News and perspectives from the world of fiber optic networking

Article

• Fiber network construction
• Telecom technologies

Bringing fiber to the city: 200µm fiber and collapsible ribbon

This series is centered around technologies and methods being developed for network densification projects as communities across the world prepare for the 5G revolution. This push for higher speeds and lower latency has driven the creation and implementation of many new technologies and construction trends that will allow for easier deployment of fiber networks. The first trend we discussed was the use of micro-trenching in infrastructure construction. If you missed that post, you can read it here. This week, we’ll discuss the use of collapsible ribbon and 200µm cables.

Article

• Fiber network construction
• Fiber network design and automation

How to build a framework for changing your engineering workflow and adopting machine-prescribed designs

Simply put, change is hard. In a business environment with customer requirements for faster deployments and reduced costs, along with more complex technologies and hardened available staff, the path to change seems inconceivable.  Yet, survival requires change. 3-GIS | Prospector planning and design applications can deliver the change you desire, and will address speed, costs, complexity, and resource issues. To help you make the change, we are sharing the six steps we have learned from experience implementing a human-in-the-loop network engineering process that combines 3-GIS | Prospector with network design engineers.

Article

• Fiber network construction
• Fiber network management
• Fiber network design and automation

Eliminating the risks of bridging the digital divide

Winning an RDOF block in the upcoming auction is a priority for many co-ops and rural telecom providers right now. Building and expanding rural networks, however, can come with potential risks and questions for which these potential bid-winners are trying to plan. In an effort to erase rural connectivity concerns, 3-GIS offers software solutions that will help de-risk these companies' projects and eliminate the uncertainties behind bridging the digital divide.

Whitepaper

• Fiber network design and automation
• Telecom technologies

The impact of machine learning on fiber network engineering

Fabion Kauker, 3-GIS Product Architect, presents the results of his research in a paper awarded at the 2018 Human Computer Interaction International conference as the best paper of the Human Interface and the Management of Information thematic area. The research looks at the trade-offs between three approaches that can be developed for fiber network planning to interpret satellite imagery and determine the location of residences or businesses.

Article

• Fiber network construction

Bringing fiber to the city: micro-trenching

As the telecommunications industry moves to expand their fiber networks to meet the market's demand for increased bandwidth to provide higher speeds and lower latency, it has caused an increase in the use of micro-trenching in infrastructure construction. Two of the most common barriers to fiber deployment within a city usually revolve around construction cost and community disruption. In the past, city councils had few options for deploying fiber to the home outside of shutting down streets to dig up, on average, 30-by-30-inch trenches, causing, as you could imagine, much disruption and an increase in the budget.

Article

• Fiber network industry and markets

5G will only be as powerful as the fiber networks supporting it

What is expected

5G is the highly anticipated next generation of wireless service that will blow the doors off 4G in terms of bandwidth, data capacity and latency. It must be fiber first before 5G. Because of the nature of 5G, the difference in propagation of the networks that will be built on that 5G standard means that having a low and tight design for the array of cell sites, small cells, DAS, as well as FTTH is resulting in new and denser fiber plants as the foundation for supporting the architecture of the next-generation networks.

Article

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

Let technology power your rural broadband project success

If your organization wins an RDOF block, you will need to come up with a plan to build and manage your new network in a way that will maximize its return. Building large networks in rural areas is a big job with a lot of potential risks. Embracing technology, specifically fiber network management and design software, can help reduce the risk and bring efficiency to all phases of the new network. Here are some of the ways the right software can maximize the ROI for RDOF projects:

Article

• Fiber network industry and markets

Keeping up with the growing demand for fiber

The demand for data across the globe has been steadily gaining speed. According to a Cisco report, global internet traffic was 26,600 GB per second in 2016, compared to 2,000 GB per second in 2007. That trend is forecasted to continue. The networks that will deliver the bandwidth needed will be built with fiber. Fiber is the top choice for network cable for several reasons; its transmission is faster and has less signal loss than copper, and fiber optic cables are less likely to break. Signs of new fiber deployments can be seen all over the country as well as signs of significant growth from fiber manufacturers announcing large fiber orders in terms of footage.