dslwanter I feel like Armstrong was always like that. Basically telco level resiliency, albeit with battery backup on every node in their HFC days. As someone watching Charter reportedly ending maintenance on existing Alpha battery strings on their nodes and supposedly opting to not install them on new nodes some years ago, it’s refreshing to see Armstrong build a PON network from the ground up with OLTs in the field still getting battery and generator backup power.
What you’re describing is exactly how that works. AT&T is pulling strands of fiber from the CO off of bundles that were already pulled to service DSLAMs, splicing in a splitter at the PFP on right-of-way that they’ve already claimed, and more or less doing an overlay of the existing POTS plant. I’ve read that some areas have active OLTs in the field due to distances from the CO, but I haven’t seen it in Northeast Ohio. From what I know, the distance limit for XGS-PON is roughly 12 miles end-to-end between OLT and ONT. I feel like most Ohio Bell-era COs are probably within 10 miles or less of their legacy POTS customers due to POTS distance limits, particularly at the time they were built, so field OLTs just aren’t necessary here.
I have no idea how Omni will achieve that without going active in the field. From peeking over at their Facebook page, I suspect that they are putting a small cabinet to house OLTs out in the field solely running off of utility power. I saw a post a few months ago where someone curbed one and took out internet for a whole neighborhood. Backup power wouldn’t have helped there, but my hunch is that because Omni doesn’t have the relatively dense legacy CO footprint with all of its Ma Bell-era redundancy, that when the local power goes out, Omni goes out too.
I didn’t know Armstrong was using AdTran TAs, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s what Windstream is using since their DSLAMs and ONTs are all AdTran. I used to deploy AdTran IP/Ethernet gear a few jobs ago for a retail/hospitality franchise chain that cut corners just about everywhere they could. That being said, the AdTran route/switch hardware wasn’t bad and held up in some harsh environments. Very much Cisco clones. But over 10 years ago I was getting 24 port 10/100 managed access switches for just over $100 each, if I remember right. I just checked and you can find them on a liquidation site for $62 now.
