Fiber blowing
Jetting and blowing fiber through installed duct at production speed, with the duct proofed before the cable goes in and the run documented when it comes out.
What fiber blowing is, and why the duct matters more than the cable
Fiber blowing installs cable through already-placed duct using compressed air and a mechanical drive, floating the fiber along the path rather than dragging it. Done properly it puts long lengths in at speed without the tension a pull would put on the cable, which is what protects the fiber and the cable manufacturer's warranty on it.
Almost every blowing problem is really a duct problem. A crushed section, a tight radius, water, or debris will stop a shot cold, usually a long way from an access point. So we proof and mandrel the duct first, clear what needs clearing, and only then blow. That order is the difference between a production day and a lost one.
We blow into duct we installed and into duct someone else installed. If the path came from another contractor we will still proof it before we commit a reel to it.
Where blowing sits in a build
For an internet service provider, blowing is the step where a construction project starts to look like a network. It is usually scheduled against splice crews and turn-up dates that are already committed, which is why proofing the path first matters more than shaving a day off the shot.
We take blowing as part of a full underground package, where our own crews placed the duct, and as a standalone scope on duct placed by others.
What blowing scope covers
The shot itself is the easy part. What surrounds it is what keeps a build on its turn-up date.
Duct proofing
Mandrel and rod testing before a reel is committed, so an obstruction is found while it is still cheap to fix.
Duct clearing
Water, debris, and damaged sections identified and cleared or repaired, including locating the fault when a shot stops short.
Production blowing
Long-length placement through single and multi-duct paths, with cable handled to the manufacturer's tension and bend limits.
Intermediate assist
Cascaded and mid-assist setups on runs longer than a single shot, so length is a planning question rather than a hard stop.
Slack and coil management
Slack placed and coiled where the splice plan actually needs it, in the vault or on the pole, not wherever the shot ended.
Placement records
Footages, access points, and slack locations documented at close, so the splice and turn-up crews are not searching for cable.
Why blowing goes better when the same company placed the duct
A blowing crew inherits every decision made by the crew that put the path in the ground.
- Boring, plowing, and blowing under one contract, so the duct is built to be blown through.
- Duct proofed and mandrelled before a reel is committed, on our duct and on anyone else's.
- Cable handled to manufacturer tension and bend limits, which is what keeps the cable manufacturer's warranty intact.
- Crews that mobilize across five states and work to committed turn-up dates.
- Placement records handed over at close instead of reconstructed later.
FAQ
Fiber blowing questions
Still have a question? Call us at (651) 529-1527 and we'll walk you through it.
Yes, and we proof it first regardless of who placed it. Mandrel and rod testing before a reel is committed finds a crushed section or a water pocket while it is still a cheap fix, rather than after a shot has stopped a thousand feet from the nearest access point.
Shot length depends on duct size and condition, cable size, and how many bends the path carries, and on longer routes we use cascaded or mid-assist setups so total length becomes a planning question rather than a hard limit. Send us the route and duct spec and we will lay out the shots.
Fiber splicing and termination sit with Miller Optical, another company in the Miller family, so a build can be handled end to end without us pretending it is our specialty. Our scope here is placing the duct and getting the cable through it.
Request a bid
Send us the scope.
Plans, a route, a permit set, or a description of the crossing. We will come back with questions before we come back with a number, because a bid built on assumptions helps nobody.
- info@millermn.com
- Building across MN, ND, SD, IA, WI
- Boring, plowing, blowing, excavation, waterline, and aerial
Request a bid
Tell us about the project and an estimator will follow up.