Services
RPI provides a comprehensive compliment of underground utility installations and services that range from waterlines to underground fiber. Our methods range from plowing and directional drilling to open cut and trenching approaches, and we have experience effectively deploying these methods in both urban and rural settings throughout North America.
Where?
Our fiber optic networks are located from Acheson, Alberta to Fort St. John, British Columbia and Valleyview, Alberta to High Level, Alberta.
We connect service providers to an ultra-fast, scalable, and reliable network to enable high-quality services between any community and the global gateway for residential and enterprise customers in rural Northern BC, Yukon, and the Northwest Territories.
Why?
Fiber optic cables are the best choice for long-distance telecommunications and high-speed data connections. As the world continues to undergo a digital transformation, the need for high-speed is greater than ever.
Data hungry services, such as on-demand video, social media live streaming, and online gaming have grown exponentially in the past decade.
As such, data providers are under constant pressure to meet growing consumer demand while installing fiber optic cables in the most economical way possible.
HDD is optimal for medium to long installations in challenging areas. This attribute makes HDD the ideal choice for fiber optic cable installations across terrain unsuitable for other trenchless methods, such as river crossing and other protected areas.
Upgrading and installing new fiber optic cable requires more advanced technology. Trenchless methods are safer, have less adverse impact on the surrounding environment, and allow for faster installations. All of these benefits ultimately equate to lower installation costs and overall higher profit margins.
Horizontal Direction Drilling
HDD allows for conduit placements underneath obstacles and provides maximum protection while, at the same time, minimizing maintenance costs.
Underground Fiber Optics
When HDD is used to install a utility, the size and length of the conduit and the soil conditions will determine the size and push/pull capacity of the directional drilling machine that is needed. Smaller directional drill rigs can be used to efficiently install service connections to homes without the need to dig up lawns and driveways. The larger directional drill rigs can be used to cross rivers and canals. Mid-sized rigs are used to efficiently install underground utilities without disrupting traffic and open cutting roads/highways, wetlands, and streams. Conduit and soil conditions will determine the size and push/pull capacity of the horizontal directional drill rig needed. Horizontal directional drilling project sites that include rock and cobble are evaluated individually. A crew experienced in these conditions would request boring logs and visit the site to determine the appropriate equipment.
History
Invented in the 1920s, directional drilling or Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), as it is now known, is a trenchless technology that was originally used in oil fields to increase oil production. In the 1990's, the horizontal technology was adapted for utility conduit installations.