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Fiber options between two buildings

M

mogles23

Junior Member
Hi everyone,

First timer here so please be gentile 😎

I have two buildings as a result of an expansion. They are almost next to each other but there is a service street in between (perhaps 20 yards in between). No fiber in between. Currently there is a wifi solution but it does not work and due to the number of users, most likely unfitted for the solution. I need to find a way to put fiber in between.

What are my options? If anyone has done this before what would be the cost?
We are expecting more growth and I see our only options.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
If they're only 20 yards away, I'd consider something like Ubiquiti's AirFiber. At 20 yards, you'll get gigabit speeds across the bridge.

Fiber will be expensive. You'll need utility surveys (which are typically free,) city permits, construction crews to horizontally bore through, conduit installations, etc, etc. If that's the way you want to go, I fully support it, but I'd take a serious look at AirFiber first.
 
mogles23 said:
I have two buildings as a result of an expansion. They are almost next to each other but there is a service street in between (perhaps 20 yards in between).

What are my options? If anyone has done this before what would be the cost?
We are expecting more growth and I see our only options.
Click to expand...

This might not be too bad in terms of cost. However, hire a professional. This is one of those things where having somebody who knows how to do it, has the tools, and knows the tricks will just make it go so much faster and better than if you attempt nearly any part of this exercise yourself.

Physically speaking, install choices look like either jackhammerring a groove in the pavement, dropping some direct-burial fiber in there, and fixing up the pavement, or boring under the pavement and fishing the cable through.

Depending on who owns that road and how things work in your locality, permitting could be a huge PITA or could be no big deal. A pro will know. Because it's such a short run and it's a service road, you're not in that bad a position.

In some cases, you can pay a local CLEC or ILEC to actually run it all for you and provide you with the dark fiber. In other cases, you can pay them to do some or all of the work under their rights-of-way, but you do other parts. So conside those options too.

Also consider how you plan to deal with the possibility of repair. There is a magical force that attracts backhoes to fiber optic cables. Groundhogs, too. Or maybe it just one day doesn't work and nobody really knows why. If this becomes critical to your business, you don't want to be out and flipping through the yellow pages. You need a plan.

Fixed wireless does work well if you have a line of sight, and it is not expensive. However, fiber is better 😉 Depending on the size and scale of your business, and how important this link is, you might consider actually doing both, and letting the wireless link be the backup link. Also consider fixed laser, same concept just a different way the bits move through the air.
 
mogles23 said:
Hi everyone,

First timer here so please be gentile 😎

I have two buildings as a result of an expansion. They are almost next to each other but there is a service street in between (perhaps 20 yards in between). No fiber in between. Currently there is a wifi solution but it does not work and due to the number of users, most likely unfitted for the solution. I need to find a way to put fiber in between.

What are my options? If anyone has done this before what would be the cost?
We are expecting more growth and I see our only options.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

How much bandwidth is actually needed for these two buildings?
 
Wouldn't an outdoor Ethernet cable be simpler? This could be buried, provided the distance between both switches was under 100 metres.

A Cat 6a can have up to 10 gig speeds.
 
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