As one field cabling installer recently posted to Youtube, "How Time Warner installs underground fiber-optic cable? Using a directional horizontal drilling machine with an angled drill bit and a transmitter and detector. When they pull the steel drill pipe out they pull in the plastic duct. Lastly, they pull the encapsulated fiber-optic cable through the duct. The small machine [provided by Ditch Witch] can dig 500 feet and the big machine can go 800 feet. Depth is maintained between 3 and 6 feet."