough, and it can be used in vertical runs that are hundreds of feet long, with only a fraction of the work that would be needed to properly support "interior" grade cable. Most people assume that it's melted down for the copper, but that's seldom the case: it simply vanishes into the grey market. > Of course the $50K reward is also a deterrent, to keep other people > from following those footsteps. It's small potatoes to an ILEC, but I don't think they expect to pay it. Large offers usually come with conditions, and are heavily advertised in cases when there's little chance of the award being paid. It's mostly PR, designed to create the impression that the phone company is taking quick action and to remind customers that the outage was unavoidable. -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my address to email me directly) |
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