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Overhead cable

technology Maturity 5-7 Next article →

Overhead cables are lines that carry information. They are often laid on tall utility poles.

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Jerecuaro mexico

These cables bring many services to our homes. Some lines carry cable TV signals. Other lines carry telephone signals. Some poles even carry electric power lines. These power lines provide the energy we use every day.

SIF-Overhead-Wires-1-Cropped
SIF-Overhead-Wires-1-Cropped

There is a specific way these cables are set up. Companies put the most dangerous cables at the very top. These are the lines that carry electric power. Other lines are strung on the body of the pole. Sometimes they sit on a crossbar. Some cables are attached like a garland on a rope. These ropes are called ground conductors.

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Jerecuaro mexico

Special parts help manage these signal cables. One part is called a splicing system. This helps distribute telephone signals using cables with many conductors. There are also devices shaped like snowshoes. These help change the direction of the cables.

SIF-Overhead-Wires-1-Cropped
SIF-Overhead-Wires-1-Cropped

In Germany, a company called EVS once built many of these. EVS is now part of a company named EnBW. They worked in the Baden-Württemberg region.

Different types of wires act in different ways. Old metal telephone wires can pick up noise. This noise comes from the nearby power lines. Modern fiber optic cables solve this problem. Fiber optic cables use light to send data. They can sit next to power lines without any interference.

SIF-Overhead-Wires-1-Cropped
SIF-Overhead-Wires-1-Cropped

This makes them very useful for modern technology.

People choose to put cables in different places. In the UK, big cities often bury cables underground. This includes power and broadband lines. It is safer to keep cables under the ground. However, it is hard to fix a line if it breaks. In the UK countryside, you will see overhead power cables.

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Jerecuaro mexico

In those areas, you might only see telephone lines above ground.

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