AT&T is rapidly expanding its fiber internet service across San Diego, CA, through an agreement with the city, as it hustles to reach its goal of passing 2.5 million homes in 2021.
But one resident, who came home to find a 30-foot utility pole supporting that fiber next to her San Carlos house, said, “not so fast.”
“They didn’t even knock on my door when they installed the thing,” she told KFMB-TV. “It’s just an eyesore. We already have a lot of poles and a lot of wires that go through here.”
An AT&T spokesperson said the poles were temporary and would only be up until the carrier can consolidate facilities with San Diego Gas & Electric in the “near future.”
But for now residents have to endure the unsightly aerial fiber deployment, which adds to a cityscape that was already cluttered with wires criss-crossing streets and intersections.
The City of San Diego plans to bury all the utility cables underground, which not only improves the view, but prevents the possibility that a wildfire could be sparked by power lines. Undergrounding cables, however, comes with a price tag of $5 million per mile, KFMB reported.
“I’ve been in this house for 30 years. It’s here. It hasn’t changed. I can survive with it. But do I need another pole? No!” Davis said into the camera. “Undergrounding was supposed to be the thing! Instead, we’re adding poles that’s just insane – it truly is.”
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