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After planning, engineering, field verification, and construction, it was finally time to help our client open for service! Success required seamless coordination across all aspects of our operations, from marketing strategies to customer installations.
Once we traversed the realms of planning, engineering, and field verification, we were ready to start construction. This was our biggest challenge. Construction was the moment where theory met reality, and we were determined to turn our vision into tangible infrastructure. However, the path ahead was riddled with obstacles and divergent opinions, particularly when it came to meeting the needs of the contractor community and ensuring swift progress.
The network lifecycle is a complex and interconnected process, with each step building upon the previous one. We've explored the planning and engineering phases, uncovering the challenges and strategies involved in our endeavor to support The West Coast Company (WCC) in their nationwide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) buildout. Now it's time to dive into field verification.
Welcome to part three of our blog series detailing the highs and lows of the network lifecycle. In the first installment, I shared my experiences supporting a nationwide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) buildout with the West Coast Company (WCC). While, in the second installment, I dove into the significance of strategic planning.
Welcome back to our blog series on the journey of building fiber networks from the ground up. In the first installment, I shared the whirlwind beginning of our endeavor to support The West Coast Company (WCC) in their nationwide fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) buildout. Today, we delve into a critical phase of the network lifecycle: planning.
For those of you that have been in the telecom industry for some time, the following story will more than likely resonate with your own experience. I was introduced to 3-GIS through one of its owners, Tom Counts, and was intrigued with the niche that they had built for themselves specifically in the fiber market.
As I approach my ten-year anniversary at 3-GIS I have spent some time reflecting on the journey. Many of you may not be aware of this, but I did not start my career supporting the Telecom industry. As a matter of fact, my first job was converting water and electric utility CAD and billing systems to GIS-enabled platforms. From there I worked on large Superfund remediation programs and permitting for trash incinerators which, strangely enough, led me to focus on transportation engineering and mining exploration. From there I had the honor of supporting our warfighters and intelligence communities by providing mapping and innovative GIS application solutions. While this career journey has been somewhat circuitous, I am truly thankful for the wisdom and experience that has been imparted to me along the way.
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I started my career supporting utilities and their GIS programs, specifically migrating their legacy CAD-based technologies to the latest in Esri-based GIS platforms. Interestingly, a successful migration was not necessarily predicated on a better user experience; but rather, success was measured by the vision and commitment of the customer to change. They knew, for instance, that user adoption would be a slow and painful process and that efficiencies gained would be measured by the operational impact, as opposed to the individual user experience. Enabling the larger organization with the data it needed to make clear and concise decisions was going to be critical in either maintaining a competitive advantage or, for the public utility, delivering quality services at an affordable price. While this change has not been easy, GIS-based technologies are now a critical component to most if not all utilities around the globe.