Fiber Infrastructure

Fiber and Seismic Risk

2011-11-16T13:38:00.001-08:00

Risk assessment study:

Create aggregate exposure grids for the area to be studied based on the historical natural disaster (earthquake, mass movement, slump and debris flow, hurricane and flooding), fire, weather (hurricanes, hail, tornadoes and windstorms) and terror-related (terror-sensitive locations and exposure factors) events.
Field survey and determine potential routes through the grid
Create a comprehensive risk profile for each potential route
Determine the rankings for each path risk profile and allow that to drive the resulting diversity/traffic requirements for selected paths.

Fiber Optic Cable in Earthquake Zones

2011-10-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

Fiber Optic Cable in Earthquake Zones

Corning is unaware of any “earthquake proof” cables; making such a product is likely
impossible. Rather, Corning recommends these “best practices” to minimize the likelihood
of link damage and to speed restoration in the event of earthquakes.

Plan up to 10% slack storage, concentrating on critical junctures such as bridge and river crossings, aerial to underground transitions and ends of long runs (typically 1500-2000 ft aerially or direct buried, though somewhat longer in ducts).
Explicitly identify bending fulcrums and shear planes in engineered structures (e.g. buildings, bridges), routing cables to accommodate those movements. Store slack near these locations to facilitate restoration if necessary.
Favor redundant or quick fail-over protocols (e.g. SONET) for critical links.
Route protect or fail-over circuits completely separately from primary circuits (i.e. through separate cables and switching offices to the degree possible).

(Corning letter, 18 Jan 2011)

Pointer: Effect of earthquake motion on the mechanical reliability of optical cables

2011-10-20T11:50:00.000-07:00

Effect of earthquake motion on the mechanical reliability of optical cables

Proc. SPIE 1366, 334 (1991); doi:10.1117/12.24721

18 September 1990

Patrick W. Hart and Russ Tucker
Pacific Bell (USA)

Hakan H. Yuce, John P. Varachi, Jr., Casey J. Wieczorek, andAnthony DeVito
Bell Communications Research (USA)

Fiber Path Risk Assessment

2011-10-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Fiber Path Risk Assessment

Risk assessment study:

Create aggregate exposure grids for the area to be studied based on:

historical natural disaster (earthquake, mass movement, slump and debris flow, hurricane and flooding),
fire,
weather (hurricanes, hail, tornadoes and windstorms) and
terror-related (terror-sensitive locations and exposure factors) events.

Field survey and determine potential routes through the grid
Create a comprehensive risk profile for each potential route
Determine the rankings for each path risk profile and allow that to drive the resulting diversity/traffic requirements for selected paths.

Corning Unveils Lower-Loss Fiber

2011-03-15T21:05:00.000-07:00

Excerpt:

next generation of its LEAF non-zero dispersion shifted fiber. The new version is optimized for longhaul applications, with an attenuation specification at $0.19db/km at 1550nm. That corresponds to a 3dB per 100km over other NZ-DSF products, and means this new generation will be able to achieve longer transmission distances. It will also make it easier to upgrade to 40Gbps and of course 100Gbps technologies.

Corning Aerial and Underground Fiber in Australia

2011-01-17T09:54:00.000-08:00

From the Corning PR blurb:

FlexNAP™ terminal distribution system with RPX™ ribbon cable for aerial installations and ALTOS® ribbon cable featuring the industry’s best performing enhanced low-loss ITU-T G.652.D compliant SMF-28e+® LL fiber for underground installations

Kinber - Pennsylvania Statewide Fiber Optic Network

2011-01-05T07:28:00.000-08:00

Kinber selects Quanta/Sunesys to design/install a statewide 1600mile fibre optic network in Pennsylvania. $118.5m

GIS, Google Maps, Ubisense

2010-12-03T11:09:00.000-08:00

GIS, Google Maps, Ubisense
possibly of use with fiber cable path maps

F3X Optical Network Fiber Fault Finder Gun

2010-11-03T14:34:00.001-07:00

F3X Optical Network Fiber Fault Finder Gun <-wonder if this works

Survey of global data & voice submarine cable #infrastructure http://bit.ly/9fSxlO

2010-04-26T15:16:00.001-07:00

Survey of global data & voice submarine cable infrastructure

US fiber longhaul network maps

2010-04-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

US fiber longhaul network maps

Draka SLIM bend-insensitive OM3/4 multimode fiber for datacenters

2010-04-12T18:50:00.000-07:00

Draka SLIM bend-insensitive OM3/4 multimode fiber; small form factor; multi-fiber dense push-on MPO

Revised TIA-942 to recommend specific optical connectors

2010-04-07T15:28:00.000-07:00

Revised TIA-942, TIA-942A, likely to recommend

LC & MPO for MM fiber at equipment outlet (EO) & external network interface (ENI);
LC & MPO for SM at EO;
Angled LC for SM at ENI

Interoute fiber to Istanbul

2010-04-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

Interoute fiber to Istanbul | Telecom Ramblings
minimum 3 ducts, 48 pairs
infrastructure
dark fiber

Fiber cable online installation training

2010-04-02T11:30:00.000-07:00

Fiber cable online installation training - Cabling Installation & Maintenance

Lightwave: Is Active Ethernet best FTTH option for Google?

2010-02-28T17:33:00.000-08:00

Is Active Ethernet best FTTH [fiber to the home] option for Google?

Solution to Rodents Chewing Aerial Fiber?

2010-02-19T09:50:00.000-08:00

Possible solution for squirrels chewing the aerial fiber cable in the coastal hills, based on utility company recommendations--Chew Guard

Here's a cable outer sheath http://bit.ly/9DIlHL

Google Not a CLEC?

2010-02-16T14:50:00.000-08:00

Google doesn't show up as a CLEC in FCC CLEC Search.

Does this mean they don't own the dark fiber, but are IRU leasing?

Did Google buy dark fiber or get the much more available IRUs?

2010-02-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

Did Google buy dark fiber or get the much more available IRUs? (This article doesn't say and others don't either.) Even Telecom Ramblings doesn't have an opinion, so maybe it doesn't matter.

One comment on the Telecom Ramblings blog mentions that Enron used to do derivatives trading on IRUs.

Google FTTH Forcing Routed and Optical Networks to Commodity Components?

2010-02-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

Eve Griliches, managing partner, ACG Research, blogged that Google’s [FTTH] plan -- and its typical mode of operation -- could spell disaster for Western system vendors. “Google has already built a commodity LAN network out of components. While the routed and optical (WAN) networks are still system based, it's not the love that binds this arrangement,” she wrote. “Access equipment is notoriously margin dry, and who else to bring FTTH, but the king of commodity itself; Huawei.”

Griliches believes the main impediment to Huawei in the U.S. market so far has been security concerns, particularly on networks that carry a lot of government traffic. Google’s network would have no such limitations, which would enable it to take advantage of what Griliches surmises would be a very attractive technology price tag from the Chinese equipment vendor.

“If Google were to succeed, it would force all the other operators to examine exactly how they could reduce the cost of their networks to be on par. And how would they dramatically reduce the cost of their networks? By buying Huawei equipment as well! The next thing we'll know is that we'll have networks we work and surf on, which will ultimately be a composite of Chinese components exactly like our kitchen appliances are today,” she wrote.

Expected cost to Google for fiber (FTTH) project

2010-02-11T09:32:00.000-08:00

Interesting analysis and comments on expected cost to Google for fiber (FTTH) project

Equipment huts

2009-09-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

If we end up getting NTIA ARRA funds for broadband deployment in California, we may need as many as 16 equipment huts. I'll keep track of some of our research here.

Prior Experience
We already have experience with Thermo Bond, based on a Palm Desert, CA installation.

Requirements

Space
Climate
Site Requirements

Fiber construction per day

2009-08-05T13:48:00.000-07:00

Now that most poles have been set and anchors, strand, and make ready are well underway, average fiber installation per day is expected to be 5,000 feet

How Many 11U Nortel 5200 Fit in a 42U Rack?

2009-08-04T10:26:00.000-07:00

AT&T field tech at site S says that only one Nortel 5200, 11U, fits in a 42U rack. This seems weird, so we're going to raise it with the AT&T account team.

Unfortunately (for us) the rack is a non-AT&T rack and each AT&T tech is a king in his own domain, so there may be no recourse. At a minimum we need to find out how equipment in the rack is distributed, which may require a site visit (barf).

Update:

site provides redundant DC, so no battery
I'll add a photo (taken by AT&T tech, so don't blame me for quality)

Hand Dug Poles: Rate of Placement

2009-07-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

One crew can place 2 hand dug poles/day under good conditions

NTIA ARRA Infrastructure Estimates

2009-07-15T09:25:00.001-07:00

Estimated costs of diverse service entrance: $10K, 30A breaker: $2K; Exhaust blower in IDF: $5K

Update: this turns out not to be diverse. The $10K estimate is based on using existing duct.

Using Google Maps to Estimate Distances Along Roads

2009-04-24T11:29:00.000-07:00

The "My Maps" personal maps feature of Google Maps can be used to estimate distances along roads. Here's the discussion from a recent blog post.

We've also added a new tool that lets you draw lines along a road to get from point to point. This is accessed via a drop-down menu in the line tool by clicking and holding briefly anywhere on the button.

The tool calculates the best driving route between your line's vertices and automatically snaps your line to the appropriate road.

Who owns the project?

2009-04-21T13:42:00.000-07:00

It seems obvious to me that when we deliver a service under contract to the IT organization, that the project is owned by the customer's IT organization. At a site where we're trying to put in a diverse fiber path, however, there's contention at the customer site whether IT or Facilities owns the project.

We deal with an intermediary group at the customer's corporate level that is supposed to intercede in this sort of stuff and get to a (rational) decision, but it hasn't happened.

Net result is that the project start date is delayed. Again.

Next step is to have Yet Another Conference Call to make sure that we're not missing some underlying context and to try to move the corporate office ot get IT to take responsibility.

If that doesn't work, maybe we can get the customer site CIO to make the decision.

Map of US Business and Industrial Sectors with Fiber Optic Links

2009-04-10T16:41:00.000-07:00

Ran across a Washington Post article via Larry Dignan, Sam Diaz, Tom Steinert-Threlkeld about
Sean Gorman. "[T]his George Mason University graduate student has mapped every business and industrial sector in the American economy, layering on top the fiber-optic network that connects them."

The Revenge of Distance: Vulnerability Analysis of Critical Information Infrastructure (PDF) by Sean P. Gorman, Laurie Schintler, Raj Kulkarni, and Roger Stough is a related paper. Here's an extract:

This paper will focus on computer data networks and the spatial implications of their susceptibility to targeted attacks. Utilizing a database of national data carriers, simulations will be run to determine the repercussions of targeted attacks and what the relative merits of different methods of identifying critical nodes are.

Analysis of Cisco Study on Bandwidth and Latency for 42 Countries

2009-04-02T09:15:00.000-07:00

Useful analysis by Yankee Group's Benoit Felten of Cisco's study (PDF of press release) on bandwidth and latency for 42 countries, including all of the OECD countries, in the context of current and future application requirements.

Oxford's Said School page on the topic. And a 7 MB PDF of a presentation on the findings.

Aerial Fiber Optic Build: Pole Sticking

2009-03-31T17:54:00.000-07:00

Pole sticking means to actually go to each pole and use a measuring stick to field measure the height of each attachment on the pole and the midspan heights of the cables.

A digital survey sheet is then put together for each pole documenting the existing conditions.

Delayed fiber optic network build probably further delayed by...bike race.

2009-01-29T13:52:00.001-08:00

No plates on road along race path.

Active Optical Cables

2008-12-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

Pointers taken from Lightwave, Dec 08, p25

Link distance:
< 10m Copper
10-20m 4 wavelength 10GBase-LX4 or serial 10GBase-LRM
20-100m Active optical cabling

Some vendor blurbs:
Zarlink's ZL60615 ZLynx is a fully integrated electrical-optical-electrical (EOE) cable assembly designed for interconnecting enterprise data centers and high-performance computer clusters. The optical cable delivers significant weight, flexibility and reach advantages versus copper-based cables, providing system installers with reduced installation times and improved airflow management while eliminating weight-related layout concerns.

Avago's four-channel, pluggable, parallel-fiber-optics transceiver is a high performance fiber optics module for short-range parallel multi-lane data communication and interconnect applications. This 4-channel device is capable of 10 Gbps per channel, 40 Gbps aggregate operation, and backward compatible to 5G and 2.5G per channel. The module is designed to operate over multimode fiber systems using a nominal wavelength of 850 nm. The electrical interface uses a 38 contact edge type connector. The optical interface uses an MTP® (MPO) 1x12 ribbon cable connector.

Finisar: Quadwire™ is a 40Gb/s parallel active optical cable for storage, data, and high-performance computing connectivity. It transmits error-free parallel 4x10Gb/s data over a multimode fiber (MMF) ribbon cable. Based on Finisar's vertically integrated VCSEL array technology and designed with QSFP MSA-compliant high-density connectors, these new cables are compact, lightweight, and low power. Quadwire is ideally suited for datacenter reaches up to 100m for InfiniBand QDR, 40G Ethernet, and other datacom and high-performance computing applications

Luxtera Blazar (LUX5010) is a monolithic optoelectronic Optical Active Cable assembly containing four complete fiber optic transceivers per end, each operating at data rates from 1 to 10.5 Gbps and supporting a reach up to 300 meters. This integrated cable solution provides low cost reliable transport for aggregated data rates up to 40 Gbps (4X10 Gbps). Blazar offers customers the flexibility of traditional optical modules by interfacing mechanically to systems via a standard QSFP MSA form factor. The cable is electrically compliant with the SFP+ interface supporting InfiniBand, Ethernet, Fibre Channel and other applications.

Intel claims quantum leap in fiber-optic detectors

2008-12-10T10:06:00.000-08:00

"Intel claims to have found a way to create photodetectors using cheap silicon doped with a small layer of the element germanium, drastically reducing cost.
... devices that are probably an order or two in magnitude lower in cost....
In addition to lowering cost, Intel's new photodetectors have the advantage of being more sensitive, which may further reduce the price of fiber-optic communications.... they can transmit over a longer distance, or over the same distance with lower-power lasers"

Nova Scotia Fiber Connecting 6 Municipalities

2008-12-06T07:43:00.000-08:00

Short twitter exchange with @bashley about fiber in Nova Scotia:

48 strands of dark fiber, 100 kilometers long. 6 municipal partners. Dec 4, 2008 08:54 PM GMT

dielectric fibre cable. “Loose Tube” Single Mode fibre design with attenuation not exceeding -0.25 dB/Km. http://tinyurl.com/5rsvcg Dec 5, 2008 07:18 PM GMT

72 strands. 186 km, it follows Highway 1, connecting Halifax with Middleton, NS. Outsourced. Dec 5, 2008 07:44 PM GMT

Datacenter Seismic Criteria

2008-12-03T14:23:00.000-08:00

Some seismic criteria by which one can evaluate a datacenter:

building type
construction type
soil profile type
Cv = velocity dependent seismic coefficient
Ca = acceleration dependent seismic coefficient
seismic source type
seismic important factor
seismic zone

Some classifications of earthquakes, section 4-7.

Sample seismic evaluation for a building.

SEAOC Structural Engineers Association of California Blue Book

International Seismic Application Technology Design Manual provides guidelines for the effective design and installation of seismic restraint systems for suspended utilities, including:
• Electrical Conduit
• Electrical Cable Trays and Bus Duct

Construction Cost Estimates

2008-11-08T11:15:00.000-08:00

Update on construction costs based on a recent (Oct, 2008) estimate for Northern California for a 1" fiber optic cable where aerial infrastructure (poles) are already in place:
Aerial                                       $3.30/ft
Light Underground                    $38.93/ft
-trench or bore
Heavy Underground                  $72.93/ft
--backhoe asphalt

Aerial                                      $3/ft.
Open Trench                            $10/ft.
Rockwheel (24" depth)            $28/ft. (saw cut method, but at twice the depth of micro trenching)
Boring                                      $35/ft. minimum to $70/ft or more, depending on soil/rock composition
Microtrenching (12" depth)     $21/foot for micro trenching in urban areas.

Microtrenching issues:
--CalTrans operational and road maintenance practices, particularly in rural environments, is that frequent road surface patching is the rule, and that maintenance staff won't take the time/effort to "work around" the micro trenched, unprotected cable at only a 12" depth.
--no way that splices could/would be added to repair severed segments where
the pathway, and thus the splice case itself, would have to be in the roadway.

Fiber Optic Polish Considerations

2008-10-02T21:39:00.000-07:00

Some of our recent connections have been hand polished, resulting in less than satisfactory reflectance and loss. Corning documentation covers this at a high level, referencing Telecordia GR-326.

Our preferred method is to attach a pigtail with a factory pre-installed connector by means of a fusion splice.

Avoiding environmental issues on a 54 mile aerial/trench dark fiber build

2008-10-02T09:59:00.000-07:00

We've got a fairly long, 54+ miles, dark fiber build involving both aerial and underground, some of which is going to be a problem until work commences soon, since one of the jurisdictions invokes a building moratorium because of endangered wildlife and erosion concerns.

We asked the sub contractor last week for an idea of the minimum area that's needed to build, assuming permits were available, in order to have the upcoming restriction not be a problem. No answer so far and the next status call is tomorrow.

CEQA and NPC: Dark Fiber Construction

2008-09-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

Understanding the relation of CEQA to NPC seems to have become important to current projects lately. The specific case is a multi-mile construction project in California for a dark fiber path passing close to environmentally sensitive areas. This is just an anchor for whatever I find on this.

Glossary
NPC (Notice of Proposed Construction)

References
PUC General Orders, Codes, Laws, Policies, Rules of Practice & Procedure
CPUC General Order 131-D. RULES RELATING TO THE PLANNING AND CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRIC GENERATION, TRANSMISSION/POWER/DISTRIBUTION LINE FACILITIES AND SUBSTATIONS LOCATED IN CALIFORNIA. Section XI "Notice."
Slides from seminar on Introduction to CEQA and NEPA

CPUC Rulemaking 06-10-006"Order Instituting Rulemaking on the Commission's own motion into the application of the California Environmental Quality Act to applications of jurisdictional telecommunications utilities for authority to offer service and construct facilities."

CPUC Rulemaking 06-10-006 C. Statutory or Categorical Exemption"In D.04-04-014, we found that the installation of optical fiber and related telecommunications equipment on existing utility structures by third-party telecommunications providers is categorically exempt from environmental review under Section 15301 of the CEQA Guidelines.[footnote 55]
[contents of footnote 55] D.04-04-014, Opinion Granting Pacific Gas and Electric Company's Petition for Modification of Decision 03-05-077, In the Matter of the Application of Pacific Gas and Electric Company (U 39 E) for Commission Approval for Irrevocable Lease for Metromedia Fiber Network Services, Inc. to User Fiber Optic Cable on Certain PG&E Transmission Facilities Under Terms of an Optic Fiber Installation and IRU Agreement, 2004 Cal. PUC LEXIS 142.

Also: The exemption granted in D.04-04-014 appeared to contemplate activities that would have no significant environmental impact, such as installing fiber optic cable on existing electric utility structures. Here, in addition to the installation of aerial facilities in electric utility structures, the Project includes 2.3 miles of trenching or boring. Therefore, the Project involved alterations of existing facilities that were not minor, and that involved physical expansion, beyond the previously existing facility use that was not negligible, and that could potentially cause environmental impacts. In addition, there is no evidence that the Project was reviewed by another agency or in another forum. Therefore, a CEQA review of the entire Project was required.10

[footnote 10: Once a CEQA review is triggered, potential impacts of the entire Project must be evaluated, even if some of the construction activities may be exempt. See, e.g., CEQA Guidelines § 15378.]

Current PUC decisions are supposed to be hosted by Webjungle, but the link redirects to a "for construction" website.

Pursuant to GO 131-D, electric transmission...projects under 50kV do not require Commission approval.41
[footnote 41: We relied on the following reasoning in our conclusion that lines under 50 kV are exempt from our active regulation, and therefore, do not require a CPCN or permit from the Commission for construction of or modification to these lines: "1. Distribution lines are almost always located on public and private rights of way as needed to supply all qualifying requests for electric service. In most cases, only one route is possible and only one type of construction is feasible. 2. At this time, there are no significant problems or concerns in the construction of these distribution facilities that would justify the extent of regulation set forth in GO 131-D for 50- to 200-kV power lines. 3. Distribution line extensions number into the thousands every year. Meeting GO 131-D requirements would add a large administrative burden and excessive cost for all parties involved. 4. Service requests have short lead times, generally only a few weeks. Delaying construction of the needed distribution facilities would cause major inconvenience and financial loss to those awaiting service." (D.94-06-014, 1994 Cal. PUC LEXIS, *25-*26.)]

Day to day on building a fiber optic submarine cable

2008-05-05T10:48:00.000-07:00

CAnet-news reports that PIPE Networks, who are building a cable from Sydney to Guam and
interconnecting there with VSNL (the TYCO Guam-Japan spur) have set up a
blog covering various aspects of the build.

- a daily blog

- Progress table

- Discussion Forum

- Photo and video gallery

The site has an RSS feed.

Managing Connections to Points of Presence

2008-02-27T09:30:00.000-08:00

It's turning out to be a much bigger problem than I had expected on how to manage:
--long lines supplier point of presence (POP) vault/manhole/handhole to another contractor's lateral termination POP
--contractor's lateral termination POP to a site

This is turning out to be a big problem when any of the terminations is in a railroad right of way (ROW) where the POP is underground and only marked with an above ground marker.

In one "interesting," current case the lateral contractor was fishing for the long lines supplier's vault in the railroad ROW, probing up to 18 feet deep in a bunch of places and not finding it. Then the field guys somehow found the vault, but it was thought to be in the public ROW, off the railroad ROW. Now today it's claimed by the long lines people to be in the railroad ROW after all.

One would think that some entity would know the exact location of each POP, but it's turning out that the exact locations are unclear, leading to a lot of unanticipated expense in time and effort.

Lightwave Blog for Fiber Optics Technology & Manufacturing: Markets, Products & News: Meghan's Top Trends to Watch in 2008

2007-12-27T08:15:00.000-08:00

Lightwave Blog for Fiber Optics Technology & Manufacturing: Markets, Products & News: Meghan's Top Trends to Watch in 2008: "Meghan's Top Trends to Watch in 2008"

• Packet optical network platforms (PONPs)

• Silicon photonics

• The North American cable multiple-systems operators (MSOs):
-- "RFOG" (RF over Glass)

• The European FTTH market ... (See Kurt Ruderman's editorial, "Solving the infrastructure puzzle," in the Q4 2007 issue of Lightwave Europe.)

• Consolidation

Guidelines for LEAF versus SMF-28

2007-10-11T09:42:00.000-07:00

LEAF on any route that is:

potentially a backbone "extension" and/or
over ~ 25 miles, and/or
a candidate for 10GE + service.

The way optical technology is evolving, these rules may be less relevant than formerly, but the general idea is that SMF is optimized for 1300 nm waves and LEAF for 1550.

Or to be more practical: The standard for SMF fiber is 0.30 dB/Km; for LEAF it's 0.25 dB/Km.

LEAF is designed to minimize dispersion around 1550 nm. Dispersion, since it's cumulative between regeneration points only matters on long haul routes -- perhaps 200 - 300 miles. For those, LEAF is essential.

AboveNet expands fiber network into CRG's Bay Area data center

2007-09-11T13:52:00.000-07:00

Lightwave: "AboveNet expands fiber network into CRG's Bay Area data center
SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 — AboveNet Inc. added fiber connectivity to the Valley Exchange CRG West data center, an 80,000-sq.ft. facility recently constructed in Milpitas, CA.

AboveNet will establish a point of presence at Valley Exchange for diverse fiber service to the San Francisco Bay Area and other metropolitan regions. Network connectivity for CRG customers will extend to Market Post Tower (San Jose), and other metro sites through AboveNet's expansion, says Jameson Agraz, VP, CRG West.

The data center at Milpitas enables content-delivery networks, managed service providers, and hosting companies access to up to 200 W/sq.ft. managed power..."

Quanta Services Inc (PWR) and Infrasource/Sunesys

2007-09-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

Quanta Services Inc (PWR) Key Developments | Stocks | Reuters.com: "Quanta Services, Inc. Completes Acquisition Of InfraSource Services, Inc. Thu Aug 30 22:04:00 EDT 2007"

affects dark fiber supply in 50 states

Lightwave - Tyco nabs SEACOM contract

2007-07-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Lightwave - Tyco nabs SEACOM contract: "SEACOM Ltd. has awarded the SEA Cable System supply contract to Tyco Telecommunications (search for Tyco Telecommunications), business unit of Tyco Electronics. The 13,000-km project will involve the construction of an undersea fiber-optic network providing high-capacity bandwidth connectivity between South Africa, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, India, the Middle East, and Europe.

SEACOM says it will complement communication carriers of South and East Africa through the sale of wholesale international capacity to global networks eastward through India and westward through the Mediterranean. The system will provide African retail carriers with equal and open access to inexpensive bandwidth, removing the international infrastructure bottleneck and supporting East and South African economic growth. SEACOM, a privately funded submarine fiber-optic cable system, intends to launch services the first half of 2009."

University of Illinois deploys ADVA FSP 3000RE

2007-07-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

Lightwave - University of Illinois deploys ADVA FSP 3000RE: "the University of Illinois has deployed the ADVA Fiber Service Platform (FSP) 3000RE to expand both its intercampus data network and the networks of its three main campuses in Chicago, Springfield, and Urbana-Champaign."

JANET delivers Europe's first 40-Gbit/sec wavelength service

2007-07-09T13:46:00.000-07:00

Lightwave - JANET delivers Europe's first 40-Gbit/sec wavelength service: "Ciena Corp. (search for Ciena) today announced that JANET has successfully delivered its first 40-Gbit/sec service in a production environment across JANET, the UK's national research and education network, using the new 40-Gbit/sec capabilities of Ciena's CoreStream Agility Optical Transport System (search for CoreStream). According to Ciena, this is the first time that a national research and education network (NREN) in Europe has deployed a true 40-Gbit/sec signal across a single optical wavelength to carry live production traffic between sites.

The Ciena-enabled 40-Gbit/sec service was delivered across a dedicated optical fiber link connecting the Canary Wharf and Kings Cross points of presence (PoP) in London, one of the busiest parts of the JANET network."

i/o Eliminates Cross Connect Fees

2007-05-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

i/o Eliminates Cross Connect Fees - Data Center Knowledge: "i/o Data Centers will eliminate cross connect fees for colocation customers, the company said this week. Phoenix-based i/o, which is in the process of completing a data center in Scottsdale, is planning to operate more than 1 million square feet of premium data center space in up to 10 markets."

Lightwave - Internet2 FiberCo, Ciena announce partnership for R&E Networking

2007-05-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Lightwave - Internet2 FiberCo, Ciena announce partnership for R&E Networking: "Internet2 FiberCo, a fiber holding company formed to support dark fiber initiatives for U.S. research and higher education, and Ciena Corp. today announced that the companies have teamed to provide a suite of customized professional services and optical networking equipment to assist Internet2 members with planning, installing, and managing their advanced network infrastructures."

Digest of Abuse (SPAM, Bots) by Support Intelligence

2007-05-01T09:25:00.000-07:00

Support Intelligence: "the Digest of Abuse Report - or DOA Report for short.

The Digest has two parts:

1) A summary list of new abuse broken down by Autonomous System
2) Individual notifications to AS operators about abuse on their networks"

Lightwave - PacketFront enhances luxury California condos with FTTH technology

2007-04-30T19:50:00.000-07:00

Lightwave - PacketFront enhances luxury California condos with FTTH technology: "Digital Streets, a California-based services company that provides enhanced television, telephone, Internet, and community portal services over state-of-the-art networks to residential communities, has deployed a fiber-to-the-home (search for FTTH) network using PacketFront (search for PacketFront) technology and expertise.

The network spans the prominent Plaza Irvine project in Southern California,"

17-member consortium to build fibre optic link to the United States

2007-04-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

17-member consortium to build fibre optic link to the United States: "A multinational consortium will build the first high-bandwidth optical fibre submarine cable system linking Southeast Asia and the United States at a cost of 500 million US dollars, a member said Friday.

Singapore telecom operator StarHub, which is part of the 17-member group, said the system, called the Asia-America Gateway (AAG), is expected to be operational in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Spanning 20,000 kilometres (12,400 miles), the cable system will connect Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and the US West Coast, StarHub said in a statement.
...
The new cable system will provide a capacity of up to 1.92 terabits per second of data bandwidth"

Route reported as:
Malaysia to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Guam, Hawaii and the US. Branches will also connect Singapore, Thailand, Brunei and Vietnam.

Lightwave - USC students reap benefits of HD video link

2007-04-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Lightwave - USC students reap benefits of HD video link: "USC’s School of Cinematic Arts recently selected MRV Communications’ (www.mrv.com) optical digital transport technology to light its existing dark fiber network between the main School of Cinematic Arts complex and the off-campus Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, a distance of approximately one fiber-mile."

Report: Fiber connections spotty in U.S.

2007-04-06T10:47:00.000-07:00

Report: Fiber connections spotty in U.S.:
Vertical Systems said that in 2006, 13.4% of U.S. buildings housing businesses with 20 or more employees had fiber access to network services. That's an increase over 11.7% in 2005 and 10.2% in 2003, the first year Vertical Systems started its analysis.
...
A single fiber connection at 10Mbit/sec. can cost less than $2,000 per month, she said.

Cisco 15454 Physical Characteristics

2007-03-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

System Specifications

Parameter	Specification
Physical dimensions	ANSI shelf assembly: · 19- or 23-in. EIA rack-mounting · H x W x D: : 18.5 x 17.6 x 12.0 in. (470 x 445 x 305 mm) ETSI shelf assembly: · ETSI and 19-in. rack-mounting · H x W x D: 24.3 x 17.5 x 11.0 in. (616.5 x 445 x 280 mm)
Power	Dual power input terminal block, voltage monitored with threshold crossing alarms (TCAs) Voltage: · -48 VDC nominal · -40.5 to -56.7 operating range Current: · 5 amps minimum · 22 amps maximum @ nominal voltage1
Weight	ANSI: · 55 to 80 lb (25 to 36.3 kg) ETSI: · 80 to 110 lb (36.2 to 49.8 kg)

. Maximum current draw based upon shipping system configuration, not equipment design limits.

Polarization mode dispersion in optical fibers

2007-03-19T09:07:00.000-07:00

Anchor for info on polarization mode dispersion in optical fibers.

What is optical birefringence? Birefringence is formally defined as the double refraction of light in a transparent, molecularly ordered material, which is manifested by the existence of orientation-dependent differences in refractive index.

PMD (or average DGD) is caused by the differential arrival time of the different polarization modes (horizontal and vertical) transmitted into a fiber caused by its birefringence. PMD broadens transmission pulse and is critical for high bit rate transmission.

PMD effects are linear electromagnetic propagation phenomenaoccurring in so-called "single-mode" fibers. Despite their name,these fibers support two modes of propagation distinguished bytheir polarization. Because of optical birefringence in the fiber,the two modes travel with different group velocities, and therandom change of this birefringence along the fiber length resultsin random coupling between the modes. With current practical transmissiontechnology the resulting PMD phenomena lead to pulse distortionand system impairments that limit the transmission capacity ofthe fiber.

CAIDA : projects : commons

2007-03-16T15:14:00.000-07:00

CAIDA : projects : commons: "CAIDA proposes a collaboration to simultaneously solve three acute and growing problems facing the Internet: a self-reported financial crisis in the Internet infrastructure provider industry; a data acquisition crisis which has severely stunted the field of network science; and a struggle for survival within emerging community and municipal networks, who are in an ideal position to address the first two problems but often lack resources and experience to make informed operational decisions, and are also continually threatened by incumbent-driven legislation."

Gordon Cook on NLR and Internet2

2007-03-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

Cook’s Collaborative Edge » Blog Archive » Why the NLR - Internet 2 Merger Talks Are on Again - Stakes Are Extremely High:
Gordon Cook on National Lamda Rail (NLR) and Internet2

Will Whitted and Google's Prototype Data Center in a Box

2007-01-13T14:17:00.000-08:00

One of the ideas he championed was to build portable data centers in cargo containers, a project Google tested in its headquarters parking lot. But managers were too timid to pack in enough servers, so the experiment was not cost-effective and was ultimately canceled, he said.

"Instead of inspiration-based design, it became fear-based design," [Will] Whitted said.

Google Data Center in a Box (Cargo Container)

2007-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

Robert Cringely, 17 Nov 05--"...So why buy-up all that fiber, then?

The probable answer lies in one of Google's underground parking garages in Mountain View. There, in a secret area off-limits even to regular GoogleFolk, is a shipping container. But it isn't just any shipping container. This shipping container is a prototype data center. Google hired a pair of very bright industrial designers to figure out how to cram the greatest number of CPUs, the most storage, memory and power support into a 20- or 40-foot box. We're talking about 5000 Opteron processors and 3.5 petabytes of disk storage that can be dropped-off overnight by a tractor-trailer rig. The idea is to plant one of these puppies anywhere Google owns access to fiber, basically turning the entire Internet into a giant processing and storage grid.

While Google could put these containers anywhere, it makes the most sense to place them at Internet peering points, of which there are about 300 worldwide.

Two years ago Google had one data center. Today they are reported to have 64. Two years from now, they will have 300-plus. The advantage to having so many data centers goes beyond simple redundancy and fault tolerance. They get Google closer to users, reducing latency. They offer inter-datacenter communication and load-balancing using that no-longer-dark fiber Google owns. But most especially, they offer super-high bandwidth connections at all peering ISPs at little or no incremental cost to Google."

Siemens tests 100% electrical processing of data at rates of 107 Gb/s

2006-12-21T12:57:00.000-08:00

Siemens announced [22 Dec 06] that its researchers set a record for the electric transmission of data over a single fiber-optic cable, achieving rates of 107 Gb/s.

Siemens said in a statement that the test involved the 100 percent electrical processing of data rates of 107 Gb/s -- roughly the equivalent of two full DVDs per second -- and its transmission over a 100-mile-long fiber-optic route in the US -- the first time this has ever been done outside the laboratory. The testing was done in partnership with Micram Microelectronic of Bochum, Germany, Berlin's Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications and Eindhoven Technical University of The Netherlands.

Siemens said it has developed a transmission and receiving system that processes the data by purely electrical means directly before and after its conversion into optical signals. The test, which Siemens said was 2.5 times faster than the previous transmission record, was conducted using the long-haul network at a large optical network operator, where Siemens previously deployed a 40 Gb/s optical network for commercial use.

The increasing number of Internet users wanting to download online games, music and video is pushing technology companies to increase network bandwidth and speed. Market researchers estimate that by 2011 legal music downloads alone will account for 36 percent of the entire music business in Europe.

"In the spring of 2006 we demonstrated the system with a fully electric receiver," said Rainer H. Derksen, project coordinator at Siemens Corporate Technology in Munich. "At that time we were still using optical multiplexing in the transmitter. Now we've designed a complete system with 100 percent electrical processing of the data in both the receiver and the transmitter."

NASA and Google at Ames

2006-12-20T13:23:00.000-08:00

NASA and Google have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that outlines plans for cooperation on a variety of areas, including large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, bio-info-nano convergence, and encouragement of the entrepreneurial space industry. The MOU also highlights plans for Google to develop up to 1 million square feet within the NASA Research Park at Moffett Field.

Telephone Glossary

2006-11-27T14:23:00.000-08:00

What business telephone terms mean...

Free Space Optics - Canon's Line

2006-11-15T11:12:00.000-08:00

Some Q/A from Canon's site on free space optics (FSO):

Q. How important is Auto Tracking?
A. Essential. All buildings are prone to sway and vibration, from wind and temperature fluctuation. Canon's unique Auto Tracking, which is built into every DT-100 Series Canobeam, even the economical DT-110, maintains transmission during normal sway and movement. For more details, CLICK HERE.

Q. Are transmissions affected by weather?
A. Weather tends to affect many transmission systems including Free Space Optics. However, Canobeam's Auto Tracking system, which is built into all new models, supports a more focused beam, unlike some competitors which rely on a wider beam. Fog or snow reduces visibility thereby scattering and attenuating the amount of light that passes between the two units. However even if the visibility is impacted as much as 50% by bad weather conditions, the DT-100 Series can transmit correctly.

Q. What happens if a bird flies across the path of the light?
A. If the laser beam is partly obstructed by a bird flying across its path, the amount of light passing between the units will be briefly reduced but there will still be adequate light for data transmission. If a bird obstructs the beam completely, the data will be momentarily interrupted but the problem will be resolved by a retransmission of the data if TCP/IP is used.

Q. Is the optical beam safe?
A. Canobeam's optical beam transmission technology is reliable, secure and engineered for maximum safety. According the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the worldwide advisory agency responsible for eye safety guidelines, Canobeam's laser transmitters are designated as "IEC Class 1M" eye safe, or in other words, safe when seen by the naked eye either at the point of output or the point of receipt. (IEC/EN 60825-1/A2:2001 Class 1M; FDA Laser Notice.50)

Q. Can Canobeam transmit data through glass windows?
A. Yes. The DT-100 Series can be installed indoors for window to window or window to roof transmission be locating both units directly in the line of site. The sleek, new design allows for unobtrusive, indoor installation.

Some bullets for the DT-130 model:

State-of-art data transmission at 1.25Gbps for Gigabit Ethernet network
Transmission distance from 100m to 1000m
3R Function (Re-shaping, Re-timing, Re-generating)

Optical Transport Network and SONET

2006-11-13T17:11:00.000-08:00

OTN [Optical Transport Network] is a global standard that looks, feels, and acts just like SONET/SDH, which prompts several questions: Is OTN a replacement for SONET/SDH? Do I need to throw out my old gear and upgrade to OTN? And how much longer will SONET/SDH exist?

Digital Realty Trust Acquires Interest in Pac Northwest Gateway

2006-11-06T08:56:00.000-08:00

TH-NW : Digital Realty Trust Announces Latest Data Center Acquisitions - Tophosts.com: "Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR - News) announced the acquisition of a partial interest in the primary Internet gateway for the Pacific Northwest market in downtown Seattle, Washington. ...

The 2001 Sixth Avenue, 34-story, Seattle tower, with approximately 185,000 square feet of technical space, serves as the primary hub for Internet traffic in the Pacific Northwest "

Death of the All Optical Network - Gilder Telecosm 2006 at Nyquist Capital

2006-10-11T11:54:00.000-07:00

Death of the All Optical Network - Gilder Telecosm 2006 at Nyquist Capital: "Infinera took the bold and stunning risk of angering the Gilder priesthood by illustrating that an all optical network was not the future and not the best solution."

Infinera touting O-E-O.

Disruption Events: Urban versus Non-urban

2006-09-21T13:26:00.000-07:00

How to determine the:

frequency,
serverity, and
time for service restoration

of disruptive events such as fiber cuts in urban settings versus suburban or rural?

Sample Service Entrance Standard-UoL

2006-08-23T18:19:00.000-07:00

I'm collecting samples of building communications service entrance standards. Here's an excerpt from the University of Louisville that I originally found interesting because it specifies textile innerduct: UofL Wiring Standards R062905: "1.3.2 REQUIREMENTS

The minimum size duct bank for entrance conduit to a new building shall be (4) four inch conduits with innerduct. Whenever feasible, buildings larger than 100,000 square feet shall have two means of access to the campus underground communications conduit system.

Two of the four inch conduits will each contain a flexible, multi-cell, textile innerduct. This innerduct will be a 3” x (3) cell configuration with a detectable tracer. Each cell will have a color coded mule tape with distance markers. The mule tape is to be tied off at each end. The flexible innerduct must be pulled with the use of a swivel head pulling eye as to prevent twisting of the innerduct. The other (2) four inch conduits will only contain a mule tape [high tensile strength pulling tape] with distance markers extended through the entire length of each conduit. There shall be no splices or knots in the length of the mule tape. The mule tape is to be tied off at each end.

No more than the equivalent of 180 degrees of bends is allowed in a run between the building and the manhole, including offsets.

All existing conduits require a flexible, multi-cell, textile innerduct installed prior to any cabling being pulled into the conduit. The flexible innerduct must be pulled with the use of a swivel head pulling eye as to prevent twisting "

Infinera and Reducing Costs of O-E-O Conversion

2006-08-18T18:12:00.000-07:00

Signals carried in an all optical domain, though without penalties for converting signals between the optical and electrical domains, would be analog. Digital signalling is less susceptible to such factors as noise and impairments.

Infinera claims to have technology that substantially reduces the conversion costs between optical and electrical domains.

Here's their blurb: infinera: "Carriers have told us that they want the benefits of digital networks for their optical layer. They want the service flexibility that comes from digital add/drop of any optical service at any network node. They want to simplify network engineering and operations through regular digital cleanup of analog optical impairments, digital grooming and multiplexing, and advanced digital coding. And they want these benefits in a network that costs less than the traditional “analog optical” alternative. In short, these carriers have created an alternative vision for the optical layer that we call the Digital Optical Network.

To make the Digital Optical Network a reality, Infinera has delivered on the key enabling technology: the first large-scale Photonic Integrated Circuits, or PICs. PICs make the Digital Optical Network possible by providing order-of-magnitude cost reduction for O-E-O conversions. No longer do O-E-Os dominate network economics; no longer must O-E-O avoidance drive network architecture. Instead, the optical network can embrace electronics and the digital capabilities they make possible.

The Digital Optical Networking vision is simple. It starts with a new type of network element, a Digital Optical Networking System, based on PICs. These network elements are distributed throughout the network, wherever digital processing of optical traffic benefits the carrier. They can provide customer add/drop, grooming, multiplexing, performance monitoring, or simple signal regeneration—all done digitally. And while the digital nodes may be interconnected by optional, simple optical amplifiers, there is no need for exquisitely complex amp chains, no OADMs or ROADMs, no mirrors or optical switches."
technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | infrastructure | enterprise

Using a Utility to Deploy Fiber

2006-08-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Some issues to be resolved include:

ability of the utility to get access to the duct service entrance to commercial buildings including regulatory issues, if any
engineering life expectancy of power tower/pole installs. Do we
lease a physical installation along with operational maintenance or a service? Do they have different availability criteria?
what's the service restoration priority of power tower/pole installs when
there's a regional disruption, as with a series of severe storms. How
does the utility arbitrate between power restore and fiber restore when they're contrained for operational resources?
what restrictions are there, if any, on mid span entry of cable to serve new sites over the life of a
lease

technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

ADSS versus OPGW

2006-08-14T11:56:00.000-07:00

Trying to run down the criteria where one would choice between ADSS and OPGW.

Here's one vendor's criteria:

Q: Which should I use -- OPT-GW or ADSS or SkyWrap?
A: Well, as usual, the answer depends on many factors. The easiest answer is when you are building a new transmission line and shield wires must be installed. In that scenario, the incremental cost of installing optical ground wire versus standard shield wire is minimal while the benefits of a fiber optic network for internal communications, grid management, etc. are profound. Similarly, on an existing transmission line, if the shield wire is aged and needs to be replaced, that is the perfect opportunity to install optical ground wire. ADSS is ideal for installation in distribution as well as transmission environments, even when live-line installations are required. SkyWrap is helically applied on ground wires or phase conductors, and it is the ideal solution when access to overhead lines is problematic due to rugged terrain or outage limitations.

Utilities and Fiber: Issues

2006-08-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

This is some background on one of the issues I've run across in the literature on utilities and fiber. One excerpt is:

ADSS (All-Dielectric Self Supporting)Cable Issues
"Electric utilities often select ADSS as it offers the best solution. The two alternative systems are not often applicable:
Fiber-optic cable inside ground wire (OPGW) [OPtical Ground Wire] is not usable because the majority of HV and MV transmission lines have no lightning protection ground wires.

Winding the fiber-optic cable on the phase conductors of HV [High Voltage] or MV [Medium Voltage] OHTL [OverHead Transmission Line] (WRAP) is not possible because the conductor diameter is generally too small and of insufficient mechanical strength for the wind loading.
ADSS fiber-optic cables have several principle advantages:
Many more fibers and channels per cable

Lower price per channel

Easier and cheaper montage [mounting?]

Easier to access ADSS cable (mostly without transmission circuit outage)

Easier and faster to repair in the event of damage or breakage of the cable

The ADSS does not experience temperature rise in the event of a lightning [strike] and short-circuit current, as in the case of ground wires.
However, based on IEC's [Israel Electric Corp.] experience and utility experience around the world, the use of ADSS cables on transmission lines — at 161 kV and higher — requires a careful approach. It is necessary to determine the optimal position of the ADSS cable on the tower to ensure safe distance from ADSS cable to phase conductors and to ground; to provide safe access to ADSS cable for personnel; and to decrease the electric field, voltage drop and leakage currents along ADSS cable to avoid corona sources and partial discharges on its surface that can damage the polyethylene (PE) cable jacket.
...

ADSS Cables Recognizing the Problems and Solutions
Oct 1, 2002 12:00 PM
By Felix G. Kaidanov, Israel Electric Corp.

How much of this is necessary to understand for a customer of the utility's fiber service isn't clear. Maybe just the base vocabulary is needed.

technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Utilities and Dark Fiber: PG&E

2006-08-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

I ran across this 2004 annual report of PG&E's telecomm related activitivies on PG&E's site. Here are some excerpts:

ISTS Business Development is a 30-person department under Pacific Gas and Electric Company’s Information Systems Technology Services (ISTS) organization. Our mission is to develop and operate businesses within Pacific Gas and Electric Company based on secondary uses of utility assets.
...
In metro local loop, we partner with IP Networks to construct last-mile fiber networks throughout the financial district of San Francisco as well as fiber optic routes in the greater bay area region. IP Networks provides telecom services to enterprise customers.
...
In 2001, we launched a new business providing metro local loop connectivity in Northern California metropolitan markets pursuant to a strategic partnership with IP Networks. Under the agreements with IP Networks, we receive a percentage of IP Network’s gross revenue from the license of Pacific Gas and Electric Company conduit into commercial buildings. IP Networks is currently focused on the San Francisco financial district and Silicon Valley markets. In San Francisco, a fiber network installed in Pacific Gas and Electric Company conduit is complete and IP Networks is currently providing services to customers such as Genentech, Bechtel and the Shorenstein Company. In 2005, IP Networks’ revenue in the San Francisco market is expected to increase substantially due to its recent partnership with Verizon in jointly pursuing enterprise customers. In Silicon Valley, IP Networks’ current customers include Apple Computer, Hewlett Packard, DreamWorks and NASA. Our current revenue from this business is $15,000 per month with the goal of increasing the revenue to $45,000 per month by December 2005. Beyond 2005, we expect this business to grow about 20-30% per year.

I'll see if there's a similar report for 2005.

technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Utilities and Dark Fiber: Palo Alto

2006-08-04T16:20:00.000-07:00

I guess I'll jot down information about cities that offer dark fiber as I come across them. Here's Palo Alto's blurb on the dark fiber infrastructure associated with their utility system:
City of Palo Alto Utilities - Commercial Fiber, Getting Connected: "The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU) leases access to its fiber optic network- a very reliable, high-speed 'pipe' for advanced telecommunications applications. The term 'Dark' means that it is the responsibility of the customer to 'light' the fiber by adding electronics at either end of the fiber. Typically customers have one end of their leased fiber terminated at an internet service provider's (ISP) location and the other end at their building. The Palo Alto Internet Exchange, or PAIX, (not affiliated with the City) is conveniently located in downtown Palo Alto and is a termination point for many ISP's."
This is somewhat similar to DTIS in San Francisco, but it's not clear if we could exploit it for building service entrance issues. One good thing about dealing with a city as a supplier is that it can help with construction permit issues.
technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Utilities and Dark Fiber: Los Angeles

2006-08-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

LADWP: Fiber Optic Services:
"Dark Fiber Lease and Bandwidth Transport Services--
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Fiber Optic Enterprise (FOE) is offering both dark fiber lease and bandwidth transport services to interested parties. Please contact 1-866-DWP-LAON or e-mail us at LAON@ladwp.com for additional information.
...LADWP also leases its excess dark fiber capacity and provides bandwidth transport services on a wholesale open access basis to both the private and public sector."

As part of trying to find reasonable ways to get into multi-tenant commercial buildings, the idea of using the electrical utility service entrance came up. LA DWP offers dark fiber and bandwidth transport. Whether they offer a way to share their service entrance needs to be explored.
technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Edited to add: I'm told that the LA DWP solution doesn't address building entrance problems and, in practice, hasn't worked out all that well either. I guess I'll find out the issues later.

IRU of Service Entrance in a Multi-Tenant Commercial Building

2006-08-04T07:02:00.000-07:00

First, a bit of background. In telecommunications an Indefeasible Right of Use (IRU) was originally the effective long-term lease (temporary ownership) of a portion of the capacity of an international cable. At least in my company, we use IRU to refer to long term lease of data capacity on fiber placed for us by others.

We currently have a situation where we want to put fiber into a multi-tenant commercial building, currently in the final phases of construction. There are four 4-inch conduits running from the building's service entrance to a phone company vault. Two of the conduits are empty.

We want to intercept one of the conduits and put in a 1.25in innerduct and pull fiber into it to connect to a service provider's point of presence. (The service provider is not the phone company.)

In discussing this with the landlord's representative, he began a discussion with his management about the general issue of bringing fiber into this building. Apparently this had not been considered in earlier planning. In addition, at this point we don't know if our customer, one of the building's tenants, had considered this issue in their lease of the space. That is, having a provision in the lease allowing access to the building service entrance conduit.

Of course, the customer's building project manager is out for a couple of days and no one in data comm management is around, either.
technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Microtrenching, continued

2006-08-03T16:59:00.000-07:00

Talked with Teraspan of Vancouver about their product for microtrenching to lay optical fiber. Some takeaways:

Cost is claimed to be approx US$100/meter, including materials, in city settings, such as LA or San Francisco
Their installation arm is called HP.
Their cable reels are 4.2km.
In terms of installation speed, 100 meters in downtown SF could be done in a day.
They install 6 inches down in hard surfaces. Deeper in soft surfaces.

technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Micro trenching

2006-08-02T20:55:00.000-07:00

Found out a lot about micro trenching (aka micro-trenching and microtrenching) today as part of trying to mitigate damage caused by conventional trenching to a newly repaved street.

The municipality we're dealing with has a policy that newly repaved streets can't be trenched unless it's a really good reason. As it turns out , installing new technology is explicitly called out as a suitable reason, but who wants to take chances on it being a sifficient reason.

One resource said that microtrenching can be done for $30-50/linear foot, including materials. Corning, and other suppliers, have suitable cable. Corning's Advanced Right of Way cables are the MCS Road series.

An interesting vendor for a set of components, including cable, suitable for microtrenching is Teraspan.
technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise

Fiber instructure issues...

2006-08-02T14:29:00.000-07:00

This may be as good a place as any to plop down some of the issues I'm running into in developing fiber infrastructure to sites. It's dark fiber at this point from site identification, including construction and termination, with hand off to the group adding the electronic components.

The hope is that this will be informative and less ranting/whining, but you never know as the frustration level can mount pretty quickly.
technorati tags: tech | fiber optic | dark fiber | infrastructure | enterprise