Unnamed Administration sources reported that Alex Rubenstein said:
Many hundreds of OC-x systems are still down; MFN is apparently digging
nearby to run some temporary, parallel fiber for the time being, but 30+
hours later, it's not complete.
I'm not sure where they could run temporary fiber...
Next to the fire hoses snaking down the street?
This is right through the heart of Baltimore. It may not be the
equal of say, Midtown or the Loop...but it's not Waverly Wisc.,
either....
You'd be surprised what they can come up with on short notice.
For temporary fixes fiber can be quickly rolled out next to railroad
tracks (yes, just laying on the ground) or down other right of way
(sometimes even public roads). They generally put it in an innerduct
for some protection and then just roll it out. Ariel grade fiber
can be very quickly attached to poles temporarily in some cases as
well. Various people with conduit underground tend to be helpful,
if for a price, of course after they repair their own cables.
Clearly running it across a downtown street is not an option, but
there are probably a couple alternatives and it's going to all come
down to what's on hand, and what they can get permission to do
fast. (A good time to have emergency clauses in your rights of
way agreements.)
[Note: I work for AboveNet/MFN on the IP side, and have no idea
how exactly our fiber is being rerouted around this particular
incident. These are just random musings based on past stories.]
In this case, they're gonna have a little trouble layin' it next to the track... at least until the fire's out and they're allowed into the tunnel.
I realize there are other ways around it - they can hang fiber on poles through downtown if necessary...
What would make more sense to me (and what has likely occurred) is to move the traffic over to other fiber routes where dark fiber is already available - and I do understand that it's not always possible, due to termination, availability and other issues.