[semi-OT] Review: Comcast Workplace cable Internet

[Ben Scott]

On 9/11/07, Ben Scott <dragonhawk at gmail.com> wrote:
>   Oh, what the hell.  If you really want to know, it was around $500.
> Three poll spans, I think; maybe 350 feet...

  Oh, and it was actually more interesting.

  Originally, we had looked at bringing the Comcast service in at our
main building, where our phone and electrical already comes in.  But
that would have been a different street, required a bigger plant
extension (longer run, hard line, amps/repeaters, etc.).  It would
also have been complicated by the fact that the main utilities come in
via long underground conduits that exceed the length limits for the
regular subscriber drop cable (and you can't snake semi-rigid).  We
never got firm figures for this scenario, but it was looking to be
expensive.

  But then I noticed that our second building's main utility closet
bordered a different street that was a lot closer to existing Comcast
outside plant.  So they were able to run a smaller extension to that.
The RF coax terminates in that closet, and we use a VLAN to bring the
Ethernet from the CPE back to the firewall (in the server room in the
main building).

 So if that alternative had not been possible, we would likely have
had to pay a lot more for the install.

  Have I mentioned that every plant extension situation is different?  ;-)

-- Ben