Can one contractor cover a full outside plant scope?

Yes, where underground, aerial, fiber and documentation capability all exist in house. That is the case here. The value is not the breadth itself but the removal of coordination seams: a route that changes from a bore to a pole line does not require a second contractor, a second mobilization and a handoff that nobody owns.

What work do you not self perform?

Make-ready on existing pole plant, which is performed by the pole owner or existing attachers because a fiber contractor cannot move another company's facilities. Also specialized engineering design, environmental permitting studies, and the utility locating performed by 811 member utilities. Those are coordinated rather than claimed.

Can you take only part of a scope, such as just the bores?

Yes. Each capability can be contracted on its own. Many projects only need directional drilling, or only aerial strand and lash, or only splicing and testing. A full scope removes the most handoffs, but a partial scope still gets the same daily reporting, as-built capture and closeout standard as a full one.

Do fiber test results come with the closeout?

Yes, where testing is in the scope. Optical test results, including OTDR traces where specified, are captured during the work and included in the closeout package with the as-builts and restoration records. That gives the owner proof that splice loss and span loss meet the design, not just a statement that the fiber works.

How do you hand off a completed route?

With a closeout package. It brings together as-built records, photos, test results where fiber work was included, restoration records and the information needed to close permits. The goal is a file the owner can accept without chasing missing pieces, and one their operations team can rely on when they need to locate or repair the route later.

What do you need to price a full outside plant scope?

Design prints or route maps, footage by construction method, structure counts and types, fiber counts and splice points, permit responsibility, and the owner's documentation standard. The target schedule matters too. The bid request checklist on this site lists everything in one place so nothing important is left to assumption.

Services

Full Capabilities Overview

Written for the procurement team deciding whether one contractor can cover the whole scope.

Strilla self performs directional drilling and boring, conduit and duct installation, access structure placement, aerial strand and cable work, fiber placement and splice support, system maintenance, emergency restoration, and the documentation that accompanies all of it.

Why self performed scope matters

A contractor who subcontracts most of a scope is a coordinator with a markup. That is a legitimate business model, and on some projects it is the right one, but it is a different proposition from a contractor performing the work with their own crews.

The practical difference shows up in schedule control and in accountability. When the crew is employed by the contractor, a schedule change is an internal decision. When it is a subcontractor, it is a negotiation with somebody who has other clients.

Underground construction

Directional drilling is the lead capability, covering road, driveway, utility and waterway approach crossings as well as long continuous runs.

Horizontal directional drilling, or HDD, installs conduit without digging an open trench. A drill bores a small pilot hole along a planned path, a reamer enlarges it, and the conduit is pulled back through. Surface disruption is limited to entry and exit pits, which is why it is the default method under roads, driveways and landscaped right of way.

Horizontal directional drilling and trenchless boring
Road, driveway and utility crossings
Bore path planning against confirmed utility positions
Reaming and pullback operations
HDPE conduit and multi duct placement
Conduit proofing and verification
Tracer wire installation for future locating
Potholing and vacuum excavation near existing plant
Entry and exit pit preparation and restoration

Aerial construction

Aerial capability exists in house rather than subcontracted, which is what allows a route that transitions between underground and overhead to stay under one contract.

Aerial fiber hangs from a steel messenger strand attached to utility poles. The cable is lashed to the strand with a thin wire wrapped in a spiral. Overlash adds a new cable to an existing strand, which avoids placing a second strand where the pole space and loading allow it.

Messenger strand installation and tensioning
Strand and lash cable placement
Overlash onto existing strand
Aerial fiber placement
Aerial to underground transitions and risers
Make-ready survey, documentation and coordination support

Fiber work

Fiber placement and splice support, covering both blowing and pulling methods according to route conditions.

Blowing uses compressed air to carry cable through conduit, which keeps tension low over long runs. Pulling uses a winch line and works well where conduit has tight bends or is not suited to blowing. Fusion splicing joins fibers with an electric arc, and OTDR testing confirms that each splice and the full span meet the loss budget.

Fiber blowing through installed conduit
Fiber pulling with tension monitoring
Fusion splicing
Fiber termination
Splice enclosure installation and sealing
Slack storage placement
Optical test support and record capture

Support and structures

The access points and documentation that determine whether a finished route can be operated and maintained.

A handhole is a small buried enclosure with a removable lid, used for pulling, splicing and storing slack. A vault is larger and holds splice cases or equipment. Both have to be rated for the load above them, which is different in a grassy shoulder than in a driveway apron.

Handhole placement, sized and load rated to location
Vault placement for splice cases, equipment and slack
As-built documentation captured during construction
Daily production reporting through active work
Restoration to the applicable permit standard
Permit closure support

Maintenance and emergency

Ongoing care for existing plant, and response when something fails.

Emergency restoration is available 24/7. Emergency calls are answered directly, and mobilization is coordinated on the call. Maintenance work is planned on a schedule so problems are found during inspections rather than during outages.

Scheduled preventive maintenance programs
Locate ticket response and marking
Locate and repair work
Emergency outage restoration
Storm response and multi site triage
Rapid mobilization for time critical faults

How does the scope fit together on a typical route?

Most fiber routes use several capabilities in sequence, and the order matters. Work starts with Sunshine 811 tickets, utility locates and a walk of the route. Bores are planned against confirmed utility positions, with potholing where the bore path crosses existing lines.

Conduit goes in next, by bore where the surface must be protected and by aerial strand where poles are the better path. Handholes and vaults are set at the planned access points. Fiber is then blown or pulled, spliced in enclosures, and tested. Restoration and as-built records close each section before the crew moves on.

When one contractor carries all of these steps, the handoffs happen inside one crew structure. A bore that ends in the wrong place for a handhole is fixed that day, not argued about between two firms a week later.

Locate, walk and plan
Bore or build aerial pathway
Set handholes and vaults
Place fiber by blowing or pulling
Splice, seal and test
Restore, document and close out

What documentation comes with every scope?

Documentation is part of the deliverable on every scope, not an extra. During construction, that means daily production reports with photos, so a project manager can see footage, locations and any field changes without having to ask.

At the end, it means as-built records captured as the work happened, test results for fiber work, restoration records and a closeout package that lets the owner close the permit and the project file. Incomplete paperwork creates risk long after the crew leaves, so it is treated with the same care as the construction.

What is not self performed

Make-ready work on existing pole plant is performed by the pole owner or by existing attachers, because a fiber contractor generally cannot move another company's facilities. Strilla surveys, documents and coordinates that process rather than claiming to perform it.

Specialized engineering design, environmental permitting studies and utility locating performed by the 811 member utilities themselves are similarly outside the self performed scope. Where a project needs them, they are coordinated rather than misrepresented.

How should procurement use this page?

Use it as a checklist against your own scope. Mark which items your project needs, then ask for documentation that backs each one up during prequalification. Licensing, insurance and equipment details are provided directly on request, where they can be kept accurate and current.

Match each line of your scope to a capability listed here
Flag any items that fall under coordinated rather than self performed work
Request licensing, insurance and equipment documentation together
Ask for a sample daily report and closeout package to see the standard

Key takeaways

Strilla self performs directional drilling, conduit, handholes and vaults, aerial strand and lash, fiber placement, splicing support, maintenance and emergency restoration.
Make-ready on existing poles, engineering design and 811 utility locating are coordinated, not self performed, and this page says so.
A route that switches from bore to pole line can stay under one contract when aerial and underground capability are both in house.
Daily reports, as-builts, test results and a closeout package are part of every scope, not an add-on.

Key terms

Outside plant (OSP): The physical network outside buildings: conduit, cable, poles, strand, handholes, vaults and splice enclosures that carry fiber from a central office or hub to homes and businesses. OSP construction is the work of building and maintaining that network in the field.
Self performed scope: Work a contractor carries out with its own employed crews and owned equipment rather than passing to subcontractors. It gives the contractor direct control of schedule and quality, and a single point of accountability for the client.
Make-ready: Changes needed on existing utility poles before a new attachment can be added, such as moving existing cables, raising attachments or replacing poles. It is done by the pole owner or existing attachers. A fiber contractor surveys, documents and coordinates it.
As-built: A record of where infrastructure was actually installed, including depth, offsets, structure locations and any changes from the design. As-builts captured during construction are more accurate than ones reconstructed afterward, and they are what future locates and repairs depend on.

Capability areas, typical work and what the client receives

Capability area	Typical work	What you receive
Underground	HDD bores, conduit and multi duct, tracer wire, potholing	Bore records, as-built depths and offsets, restored pits
Aerial	Strand, lash, overlash, risers, make-ready coordination	Attachment records, pole by pole documentation
Fiber	Blowing, pulling, fusion splicing, termination, enclosures	Splice records and optical test results
Structures	Handholes and vaults sized and rated to location	Structure locations and types on the as-built
Maintenance	Preventive inspection, locates, locate and repair	Inspection and repair records
Emergency	Outage restoration, storm response, rapid mobilization	Restoration records and follow-up recommendations

Outside plant network topology

What this means for your project

Every handoff between contractors is a place where schedule slips and responsibility blurs. A route with bores, poles, handholes and splicing can involve four firms or one. Fewer handoffs mean fewer days lost to waiting and fewer disputes about who caused a problem.

The coordinated items still need owners. Make-ready runs on the pole owner's schedule and is often the longest lead item on an aerial route. Putting it on the critical path early, with survey and documentation started at once, protects the rest of the plan.

Closeout is where risk either ends or carries forward. A complete package with as-builts, test results and restoration records lets you close permits and accept the work on time. Missing records turn into locate problems, warranty arguments and audit findings later.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one contractor cover a full outside plant scope?: Yes, where underground, aerial, fiber and documentation capability all exist in house. That is the case here. The value is not the breadth itself but the removal of coordination seams: a route that changes from a bore to a pole line does not require a second contractor, a second mobilization and a handoff that nobody owns.
What work do you not self perform?: Make-ready on existing pole plant, which is performed by the pole owner or existing attachers because a fiber contractor cannot move another company's facilities. Also specialized engineering design, environmental permitting studies, and the utility locating performed by 811 member utilities. Those are coordinated rather than claimed.
Why does self performing matter compared to subcontracting?: It changes schedule control and accountability. When the crew is employed by the contractor, a schedule change is an internal decision. When it is a subcontractor, it is a negotiation with a company that has other clients and its own priorities. Neither model is wrong, but they are genuinely different propositions.
Can you take only part of a scope, such as just the bores?: Yes. Each capability can be contracted on its own. Many projects only need directional drilling, or only aerial strand and lash, or only splicing and testing. A full scope removes the most handoffs, but a partial scope still gets the same daily reporting, as-built capture and closeout standard as a full one.
Do fiber test results come with the closeout?: Yes, where testing is in the scope. Optical test results, including OTDR traces where specified, are captured during the work and included in the closeout package with the as-builts and restoration records. That gives the owner proof that splice loss and span loss meet the design, not just a statement that the fiber works.
How do you hand off a completed route?: With a closeout package. It brings together as-built records, photos, test results where fiber work was included, restoration records and the information needed to close permits. The goal is a file the owner can accept without chasing missing pieces, and one their operations team can rely on when they need to locate or repair the route later.
What do you need to price a full outside plant scope?: Design prints or route maps, footage by construction method, structure counts and types, fiber counts and splice points, permit responsibility, and the owner's documentation standard. The target schedule matters too. The bid request checklist on this site lists everything in one place so nothing important is left to assumption.

Related services

Request a Bid

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Send the scope and we will come back with a clear, documented bid. Owned crews, aerial and underground under one contract, and a closeout package that lets you close the file.

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