Most fiber routes follow roads and open ground. The hardest parts of any network are the places where they cannot: rivers, bridges and rock. In 2006 and 2007, ACTS delivered two installations for the telecom operator Canar that dealt with exactly these obstacles.
2006: Fiber under Hantoub Bridge
Crossing a river is one of the classic challenges in network building. Running fiber cable under a bridge means working in a confined space, protecting the cable from the environment, and coordinating with the authorities responsible for the structure. The finished installation has to be secure enough to last for years without disturbing the bridge itself.
2007: Fiber through the rocky Al-Aqaba area, Port Sudan
A year later, Canar asked ACTS to install fiber cable in the Al-Aqaba area of Port Sudan, a rocky area where standard trenching is not enough. Rock changes the equipment needed, the time each section takes, and how the cable must be protected once it is laid.
Why difficult sections matter
A network is only as reliable as its weakest link. A river crossing or a rocky stretch is often exactly where that weak link appears. Getting these sections right is what keeps a network running long after the project is handed over.
Part of a long telecom track record
The Canar projects sit within a long history of telecom infrastructure work in Sudan:
- Turnkey fiber backbone in Khartoum for Zain (141 km in 2007, plus 77 km in 2010)
- Survey and design of 1,300 copper cabinets (520,000 lines) and towers for 33 sites for Sudatel
- A copper and fiber link between the Khartoum airport tower and the new navigation center for the Civil Aviation Authority
- Copper and fiber networks for the ports of Port Sudan and Suakin for the Sea Ports Corporation
- Fiber optic cable upgrade and repair for Sudanese Petroleum Pipelines Co. (2022)
Have a challenging route?
From simple office networks to fiber across difficult terrain, our networks and telecommunications team can help. Contact us to discuss your project.