“Even though glass is in a class of its own.”
The weakness in fiber optic cable isn’t the fiber piece, it’s what it’s clad in. If the coating fails then a hair thin piece of glass is exposed to the elements and the signal is lost.
That’s why it’s critical that first quality material be used. I know, I’m intimately involved in that industry. In urban areas it can cost well over $1,000,000 to lay a single mile of cable. And repair costs run into tens of thousands of dollars.
So you want to do it right the first time and make sure that expensive asset is well protected.
L
I have often wondered how they repair fiber cuts. Hundreds of fibers (I think) but how do they match and repair? It isn’t like copper.
Don’t photons leaked into the ground cause pollution?
On the other hand, shallow-water ocean drops are a lot cheaper than running through urban areas.