Fiber build in dense cities: what slowed you more — permits or labor?
Our spreadsheet says permits; crews on the ground say skilled splicers. Trying to calibrate where to lobby vs hire.
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Permits were the critical path until we hired a dedicated municipal liaison — relationship capital matters.
Labor shortage hit hardest on fusion splicing quality — bad splices created costly rework hidden in OTDR traces.
Nightly traffic management plans took longer to approve than the trench dig itself in two boroughs.
Micro-trenching reduced restoration fights until a winter freeze heaved a batch — weather risk is real.
Joint build agreements with power utilities unlocked pole access faster than going alone.
Software for route optimisation saved weeks; political routing through heritage zones still ate months.
Training local apprentices improved community sentiment and reduced vandalism incidents oddly enough.
Inventory of bend-insensitive fibre ran short globally — procurement is now on the risk register.
311 complaint volume became a KPI we report alongside footage passed — transparency lowered churn politically.
Contractor scorecards on first-time-right tests changed bidding behaviour more than fines ever did.
GIS accuracy errors caused a costly duplicate bore — double-check as-builts obsessively now.
Weekend-only work windows pleased residents but crushed productivity — modelling total cost changed policy.
Supply chain for closures and vaults lagged glass — boring parts stopped whole segments.
Insurance claims from third-party strikes taught us to document photos every ten meters.
Honest answer: both hurt; sequencing mitigation by city block beat a single corporate playbook.
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