On Thu, Mar 22, 2012 at 10:18 AM, Robert E. Seastrom <r...@seastrom.com> wrote: > Jimmy Hess <mysi...@gmail.com> writes: > >> Seems like a waste for VZ not to reclaim it so it can be >> recycled/put to good use. > > To put some numbers with this statement (which I agree with btw): > > OSP cable is commonly available composed of 19 AWG, 22 AWG, 24 AWG, > and 26 AWG pairs. 19 and 26 are outliers; 19 is for low pair count > cables going extra long distances and 26 is only good for quite short > distances (CO/SLC to customer) but Superior Essex makes a 3000 pair > cable in #26 (22 and 24 max out at 900 and 1800 pair, at least on the > spec sheet I have handy). > > Most of the cable out there is 22 or 24. Solid #22 and #24 > (uninsulated) copper wire weighs 1.95 and 1.23 pounds per 1000 feet > respectively. That's without the insulation, and only one wire, not a > pair. > > I found scrap pricing for "telco" (obviously the contaminant ratios > out there are different for different types of copper) at $1.20/pound, > which may or may not be current, but if you figure a single pair of > #24 is probably around 4 pounds per 1000 feet scrap weight... if an > average loop is, say, 5000 feet, you can see where there is > substantial incentive to recycle all the 600 pair that you have lying > around.
Hi Robert, That depends on the cost of recovering it. We're not talking about salvage operators pulling cable, we're talking about highly trained [sic] Verizon installers. The last 4 pairs in use on that 3000 count cable will tend to linger a long, long time before you can go remove it. Mostly you'll recover short runs of low-count cable like the fifty-foot two and six pair cables from the street to the house: maybe $3 in scrap. How many dollars worth of time will the installer bill Verizon for recovering it? Regards, Bill Herrin -- William D. Herrin ................ her...@dirtside.com b...@herrin.us 3005 Crane Dr. ...................... Web: <http://bill.herrin.us/> Falls Church, VA 22042-3004
