Installing Fiber Optic: How does it work, and what phases are involved?

Fiber Optic in 5 Steps: from Order to Delivery

Step 1: The Order

The installation of a fiber optic connection begins with an order. When you request business fiber optic (including the type of service), we prepare a proposal. This proposal includes the project costs. The costs depend on factors such as:

• The Location: The location's layout determines the costs. How far does the digging need to go to reach the existing network? Are there highways, railway connections, or water crossings on the route? All these factors impact the cost estimate.
• The Distance: The greater the distance, the longer the cables need to be.
• The Depth: In some areas, you may need to dig deeper, for example, if boreholes are required. The soil conditions also play a role. Do the contractors need to break open a sidewalk or make a bore under an object (road, water, etc.)?
• Other Participants: Sometimes multiple utility companies and telecom operators collaborate on fiber optic installation in an area, resulting in shared costs.
• The Region: In Flanders or Wallonia, the presence of rocky underground terrain significantly affects pricing. The more rocky ground there is, the higher the costs. Boring techniques differ in these areas from other drilling methods.

Another factor that affects the cost estimate is "onnet" and "offnet." In the first case, there is already a fiber optic connection to your premises, and we can utilize the existing fibers. In "offnet," we need to dig and establish a connection between our network and your location. A third scenario is "nearnet," where a fiber optic network is near your premises.

Naturally, "offnet" incurs higher connection costs due to the additional excavation work. The status of the fiber optic connection not only influences the costs but also the delivery time. The final step in the order phase is the approval and signing of the order form.

Step 2: Preparation

In the preparation phase, we design the route through our network and contact you to discuss the project. At Eurofiber, we use Cocon to check if a location is already connectable. Cocon is a registration system that holds all the details of tangible infrastructure. It includes the unique connection name, the starting and ending points of the connection, the fiber, tube, cable, cassette, and splice, all positions, required permits, and even government information about contaminated ground: all these details are meticulously documented in Cocon and easily accessible to our designers.

All information in Cocon is geographically mapped with x/y-coordinates. The advantage of this? Locations are precisely known, and information about those places is always up-to-date. With the help of Cocon, designers effortlessly determine the optimal route for your connection, taking into account all environmental variables that affect installation and quality.

Whether you can be connected to the business fiber optic network depends, among other things, on the excavation costs to a location. The closer your location is to the Eurofiber network, the lower the costs for installing the fiber optic connection. If you want to connect multiple locations, we can explore the possibilities together and propose a route. We further develop this in the next phase of the connection process.

Step 3: Engineering

Phase 3 is dedicated to engineering. This is the phase where the project and design are finalized. We oversee the contractor and engineers for execution and start working on the proposed route. If necessary, we conduct a 'site survey' first. This is an extensive exploration of the location to gather all necessary information for the successful project execution. We map the current situation, determine the best point for building entry, and plan how the route should run both outside and inside the building, including any obstacles that may need to be overcome.

If it's an "offnet" location, we also map out the digging route. After conducting the site survey (usually not needed for "onnet" locations), we create a schedule based on the required work. The contractor then coordinates with you regarding the on-site work (and its schedule), and we set an expected delivery date. The contractor applies for permits for excavation work, drilling, or directional drilling (where the drill is monitored and manually adjusted as needed through a steering installation with inclinometers) from the local municipality or responsible government authority.

Multiple authorities are often involved in permit issuance. In many cases, we will need to submit a permit application to the local municipality, but other parties such as the Flemish Waterway, Infrabel (railway crossings), AWV (highways), or provinces (provincial roads) can also be involved.

Works associated with directional drilling can be complex and sometimes require longer preparation time. In exceptional cases, additional requirements may apply to permit issuance, such as locations in the middle of the city, near shopping centers, or along busy main roads.

Step 4: Execution

Now it's time for the actual project execution, and the shovels and drills enter the ground. If this is not necessary because there is already a connection to your premises, we can begin with the splicing work right away. A technician first splices at various points in the network. Later, we assemble the fiber optic connection and install all the necessary equipment for achieving an optimally functioning fiber optic connection.

If there is no fiber optic in the building yet, we lay the cable and bring it into the building. Inside, we route the cable to the desired point as indicated in the previously conducted site survey.

After connecting the business fiber optic connection, the delivery takes place, and you can enjoy all the benefits of the technology. An important point to note is to ensure that the correct technical personnel are present to grant access to the premises. As a final check before delivery, we test whether the performance and quality of the connection indeed meet the agreed specifications.

How Long Does the Process from Order to Delivery Take?

When you acquire a fiber optic infrastructure from Eurofiber, you naturally want to start using that digital connection as soon as possible. Depending on the type of connection, you can expect a lead time ranging from eight to twenty weeks. The lead time depends on factors such as the waiting time for a permit, the contractor's schedule, and whether it's onnet or offnet.

What are the costs of installing a fiber-optic connection?

Thanks to an assertive investment strategy, Eurofiber fully covers the costs of setting up a client connection. In this way, Eurofiber offers its clients their own (non-shared!) fiber-optic connection at highly competitive prices. Eurofiber is a reliable supplier of strong, lightning-fast, and secure fiber-optic connections on which you can rely 100%.

About Eurofiber Belgium

Our fiber optic network and secure data centers offer businesses, governments, and non-profit organizations a future-proof and open infrastructure. Thanks to business fiber optic from Eurofiber, your organization is guaranteed a lightning-fast, stable, secure, and fully redundant fiber optic connection. Our open network spans 71,700 kilometers, provides extensive coverage in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and France, and even extends into Germany. Furthermore, it is connected to more than 250 data centers.

Business internet via fiber optic is available at speeds of up to 10 Gb/s. The fiber optic network is exceptionally stable, making bandwidth-intensive applications like streaming in 4k video and sending and downloading large files a breeze. In addition to business fiber optic, Eurofiber offers a wide range of infrastructure and connectivity solutions. These include various cloud solutions, Ethernet VPN, WDM, SD-WAN, a secure private highway to the cloud (Secure Cloud Connect), and highly secure data transport (WDM Encrypted).