Could water unlock the floodgates for faster fiber deployment?

It goes without saying fiber broadband is expensive to deploy – especially if you’re digging underground to get the biggest bang for your buck. But what if there’s another, less resource-intensive way to get fiber flowing (literally) to folks who need it? Aqualinq, fresh out of stealth mode, has come up with a technology that lets internet service providers deploy fiber optic cables via existing waterpipes. The company’s goal is to offer an alternative to aerial and buried fiber. And really, water is where the people are, said Ian Deacon, Aqualinq’s head of business development. Here’s how it works. Wherever there’s a water valve, Aqualinq would insert a draw cable into the pipe and then use a “parachute” (a piece of hardware that moves the cable) to pull it down the pipe length until the cable reaches the next valve. Aqualinq then pulls up the draw cable, attaches a conduit with fiber, puts it into the pipe and moves onto the next valve. Rinse and repeat. The fiber can be pre-installed into the conduit, or an ISP can “blow their own fiber through it” if that’s what it prefers.