11-13-1989 - Agenda Packet City Council - regular meeting

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With Contel's commitment to 'Quality, Low Cost, Service', Contel considered three options to providing service to the growing Saga Hill area population. Option one, a remote switch unit, was selected because it meet Contel's commitment ;.o 'Quality, Low Cost, Service'. Option two was to place another feeder cooper cable from the Central Switching Office across tie Jennings Bay of Lake Minnetonka to serve the growing population in Saga Hill area. Option three was to place feeder cable from the Centra. Switching Off',._e to serve the growing population in the Saga Hill area. (See Attached Drawn, 41, OPT ON *1 The remote switchin3 unit is a new option for telephone companies. A remote switching unit allows telephone companies to take a small part of the new digital central switch to remote location like Saga Hill. The remote switch provides dial tone and switching at that site ir, a very small pack3_e and is connecter: to the central switching offic^ via existing cable feeder plant . Since Contel already has cable to the Saga Hill Area from two direction, a lake route and the land route plated many years ago the connection to the central switch unit is very secure and unlikely to be interrupted. Contel will not have to place ar.ymore high cost per foot copper plant from the central switching unit to the Saga Hill area. This particular site in Saga Hill was selected by Contel to make the greatest use of existing copper distribution plant to 572 customers with out having to modify the voice carrying characteristics of the distribution plant. This site allows Contel to have less than 15,000 feet of distribution cable to the furthest customer from the remote switching unit. Beyond a distance 15,000 feet, the distribution plant would have to be modified to have good voij-e carrying characteristics. The reroute site will need to be visited an average of once a week. with Contel's vehicles entering a leaving the site from Tonk.aview Lane. The remote switching unit and it's building will not produce any noises other than-.orm•al sounds of two residential air conditioners. Option t2 Option two was to place large feeder cable from the central switching office to the Saga Hill area going .across the lake. This option was considered unacceptable due to the lake's level having dropped and the possibility of I%aving service interrupted by placement of boat docks, future dredging operation, or even boat propellers. A boat dock. placed in 1978, damaged one Contel's existing cable across the lake. Contel found at that time service would be interrupted for a extend period time, due to the distance and sice of the cables. The cables and splicing closures in the lake are not stock itess.