Reader responds to Must-See Cabling Photo: 'Why? I'll tell you why!'

An informed reader wrote in with some possible clarification regarding the question posed by one of our recent Must-See Cabling Photos:

Hi, I wanted to make a comment on the picture [ entitled "Why?'] you had on your site.

I have personally worked in an environment where that was a norm...to assume it’s wrong is not a correct way of thinking. I’m not saying it is right, but you need to understand the environment and not just make 1000 words out of it. So, I was former military that worked in NASNI (Naval Air Station North Island, Coronado, San Diego). The buildings on the island are so old (1920’s) that they are considered historic landmarks. Being historic, you are not allowed to modify the building in any way, whether interior or exterior, without getting Department of Navy approval.

So the majority of the cables that were run to support the users did go through the ceilings and walls, not by choice, but because we had federal restrictions on modifying the building. The picture you have on the site looks very similar to the two buildings I worked in. [From] the drill hole, [it] looks like an older building with asbestos-type material surrounding the inside on the block. So, basically, you use what you can.

I work in a data center, so I know about proper cabling. Knowing where I came from and worked prior, I’m OK with running cable like that, because that’s what the situation calls for. So that’s “Why”…. Thanks for your time.

-- Alvin Lal, AT&T Global IDC Operations, AT&T Business Solutions - SSC, San Diego, CA