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I'm not sure if this is the right forum, but thanks for your consdieration. Also, I apologize for the speculative nature of the question,

I'm looking to extend internet to another building about 1000m away, down my driveway. Assuming I can buy a spool of bulk 2 strand fiber from Alibaba / AliExpress, and the appropriate ends (I'm thinking of using LC connections?). Is it reasonable that I would be able to terminate the fiber and extend my network to this second building?

For the hardware, I already have a switch with open miniGBIC ports, and would use a media converter on the other end. For the fiber itself, I'm looking at a product titled '1000m/roll 2 core 3 Steel Wire outdoor armoured FTTH fiber optic drop cable'.

For reference - I'm a fairly experienced copper networking guy, and although not a professional installer or Network Admin, I've worked around CAT5 and LANs for probably near 15 years now. I won't have a problem with the routing or IP, assuming I can get the media run.

Thanks in advance.

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  • Unfortunately, questions about residential networking are explicitly off-topic here. – Ron Maupin♦ Nov 27 '17 at 19:19
  • Can you recommend a more appropriate forum for this sort of question? Maybe DIY? – Matt Murrell Nov 27 '17 at 19:20
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    As I wrote in my answer, this is not a DIY project. You can get the buildings red-tagged for occupation and face large fines, or be criminally liable in the case of a fire or death. – Ron Maupin♦ Nov 27 '17 at 19:23
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    I don't mean to be obtuse, but I'm talking about going from my house to my workshop. Nobody will occupy it, and the fiber will be the least likely cause of fire in my workshop. =) – Matt Murrell Nov 27 '17 at 19:27
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    Your workshop is a kilometer from your house? Just get it its own Internet service, or get a mobile wireless hotspot or upgrade your mobile phone plan to use tethering whenever you're in the workshop. – Todd Wilcox Nov 27 '17 at 20:52
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This is something you really want to hire a cable vendor to do. Outside Plant (OSP) cabling is a specialty, and there are things you must do for life/safety (legal requirements), and things you must do to make sure the cable will not fail.

For instance, outside cable is not allowed to extend more than 50' inside a building, you must bury it at least 24", or below the frost line, whichever is greater. Direct buried cable needs to be armored, loose-tube, and probably gel-filled. There is also grounding, bonding, and lightning protection that must be carefully done because the armor will be metallic.

This is not something for amateurs, and the cable vendor will run bulk cable and terminate it to a cable patch panel with the appropriate type of connector.

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  • I always wondered the reasons for limit on how far the external cable can go into a building. Are they fire regulations or quality regs? And the burying? – jonathanjo Nov 27 '17 at 19:29
  • They are fire regulations in the National Electric Code (NFPA 70), which is published by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association). What outside-rated cables are made from will cause excessive smoke and poison gas in the event of a fire, and it invites lightning into the structure. – Ron Maupin♦ Nov 27 '17 at 20:29

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