Hurricanes, with their fierce winds and torrential rains, are no strangers to Floridians. Yet, their impact extends beyond the visible damage to landscapes and buildings. Over the past decade, these annual tempests have repeatedly disrupted the state's telecommunication services, disconnecting people when they need connectivity most.
Case in point: the notorious Hurricane Irma in 2017, which, with its ferocious 185 mph winds, decimated Florida's telecommunications infrastructure. A staggering 27% of cell sites went out of service in the state. The Florida Keys faced an extreme scenario, with 95% of cell sites being offline for several days.
In a distressing instance immediately after Hurricane Ian hit in 2022, a Federal Communications Commission status report revealed that more than half a million residents in Southwest Florida had suffered a loss of landline telephone, home internet, cable services, or a combination thereof, highlighting the extent of the damage to Florida's telecommunications services.
And of course, beyond residential customers, businesses, schools, hospitals, and emergency services also bear the brunt when connectivity goes off the grid. This disconnection can create significant hurdles in communication, productivity, and safety in critical times.
When Hurricanes Hit: The Challenges for Florida's Telecom Infrastructure
Traditional telecommunication infrastructures in Florida, which still use copper-based or Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial (HFC) networks, are particularly vulnerable to hurricanes. High-speed winds can easily down power lines, severing the connections that keep Floridians plugged into the digital world.
The HFC networks, despite having fiber optic cables for the backbone, still rely on coaxial cables - an evolution of copper lines - to connect to individual homes. Here's how hurricanes can affect the many elements of a HFC network:
Physical Damage: The physical force of a hurricane, from high winds to flying debris, can damage to above-ground external elements of the HFC network such as nodes and pedestals. Nodes, which are typically housed in cabinets above ground, and pedestals, which are smaller, more localized connection points, can be damaged or destroyed by falling trees, floods, or other hurricane-induced phenomena.
Water Damage: Coaxial cables, nodes, and pedestals are all susceptible to water damage. Flooding can cause water to infiltrate the enclosures housing these above-ground components, and the elements underground such as amplifiers and splitters - leading to corrosion and other damage. Moisture can also degrade the performance of coaxial cables over time, leading to a deterioration in signal quality.
Network Congestion: After a hurricane, there's typically a large increase in network traffic as people try to communicate with emergency services, family, and friends. This can put a strain on network nodes, leading to congestion and decreased performance for users. Enter Fiber to the Home (FTTH), a glimmer of hope on the horizon that provides a dedicated fiber connection directly into each and every home within a community.
Out of Sight, Out of Harm’s Way: The Strength of Underground FTTH Networks
FTTH, a high-speed internet connection that uses light to transmit data over fiber optic cables, boasts a much-improved resilience to adverse weather conditions. Unlike copper or coaxial cables that can degrade in wet conditions, fiber optic cables are encased most times within a protective layer that shields them from the elements, making them highly resistant to damage from water and humidity. This robustness against weather conditions makes FTTH a fitting solution for hurricane-prone regions such the United States coastal southeast.
Additionally, it’s most common for FTTH networks to be installed underground at about 18" depth and housed in conduit protect them from the surrounding environment. At regular intervals along the cable route, you'll find access points known as vaults. These underground chambers provide access for installation and maintenance activities and also serve as junction points where cables branch off to different areas.
When a network uses an underground vault instead of an above-ground pedestal, the benefits are twofold: it provides a more aesthetically pleasing solution and significantly increases the network's protection from the elements during weather-related disasters such as hurricanes.
Strengthening Defenses: Why Redundancy and Generators Matter
Yet, merely adopting FTTH might not be enough. For communities entering bulk agreements for FTTH, it's imperative to have a discussion with Service Providers about redundancy and also understanding their planned generator protocol in the event of a hurricane. These can be significant negotiated deal points to include in a final contract for better protection for a community's residents.
After all, even the most resilient networks can fall victim to the sheer power of hurricanes. Having redundancy, essentially a backup plan, ensures that if the primary network goes down, another network can pick up the slack.
Similarly, a well-planned generator protocol can keep the network running even when the power grid is offline. In the case of Hurricane Ian, some communities experienced the restoration of internet connectivity before power was reinstated, thanks to the proactive negotiation for a community generator provided by the Service Provider.
Conclusion
As we brace for this year’s hurricane season, understanding the importance of investing in robust, reliable telecommunications infrastructure for your community has never been more crucial.
Not only does FTTH provide a more reliable and future-proof high-speed connection under normal circumstances, but its durability and resilience during extreme weather events like hurricanes may provide a lifeline to those caught in the path of these destructive storms hitting Florida’s coast. When combined with strategic planning for network redundancy and backup power sources, FTTH could revolutionize the way our communities stay connected in the face of adversity - a time when the importance of connectivity reaches its pinnacle.
