Field data is the foundation of every accurate fiber design. Bad field data causes redesigns, rework, and rejected pole loading analysis — all before a single foot of conduit gets pulled or a strand goes up. We collect the right data the first time, using Katapult, IKE, GPS, and direct measurement — so your design team isn't guessing.
Here's how projects go sideways: the OSP design team runs HLD using GIS records and aerial imagery. Span lengths look reasonable — 220 to 260 feet on most spans. The pole loading analysis gets commissioned based on assumed 27-foot attachment heights and standard wire weights. Make-ready comes back clean on paper. Then the field crew shows up and the first three poles have attachments at 31.4 feet, the span to the corner pole is 847 feet — not 263 — and there's a 4-inch conduit duct bank running under the easement that doesn't show up in any GIS layer. Welcome to a $40K redesign and a 3-month schedule hit. That's not a hypothetical.
Assumed attachment heights versus measured heights is where pole loading analysis results fall apart most often. The difference between a field-measured 26.3-foot attachment and a standard-assumed 27-foot affects the loading model. Not dramatically — until it pushes a pole at 94% utilization to 103%. That pole now needs make-ready. The make-ready needs to be designed and submitted. The utility needs to review it. You've added 6 to 10 weeks to that span of the route before a strand goes up. Multiply that across a 400-pole build where 15% of the poles had attachment heights assumed rather than measured, and you understand why we don't estimate.
Span lengths off by 8% — common when you're scaling from aerial imagery — affect wire sag calculations, which affect clearance at mid-span, which affects NESC compliance. Existing underground conduit not where GIS says it is — we find this constantly — means your splice point planning is wrong before design starts. Field survey isn't the expensive part of fiber deployment. Redesign is. Rework is. Rejected pole loading analysis that has to be rerun with corrected input data is. We do the field work so the design holds up. Every detail we collect — GPS coordinates, measured attachment heights, conduit size and fill, pole condition scores — goes into the dataset that your engineers and loading analysts build from. The accuracy of that data is what you're buying.
Every survey starts with a route walk — on foot or by vehicle depending on terrain. We confirm the proposed route is buildable, flag obstacles that don't show on maps (blocked easements, new structures in the ROW, grade changes that affect boring approach), and document the existing plant type. We're looking for anything that would force a design revision before the engineering team commits to a route. A 2-hour route walk on day one can eliminate a week of design rework later. We note span characteristics, road crossing types, and the presence of any at-grade railroad crossings that'll need separate permitting.
We GPS-trace the full route — aerial strand, underground centerline, and all pole locations — using sub-meter accuracy GPS equipment. Pole locations are captured as discrete GPS points with pole tag numbers, not estimated from road centerlines. For aerial routes, strand GPS capture includes mid-span points on spans longer than 400 feet to capture actual sag geometry rather than a straight-line estimate. Every GPS point is tagged with timestamp, accuracy estimate, and photo reference. The output is a GIS-ready dataset — GeoJSON, KMZ, or Shapefile — usable directly in your network design platform without manual re-digitization.
Every pole gets a full inventory: class, species, stenciled height, observed condition, tilt angle if visible, ground line condition assessment, guy wire configuration, and all existing attachment heights measured — not assumed. We capture every attacher on the pole: electric distribution, telecom, cable TV, and any other identified attachers. Photos are taken of the full pole face, the attachment zone, and any visible defects. In Katapult, this creates a photogrammetric record of the pole that feeds directly into O-Calc Pro for pole loading analysis. For poles with unclear attachment heights due to obstruction, we flag for secondary measurement rather than estimate.
For routes with underground segments, we use electromagnetic pipe and cable locators — Radiodetection RD8100 or equivalent — to trace existing conduit and verify actual location against records. Vault and handhole locations are GPS-captured and inventoried: lid type, interior dimensions, conduit entries, fill status, and condition. Where 811 utility locates are required, we coordinate with the locate service and walk the marked route before capture. Any discrepancy between located infrastructure and GIS records is flagged in the dataset with a description of what we found versus what was expected. These discrepancy flags go directly into design notes — not a separate report that gets filed and forgotten.
Every dataset goes through QA before delivery. We check for GPS position outliers, attachment heights that fall outside expected ranges for the pole height, span lengths that don't agree with the GPS-measured inter-pole distances, and photo documentation gaps. Any pole with a QA flag gets a second look — either a field return or a notation in the dataset explaining the discrepancy. We don't ship data with unresolved flags and expect your engineers to sort it out. QA review adds a day to delivery time. The alternative is your loading analyst finding the error three weeks into the project. Delivery is typically within 48 hours of QA completion for projects under 200 poles.
The field collection toolkit matters. Different equipment produces different data quality, and the downstream tools — O-Calc Pro, your GIS, the design software — have specific import formats and accuracy requirements. We use the right equipment for each task rather than trying to do everything with one tool.
Primary field collection platform for pole inventory and attachment surveys. Katapult's photogrammetric workflow captures the full pole from two reference photos and calculates attachment heights algorithmically. Data exports directly to O-Calc Pro for pole loading analysis — no manual re-entry. We use Katapult on all aerial fiber projects where downstream loading analysis is required.
Mobile field collection on iOS — faster for projects where full desktop Katapult workflow isn't needed. IKE captures pole attributes, attachments, GPS, and photos with the same structured schema as Katapult. We use IKE on projects with under 150 poles or where turnaround time is tighter than a full Katapult workflow allows.
Trimble or Leica GPS receivers for strand and structure location capture. Sub-meter accuracy is sufficient for most OSP design work — it's the GPS that's in your design layer. For crossing surveys near ROW boundaries or in areas where positional accuracy affects permitting, we can run RTK GPS for centimeter-level accuracy at a cost premium.
Radiodetection RD8100 or Vivax-Metrotech for underground conduit and cable tracing. Used on all underground route segments to verify existing conduit location, identify unknown buried utilities, and confirm vault positions against GIS records. Critical for avoiding conflict-driven design changes mid-construction.
Katapult's photogrammetric method — two reference photos from a calibrated distance, processed through the Katapult app — gives attachment heights to within 6 to 12 inches in most conditions. That's the baseline. On poles where Katapult flags a low-confidence measurement, or where the attachment zone is partially obscured by foliage, we supplement with direct measurement: a Sonin electronic distance tool measuring from ground to attachment point, corrected for the clinometer-measured angle. The combination of photogrammetric baseline plus direct measurement verification on flagged poles gives you data you can run a loading model on without nervous second-guessing.
Span lengths — critical for wire sag and tension calculations — are captured via GPS inter-pole distance rather than scaled from imagery. On spans where road geometry doesn't match aerial appearance, we measure tape or laser at midspan. A 30-foot error on a 600-foot span changes your sag calculation meaningfully at the temperatures your design loading district requires.
Pole inventory for pole loading analysis isn't just writing down a number off the stencil. Every attribute that goes into the loading model needs to be accurate, because the model is only as good as its inputs. Here's what every pole record contains when we're done with it.
What we don't do: assume attachment heights from standards tables, estimate span lengths from road segments, or skip condition documentation on poles that look structurally sound from the road. The 23-foot-tall Class 3 pine pole that stencil-reads fine can have 40% moisture content at ground line and be three years from failure. We're not structural engineers making failure determinations in the field, but we document what we observe and flag what warrants closer look in the loading analysis. Poles that need a closer look get noted.
Underground routes are where field survey earns its money — because unlike aerial plant, you can't see the problem from the road. Conduit that shows as a 4-inch single on the GIS drawing turns out to be a 1.25-inch HDPE from 1994 that's already at capacity. A junction vault the design shows in the green space is buried under a parking lot expansion that happened three owners ago. We find these things in the field. Your engineers need to know about them before design is committed.
Underground OSP field work covers three categories of activity: conduit tracing, vault and handhole inventory, and discrepancy documentation. Conduit tracing uses active locate signal applied to an accessible conduit end — usually a vault or handhole — and the locator receiver to trace the run to its next termination. We record the GPS centerline at intervals and flag any location where the trace diverges significantly from the GIS record. More than 3 feet of horizontal offset from the drawn centerline gets flagged; more than 5 feet is a hard discrepancy note in the dataset.
Vault and handhole inventory captures GPS coordinates, lid type and condition, interior dimensions, number of conduit entries and their sizes, estimated fill status per conduit (open, occupied, unknown), and any drainage or structural issues observed. If a vault interior requires entering a confined space, we don't enter — we note it as requiring confined space access and provide the exterior documentation only. Your design team will know which vaults need the follow-up inspection before splice point planning is done.
Discrepancy flagging is the output that protects your design. Every location where we found something different from what the records say — conduit in a different position, a vault that isn't there, an unmarked conduit duct bank, existing fiber occupancy where the GIS shows the duct as open — goes into the discrepancy log. That log is part of the field survey deliverable, reviewed at QA, and linked to the GPS positions where the discrepancies were found. Fiber as-built documentation at closeout is much cleaner when the field survey already caught the mismatches.
Not all OSP field survey approaches produce equivalent data. The method you choose affects accuracy, cost, and how long the data holds up through the design process. Here's an honest comparison of the four main approaches — including where each makes sense.
| Method | Speed (Miles/Day) | Attachment Height Accuracy | Cost Relative to GPS Walk | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPS Walk Survey (Katapult/IKE) | 1.2 – 2.1 mi | ± 6–12 inches | Baseline | Most aerial fiber projects; feeds directly into O-Calc loading workflow |
| Photogrammetric (drone-based) | 4 – 8 mi (flight) | ± 12–24 inches depending on resolution | 1.3 – 1.8× higher | Long-haul routes where speed matters more than per-pole precision; not suitable for tight loading analysis inputs |
| LiDAR (mobile or aerial) | 5 – 20 mi (capture) | ± 2–6 inches (processed correctly) | 2.5 – 4× higher | Large-scale deployments over 200 miles where accuracy justifies cost; requires significant post-processing time |
| Manual Walk (clipboard/tape) | 0.6 – 1.1 mi | ± 3–6 inches (direct tape) | 0.85 – 1.0× (lower labor cost) | Short routes, re-survey of specific poles, spot verification of Katapult flags; not scalable |
The GPS walk with Katapult is the right baseline for most fiber projects — it's fast enough, accurate enough, and the data format aligns directly with the downstream tools your engineers and loading analysts are using. Drone photogrammetry is faster on a per-mile basis but adds processing time and doesn't replace the on-the-ground pole inventory needed for condition documentation and ground-line assessment. LiDAR makes sense at scale — we've used it on projects over 300 miles where the point cloud data justified the cost. For most ISP and co-op FTTH builds, GPS walk survey is the right answer. See our full breakdown on OSP fielding cost per mile for the complete picture.
What does OSP field survey actually cost? It varies — but not as much as you'd think across similar project types. Here are real benchmarks from projects we've run across 22 states. These are field survey costs only; they don't include pole loading analysis, make-ready engineering, or design fees.
| Route Type | Typical Cost Per Mile | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Aerial, rural (low density) | $680 – $1,050 / mile | 8–12 poles per mile, simple attacher situation, good road access |
| Aerial, suburban (medium density) | $1,100 – $1,680 / mile | 14–22 poles per mile, 2–4 attachers per pole, mixed access |
| Aerial, urban (high density) | $1,700 – $2,600 / mile | 20+ poles per mile, complex attacher situations, traffic control often required |
| Underground, open trench / conduit trace | $1,340 – $2,200 / mile | Includes vault inventory and locate coordination; varies with vault density |
| Mixed aerial + underground | $1,200 – $1,900 / mile weighted | Depends on aerial/underground ratio; typically quoted as blended rate |
Where projects go over budget isn't usually the field collection itself — it's remobilization when the first pass missed something, or when route changes during design require re-survey of a segment that was already completed. We structure field survey scopes to minimize remobilization risk: the route walk happens first, design-impacting issues are flagged before the pole crew deploys, and our QA process catches data gaps before the crew leaves the project area. One remobilization trip costs more than the QA day we build into every project. The make-ready cost per pole arithmetic is painful enough without adding re-survey costs on top of it.
FREE FIRST PROJECT
Active in 22 states. First 20,000 LF project free — no commitment. Includes OSP field survey and route design for your first project.
Get Free Design →An OSP field survey covers GPS strand mapping of the proposed route, pole inventory documenting class, species, height, condition, and existing attachment heights for every pole on the route, span length measurement between poles, underground infrastructure verification including conduit trace and vault inventory, photo documentation of every pole and structure, and data entry into Katapult or IKE for direct downstream use in pole loading analysis and OSP design. The deliverable is a field-verified dataset — not estimates from aerial imagery or GIS records that may or may not reflect current conditions.
Katapult's photogrammetric method typically achieves attachment height accuracy within 6 to 12 inches of actual when executed correctly by a trained field crew. That sounds close — and it usually is. But a 9-inch error on a pole already loaded at 96% can push a loading result from passing to failing. For projects where pole loading analysis results will be tight, we supplement Katapult photogrammetry with direct measurement using a Sonin electronic distance tool or laser rangefinder on poles where the attachment heights are critical inputs. We flag any Katapult measurement with a confidence score below the platform's internal threshold for a secondary measurement — rather than shipping marginal data and hoping the loading analyst catches it.
A two-person aerial field survey crew covers approximately 1.2 to 2.1 miles of route per day in standard suburban plant — roughly 8 to 14 poles per hour depending on pole density, existing attacher complexity, and how much underground infrastructure needs verification. Dense urban routes with lots of existing attachers and traffic control requirements run slower. Rural routes with simple plant and good road access run faster. Underground-only routes take longer per mile than aerial because vault locating and conduit trace add time at each structure. We'll give you a project-specific estimate once we know the route type, pole density, and any site access constraints.
We deliver field survey data in Katapult-native format for direct import into O-Calc Pro, plus GIS-ready exports — GeoJSON, KMZ, Shapefile — for integration with your network design platform. Pole inventory data is delivered as structured spreadsheet data with standardized columns for class, species, height, condition rating, and all measured attachment heights. Photo documentation is GPS-tagged and organized by pole tag number. We can also export in IKE format or custom formats if your internal GIS or design workflow requires it. Most clients get the full dataset within 48 hours of QA completion for projects under 200 poles.
Yes — and honestly, that's sometimes easier than working from bad records. In areas with no records at all, we start from scratch: GPS trace of aerial strand, physical inventory of every pole, and 811 locates plus manual probing for underground. We've surveyed greenfield routes where the only prior record was a hand-drawn line on a 1987 county plat. The output is the same regardless — a field-verified dataset ready for design. What slows us down isn't the absence of records; it's having records that are partially wrong and need verification at every point rather than just at flagged discrepancies. No-record projects are actually sometimes faster because we're not cross-checking against existing data.
Yes. Underground field survey services include conduit trace using electromagnetic locating equipment, vault and handhole inventory with GPS coordinates and interior documentation, existing conduit diameter and fill verification, and discrepancy reporting where the located infrastructure doesn't match records. We flag every location where GIS shows conduit we can't physically locate, and every location where we find infrastructure that isn't in any record. Those flags go directly into the design notes. We coordinate 811 utility locates for you and walk the marked route before GPS capture — confirming locate accuracy before it goes into the dataset.
Directly and expensively. Pole loading analysis models are only as accurate as the input data they're built from. If the attachment heights are wrong, the calculated load distribution is wrong — a pole that should show 97% utilization might show 88%, and a pole that should fail might look like it passes. Those errors don't stay hidden; they show up when the utility's joint use department runs their own check during application review and rejects your submission. That rejection means revising the loading model, correcting the inputs, and resubmitting — adding weeks to the application timeline. We've seen projects where bad field data caused 18% of the loading analysis submissions to be rejected and resubmitted. That's not a rounding error in the project schedule. Read more about the relationship between field data and pole loading analysis with O-Calc Pro in our technical guide.
Draftech is active in 22 states and available to deploy OSP engineering and field services across all 50 U.S. states. Our highest-volume field service states include Florida, Texas, Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee — but we've fielded crews in Montana, Wyoming, Maine, and Hawaii as well. If your project is in an unfamiliar geography, we deploy with a lead crew member who has prior experience in the local utility environment. Utility make-ready processes, pole owner quirks, and ROW permit requirements vary a lot by state and sometimes by county; local knowledge makes a difference.
ARE YOU AN OSP FIELD SURVEY FIRM?
This page describes the service we deliver to clients. If you provide OSP field services — Katapult-trained crews, GPS strand mapping, pole inventory — and you're looking for a consistent subcontract pipeline, we have ongoing capacity needs in this discipline across 22 states.
Tell us your route miles, terrain type, and whether you're aerial, underground, or mixed. We'll scope the project — including a realistic per-mile cost estimate and crew timeline — within one business day. We've worked across all 50 U.S. states and know the local utility environments where our crews deploy. If there's something about the local pole owner process or ROW that will affect your field survey scope, we'll tell you upfront.
Contact Our Field Services TeamEmail directly: info@draftech.com — or call 305-306-7407. We reply within one business day.
SERVICE AREAS
Active in 22 states and deployable across all 50 U.S. states — including our highest-volume OSP field service markets:
View all service areas →Draftech International provides field survey services and make-ready engineering across all 50 U.S. states — serving ISPs, telephone co-ops, municipalities, and BEAD-funded subgrantees. Our GIS fiber network planning resources and OSP fielding cost per mile guide are available on our blog. Contact our engineering team to discuss your project scope.