u/CarXTech

Hey everyone,

I live in an older, hilly neighborhood in Vista, CA (North San Diego County) with notoriously bad cell service and utilities that are a hybrid of overhead poles and underground lines. For a long time, the AT&T availability site has strictly offered me "Internet Air" (5G Fixed Wireless), and legacy U-verse/DSL sales are frozen here.

However, over the last year and a half, I’ve tracked a massive multi-stage utility project on my ridge, and I’m trying to figure out if we are finally getting Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) or if this is just heavy maintenance on a dying copper network. Here is the exact timeline of what I've seen:

• January 2025: a couple AT&T trucks were working on the large neighborhood VRAD cabinet about 0.4 miles down the road from my house. (VRAD that services my home)
• May/June 2026: A fleet of 3 AT&T bucket trucks spent days working on the overhead lines along our street.
• August 2026 (Now): AT&T completely removed a slim, legacy cross-connect pedestal down the street (0.7 miles away) and replaced it with a much larger, wide-body green utility cabinet.

I just drove past the crew working on this brand-new wide cabinet while the doors were wide open. I didn't want to bother them, but looking inside, I saw a massive bundle of classic copper telephone wires. No obvious glowing glass tubes or neon fiber equipment.

Right at the end of my private driveway, I have a slim, black legacy AT&T copper stake (last used for an active line in 2015) that connects to an intact underground PVC conduit running straight up the hill to my house. Cox Cable is right next to it, but they had to drill a completely separate line years ago. My driveway hasn't been touched by this new crew.

For the telecom techs or experts here: Is it normal to see a massive bundle of copper inside a newly replaced wide-body cabinet during a fiber rollout (like a hybrid "simulcast/cut-over" phase to keep current lines active)? Or did AT&T just spend thousands of dollars on heavy construction, overhead lashing, and a brand-new cabinet layout just to patch up a failing copper grid?

Would love an honest reality check on what phase of construction my street is actually in and if I can expect that database to flip to Fiber soon!

(You can tell how sick I am of Cox Cable lol)

Hey everyone,

I live in an older, hilly neighborhood in Vista, CA (North San Diego County) with notoriously bad cell service and utilities that are a hybrid of overhead poles and underground lines. For a long time, the AT&T availability site has strictly offered me "Internet Air" (5G Fixed Wireless), and legacy U-verse/DSL sales are frozen here.

However, over the last year and a half, I’ve tracked a massive multi-stage utility project on my ridge, and I’m trying to figure out if we are finally getting Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) or if this is just heavy maintenance on a dying copper network. Here is the exact timeline of what I've seen:

• January 2025: a couple AT&T trucks were working on the large neighborhood VRAD cabinet about 0.4 miles down the road from my house. (VRAD that services my home)
• May/June 2026: A fleet of 3 AT&T bucket trucks spent days working on the overhead lines along our street.
• August 2026 (Now): AT&T completely removed a slim, legacy cross-connect pedestal down the street (0.7 miles away) and replaced it with a much larger, wide-body green utility cabinet.

I just drove past the crew working on this brand-new wide cabinet while the doors were wide open. I didn't want to bother them, but looking inside, I saw a massive bundle of classic copper telephone wires. No obvious glowing glass tubes or neon fiber equipment.

Right at the end of my private driveway, I have a slim, black legacy AT&T copper stake (last used for an active line in 2015) that connects to an intact underground PVC conduit running straight up the hill to my house. Cox Cable is right next to it, but they had to drill a completely separate line years ago. My driveway hasn't been touched by this new crew.

For the telecom techs or experts here: Is it normal to see a massive bundle of copper inside a newly replaced wide-body cabinet during a fiber rollout (like a hybrid "simulcast/cut-over" phase to keep current lines active)? Or did AT&T just spend thousands of dollars on heavy construction, overhead lashing, and a brand-new cabinet layout just to patch up a failing copper grid?

Would love an honest reality check on what phase of construction my street is actually in and if I can expect that database to flip to Fiber soon!

(You can tell how sick I am of Cox Cable lol)

Started Doxycycline on Feb 26th after I couldn't tolerate 30mg daily accutane. Results so far look great Im just worried that after my course is over the acne will come back.

Current routine

-Doxycycline 200mg daily

Morning

-Clindamycin

-Face Reality Hydroremedy

-Face Reality Clearderma

-Face Reality SPF 30

Night

-Clindamycin

-Tretinoin 0.5%

-Face Reality Hydroremedy

-Face Reality Clearderma

First photos taken 3/03/2026 Second photos taken 5/16/2026

Hey everyone,

I’m hoping to get some insight into whether the breakout on my upper body is actually fungal acne, or if I’m dealing with something else entirely.

The Background Context:

I am currently prescribed oral Doxycycline and topical Tretinoin 0.5%. Interestingly, this prescription routine completely cleared up my facial acne, but it hasn’t done a single thing to touch or improve this specific breakout on my shoulders, biceps, and arms.

My Current Routine:

Because the prescriptions weren't working on my arms, I decided to treat the area aggressively on my own. I have only been using this combination for a few days, but it already feels like it has completely stripped my skin:

Nizoral Shampoo (Ketoconazole) used as a body wash.

Benzoyl Peroxide topical treatment.

The Catch:

Using both of these potent active ingredients together has caused severe dryness and heavy flaking in just a short amount of time. However, I have noticed that this combination seems to be helping the inflamed bumps a little bit, which is making me hesitant to stop. Because of the intense surface irritation and dryness, the original shape and size of the bumps are now masked.

My Questions for the Sub:

Given that Doxycycline can sometimes trigger or worsen fungal acne by wiping out skin bacteria, do you think the oral antibiotic is what caused this upper-body breakout to flare up in the first place?

If you've used Nizoral and Benzoyl Peroxide together, is it normal to experience extreme dryness and flaking within just a few days, even if it seems to be calming the inflammation a bit?

Should I push through the dryness since it seems to be helping the bumps, or should I pause the actives and focus on barrier repair first to see what the underlying skin actually looks like?

Any advice on gentle, FA-safe moisturizers to combat this sudden dryness would be greatly appreciated!