For this, all those green, orange and pink wires stick out of the ground on the street

The city is dotted with green, orange and pink threads that protrude just above the paving stones. What are those blades for and what are they used for? nearby is looking into it.

Sometimes they protrude a few millimeters above street level, sometimes a few tens of centimeters. A single specimen every few metres, or cozy as a bunch together. Watch where you walk because sometimes you almost trip over such a protruding rod.

Three color cables

For some time now, three network providers have been working on the construction of the fiber optic network in our city. KPN spokesperson Hans van Zon explains: “In Zoetermeer, these are DELTA, KPN and ODF (open Dutch fiber).” Streets are being broken up at a rapid pace and fiber optic cables are being installed underground. “The ends of the cables protrude just above the paving stones. DELTA uses green cables for this, KPN uses orange cables and ODF lays pink cables.”

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Connection in the meter cupboard

The colored antennas indicate that a connection to the fiber optic network is possible at your house. By appointment, a technician will drill a hole in the facade, just below the ground. The paving stones around the sprit are removed so that the cable can be pulled out of the ground. The colored cable then goes through the hole to the meter box. It is connected to a box with a network cable to the modem. The result is a lightning-fast internet connection.

If the cables are installed on the boundary of your house, the technician will make an opening in the ground towards the hole in the facade of your house.

What if you don’t want to connect

The possibility for a fiber optic connection is there, but not all Zoetermeer residents necessarily want this. “KPN connects every home for free, even if you choose Ziggo as your internet provider, for example,” explains Hans. “But a connection is not an obligation.”

Eliminate splashes

As long as a house is not connected to the fiber optic network, the protrusions will remain. “So many cables have been added that it takes time for the engineers to eliminate all the connections,” explains Hans. “But the bulging antennae shouldn’t stay there forever. Residents who do not want a connection need not worry that the blades will remain. They will be buried underground.”

Also spotted a mystery?

Another mystery solved! Do you also have a question about a mystery in Zoetermeer? indebuurt is looking into it! Mail your mystery or question to [email protected].