Verizon Upgrading To All Fiber Optics After Copper Wiring Was Destroyed In Sandy Storm Surge
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The massive storm surge brought on by superstorm Sandy flooded homes, cars, businesses and a lot of the city's vital infrastructure in lower Manhattan.
At Verizon's Broad Street central offices, the underground cable vault was badly damaged by the saltwater.
WCBS 880's Alex Silverman reports
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Crews have been working around the clock to rip out the damaged copper wires in an effort to get service fully restored.
"That sound you hear is a saw cutting through the copper cables," Verizon's head of national operations Chris Levendos told WCBS 880's Alex Silverman during a tour of the underground lower Manhattan hub.
But there is a silver lining amid the destruction, Levendos said. All of the new fiber optic cables survived unharmed by the flooding.
"I quickly recognized that all the copper cable infrastructure was destroyed," Levendos told Silverman. "What will go in its place are fiber optic cables."
Levendos said every inch of corroded copper cable will be replaced with fiber optics.
"We have not seen any fault points," he said. "Should we have any incident of a similar nature, we'll be able to withstand it."
As Verizon workers tear out miles of destroyed copper cables, a guard is posted on the street to dissuade potential bold thieves.
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