It’s important to know that fiber optics are the most advanced technology available today, and less than 7% of Americans have access to a true all-fiber network. In most cases, this means we’re building a brand new network from the ground up to future-proof your community.
The Fiber Design Process
Before we can even begin laying fiber (which is a huge job on its own), we’re developing construction plans and working through permitting and restrictions with local authorities. Tremendous work goes into planning construction around existing utilities (water lines, wiring, pipes, etc.) as well as private property access rights (multi-family apartments, private roads, etc.). Just like road construction, things come to a halt quickly with bad weather starts rolling in. Your neighbor might have ALLO, but your home may not be fiber ready quite yet for various reasons, including property access issues, them having overhead cables while your side of the street is buried, or even unexpected obstacles and unique conditions that can slow us down.
The good news is, if you’ve seen marks like these in your neighborhood, it means we’re getting closer to bringing ALLO service your way. These markings indicate where local crews have identified locations (what we call “locates”) where utilities have been placed. These locates are incredibly important to our construction team as they begin digging in preparation to bury fiber. While there’s still a ways to go with further construction, fiber splicing, testing, and post-testing repairs, these locate definitely kickstart the process.
Building a fiber network is no simple task, and like all endeavors requiring hard work, it’s often worth the wait. If you haven’t already, now is the time to sign up for ALLO service in advance to get yourself on our installation list. Sign up here!
