News and perspectives from the world of fiber optic networking

• Fiber network construction
• Fiber network design and automation
• Telecom technologies

Unleashing the power of configuration

Streamlined, efficient business operations is a top goal for telecom organizations around the world. Effective network management systems  fit your unique business environment and allow your team to get up and running quickly, reduce swivel-chair turns, eliminate bandaid workarounds, and decrease operational delays. The key to reaping these benefits? Using your configuration control to unleash the power of the application.

We sat down with Greg Connors, now Technical Product Manager at 3-GIS, but former Technical Lead at Level 3 Communications and longtime GIS specialist, to ask him about his experience with different systems with varying degrees of configurability. Check out what Greg has to say:

• Fiber network construction
• Fiber network design and automation
• Telecom technologies

Using automation to uplevel the accuracy & speed of network deployment

The increasing pace of developing new network technologies means that network providers, managers, and engineers need to document and manage new and complex information, but methods for meeting these needs have yet to be addressed in most existing network management systems. 3-GIS takes the next step in physical network management providing solutions that create and maintain high veracity OSP data that can be leveraged throughout the service providers’ business and operational ecosystems.

Article

• Esri
• Telecom technologies

Esri UC 2020: What we (verb)ed

Last week many of our team members attended the virtual Esri User Conference. In an effort to spread the wealth of knowledge, and frankly, to see how well everyone adjusted to an all virtual conference, we asked them to let us know about their experience at the sessions they attended and the conference as a whole. Check out a few of their favorite findings, remaining questions, and curiosities below:

Article

• Fiber network construction
• Fiber network design and automation

Five lessons learned in the permitting process

We’re running the risk of stating the obvious here -- reliable internet access is essential. We’ve all had the opportunity to learn this first hand throughout the COVID-19 pandemic shelter-in-place orders. If you’re a telecom engineering firm, you’ve likely felt the urgency to deploy even more fiber even faster because of the pressure being applied to current networks around the world.

But deploying a fiber network is complex and protracted. From planning to design to permitting, it can take what feels like an eternity just to make it to the construction phase. 

• Fiber network management
• Fiber network design and automation
• Telecom technologies

Enabling network deployment at velocity: GIS more than network mapping

The year was 1994 and at the time I had visions of saving the planet. I was determined to enter into an environmental profession and my Alma Mater had only one program that resonated, Environment Science and GIS. As I progressed through the program I learned to not only understand the meaning of GIS but also began to appreciate the power of the technology. After graduating, I worked with an environment engineering firm evaluating the efficacy of GIS technology for business providing utility services. It was the utility companies that were migrating networks consisting of water, gas and electric from CAD based solutions to GIS based solutions. 

Article

• Fiber network management
• Telecom technologies

Lift & shift to go remote

Communications service providers are seeking ways to increase their competitive edge and accelerate their digital transformation. Their IT managers are under pressure to raise the performance bar to higher speed and scale despite reductions in budget and siloed legacy systems. Recent studies have shown that 90% of companies worldwide are currently utilizing some type of cloud service. From data storage to CRM applications and project management tools, organizations have shifted many of their business operations to the cloud. But what about service providers’ network management?

Article

• Fiber network management
• Telecom technologies

Six pillars of a robust network management system: Part III

Network management systems and processes are broken, which is bad timing for an industry undergoing such tremendous transformation. Innovations that address scale, automation, and intelligence are emerging, but they must be implemented with the big picture in mind. This picture must include the essential and data-rich environment of the outside plant, and must be powered by a management system that is capable of facilitating the desired transformation and promoting increasingly efficient business operations. 

Article

• Fiber network management
• Telecom technologies

Six pillars of a robust network management system: Part II

Network management systems and processes are broken, which is bad timing for an industry undergoing such tremendous transformation. Innovations that address scale, automation, and intelligence are emerging, but they must be implemented with the big picture in mind. This picture must include the essential and data-rich environment of the outside plant, and must be powered by a management system that is capable of facilitating the desired transformation and promoting increasingly efficient business operations.