[oakwhiz]

Cables like this would have spare strands to be able to handle the situation in which a single strand was compromised by a break or pinhole, and possibly a different type of jacket on each strand to manage the stresses. If a section is badly damaged beyond the point of patchwork repair, then the only hope from that point is that the customers using the strands/wavelengths on the cable have an active alternate path while the whole section is dug up and replaced.