Buried vs. Aerial Rural Fiber

Across the US a record-breaking additional 7.9 million homes got fiber in 2022. At the same time, the U.S. experienced 18 separate weather and climate disasters in 2022, according to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, making it one of the most destructive and costly years in U.S. history. In low-density rural areas, aerial fiber can be a lot more cost-efficient than buried fiber which needs underground ducting. But with the increasing frequency of bad weather, is it better to invest for longer term resilience? How do the economics compare?

On average, it costs between $40,000 to $60,000 per mile to install or “overlash” aerial fiber optic cable, while it will cost $60,000 to $80,000 per mile to lay or bury fiber optic cable.