Retail fueling environment having fiber optic data connectivity

A fueling environment comprising:

• a plurality of fuel dispensers spaced apart in a forecourt;
• backroom components in operative communication with the fuel dispensers to receive payment information from each of the dispensers and responsively provide transaction authorization information;
• each of the fuel dispensers having circuitry operative to control operation of one or more hydraulic components, receive the payment information from a card reader at the dispenser and pass it to the backroom components, and receive the transaction authorization from the backroom components;
• conduit under the forecourt in which electrical wiring is contained to power the fuel dispensers;
• communication interfaces are associated with the backroom components and respective of the fuel dispensers, the communication interfaces each comprising a fiber optic transceiver;
• and
• fiber optic cable located in the conduit with the electrical wiring, the fiber optic cable providing signal communication between the backroom components and the fuel dispensers,
• wherein the fiber optic cable is connected between the backroom components and the fuel dispensers in one of a star topology and a daisy chain topology.

A fueling environment comprising:

• a plurality of fuel dispensers spaced apart in a forecourt;
• backroom components in operative communication with the fuel dispensers to receive payment information from each of the dispensers and responsively provide transaction authorization information;
• each of the fuel dispensers having circuitry operative to control operation of one or more hydraulic components, receive the payment information from a card reader at the dispenser and pass it to the backroom components, and receive the transaction authorization from the backroom components;
• conduit under the forecourt in which electrical wiring is contained to power the fuel dispensers;
• communication interfaces are associated with the backroom components and respective of the fuel dispensers, the communication interfaces each comprising a fiber optic transceiver;
• and
• fiber optic cable located in the ground beneath the forecourt without a rigid conduit, the fiber optic cable providing signal communication between the backroom components and the fuel dispensers,
• wherein the fiber optic cable is connected between the backroom components and the fuel dispensers in one of a star topology and a daisy chain topology.