Transact Gungahlin

[Bob Edwards]

David Gibson wrote:
> 
> Ah, ok.  I was assuming the problem was the main lines, not the last
> hop to actual houses.  But now that you mention it, I guess that would
> be the harder part of the problem.
> 

I think the issue here is that TransACT cannot predict who will want
the service and when. With backyard power poles, they simply put in the
cabling for everyone and terminate in little boxes on the poles. When
the customer decides to connect, they can then drop a line from the
pole to the house at little cost (little enough to be "free" for early
adopters).

With underground, the problem is a little more complex. If someone
decides initially not to be connected, then no trench is required. If
they then decide later to connect, where does TransACT dig a trench to?
How much trenching do they put in in advance "just to be sure"? Will the
customer still want to connect later if it costs $2000 or more for the
trench?

Cheers,

Bob Edwards.