The journey is the reward. Sisu, zero excuses and five point three kilometers of fiber.

"The contented day is never the greatest. The best day is a day of thirst." Karin Boye’s words may have been written about the big adventures in life, but they happen to fit surprisingly well when you've just blown almost six kilometers of Nexans FZOMU-SD Ultimate™ 6x24xSML fiber cable — without lube, without shortcuts, and without backing down. Because for the team at CableCrew, it’s not about the destination — it’s the road that matters. And sometimes that road is 5,300 meters long, packed with learning curves, tweaks, and the occasional trade secret.

We talked to Mikko Hyvärinen a while ago, back when CableCrew confidently blew 3.8 km of fiber like it was a Sunday stroll. Even then, there were whispers of new goals. Ambitious goals. Maybe a little crazy, depending on who you asked. But here we are. The label said 3 km. CableCrew’s technicians didn’t read that part. Obviously, we had to follow up.

Almost six kilometers!? Was it sisu, luck, or something magical in your morning coffee?

We had good conditions on the route — not too many turns and pretty streamlined.
 

When you realized it worked — was there a spontaneous happy dance or just a silent high five?

Just another day at the office (laughs). We’ve done this 2–3 times now and learned the best way to go about it. But there’s been plenty of try–adjust along the way. This time, it worked all the way.
 

Big ducts and no lube — is this the fiber industry’s version of running a marathon in rubber boots?

In this case, we don’t really see the benefit of using lube — it’s gone very smoothly without it, so it feels unnecessary. We’re really happy with the Nexans FZOMU-SD Ultimate™ 6x24xSML fiber cable. It keeps delivering, every time.
 

What was the toughest part about blowing that far — the weather, the gear, or pure willpower?

Honestly, it’s the manholes we have every other kilometer. That’s where we have to join the ducts, loop the cable, and do a few special tricks to avoid losing pressure in the duct. And as you already know, the ducts are quite large — 50 mm. But we’ve got a guy who designed custom tools just for us, which helps a lot.
 

Custom tools? That sounds intriguing! Tell us more.

Trade secrets (laughs).
 

What do people say when you tell them you blew 5.3 kilometers of fiber without issues? Disbelief, admiration — or does no one care?

We actually haven’t told anyone besides our client. But clearly, the word is out anyway.

Next goal — 7, 8, or why not 10 km? When does it stop being long and start being legendary?

It probably stops at 6 km, unfortunately — that’s the length of the drum. But later this summer, we’ll have stretches where we are confident to blow the entire 6 km at once. Now that we’ve learned the technique and how to extend the blowing lengths, we don’t consider it impossible that in the future we could blow, for example, the entire distance between data centers using a single cable without splices. It simply requires a long cable, proper planning, and professionals to carry it out.
In Finland, there are currently a lot of new datacenter projects, so it’s good for the entire industry to know that Nexans offers quality that can handle long blowing distances and reduce the need for splices.
 

Just a quick note to mention that we offer longer drum lengths—check with your wholesaler. But fair enough, should Nexans have more confidence and guarantee longer blowing lengths?

No, I actually think it’s good to guarantee 3 km, because you never know the conditions on-site. A lot depends on the groundwork and the ducts. If conditions are decent, relatively straight, and everything’s done right, then it’s possible to hit the high meters.
 

If you had to write a headline for this achievement — what would it be?

Haha, I don’t work in marketing. But maybe something about being curious enough to try new paths or setting a new benchmark in the industry. But I’ll leave the headline writing to you.
 

The future is calling — Nexans and CableCrew leads the way

They say you shouldn’t blow your own trumpet. But let’s be honest — this one deserves a damn fanfare. CableCrew didn’t just prove that 5,3 km of fiber blowing is possible — they proved it’s the future. With the right cable, the right mindset, and a solid dose of Finnish sisu, the boundaries of what’s possible keep moving.

So next time someone says, “That can’t be done,” just point to Finland. That’s where they blow six kilometers of fiber — and laugh all the way to the next manhole.