Network engineers' mock-technical name for a buried cable cut by construction equipment, phrased as if it were a gradual signal fade rather than a sudden total loss. Dig-ins are the most common cause of long-haul and metro outages, which is why routes get locate marks, warning tape, diverse paths and service loops for repairs. The machine that does the damage gets called a fiber-seeking backhoe.
Ring's on the protect path, we had a case of backhoe fade at the highway interchange about an hour ago.
Also heard as
- dig-in
Related terms
Service loop
Extra cable coiled and stored at a vault, pole or panel so the fiber can be re-spliced or moved later.
OTDR
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer: a tester that maps a fiber's loss and events by timing light reflected back along it.
Splice closure
A sealed, re-enterable housing that protects fiber splices in outside plant, on poles, in vaults or buried.
Cable plant
All the passive fiber infrastructure of a network: cable, splices, connectors, panels and closures.