wiredinUSA August 2020

EDITOR

Robots designed by Facebook engineers are winding fiber optic cables around medium-voltage power lines, enabling expansion of high-speed Internet infrastructure. The robot holds specially designed cables that are thinner and lighter than traditional cables, allowing it to lay up to 1km of cable by wrapping it around existing lines. The social media giant believes the robot will allow fiber to be deployed within a few hundred meters of much of the world’s population. Full story on page 9. Ohio-based American Electric Power is proceeding with its planned 1,485MW North Central wind project, despite Texas regulators rejecting the $2 billion project. The project is being developed in north-central Oklahoma to provide electricity for Oklahoma, Louisiana and Arkansas, with regulators from the three states and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission giving the project the green light, despite the Texan rejection. Turn to page 11 for the full story.

David Bell Editor

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wiredInUSA - August 2020