This one’s kinda interesting—TM’s Unifi has just announced it has upgraded its cables to anti-rodent drop fibre (ARDF) versions, claimed to offer better resistance against bites from rats, mice and even monkeys. The fibre broadband service provider says the new cables should reduce the occurrence of service disruptions caused by errant animals.
While the company did not divulge details, the company did say the ARDF cables have special shielding. Digging further, we found that supplier Opcom Cables sells an anti-rodent cable that uses a corrugated steel tape layer—sandwiched between two polyethylene (PET) jackets—to protect the slotted core cable. The Edge reported last year that Opcom Cables secured a contract worth RM26.51 million to supply TM with cables until the end of 2023.
Responding to a comment on Facebook, Unifi said the cables are currently being upgraded in areas that are particularly susceptible to rodent infestations. The new cables are being gradually rolled out, it added.
Unifi has, at times, suffered several service disruptions over the last few years, including one just last week. Those were generally caused by other issues, however, such as technical difficulties further upstream (this caused the most recent disruption when attempting to browse certain international websites), widespread power outages, fires and cable cuts due to construction works and vandalism. However, the new cables should hopefully prevent more localised disruptions.
