He's been a telecom attorney for 20 years and a commissioner and held other positions at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission for 15 years. Recent technology has allowed the possibility of using sewer pipes as a delivery system. Eight-inch pipes extending from buildings had prevented humans from deploying lines with the sewer system. Hamburg, Germany, has been using the technology for two years, Berger said. The conduit that encases the fiber is made of the same stainless steel alloy that protects the fiber from corrosion and cuts.
Workers lower SAM down a manhole, where it is remotely controlled.
The robot installs steel rings around the inside of the pipe every few feet. It then drags steel conduits, which houses the fiber and shields it from the sewer environment, through the pipes and attaches the conduit to the rings. It is negotiating its second round now, Berger said. All at your fingertips, all in TechEncyclopedia.