wiredinUSA March 2015

INDEX

Council response

Network upgrades Network service provider Indiana Fiber Network LLC (IFN) has revealed a multi-year network expansion plan to add 100 Gigabit Ethernet transport capabilities and improve network reliability using a meshed architecture. The company, formed in March 2002, is owned by 20 local exchange telephone companies across the state. It provides a variety of services, including fiber optic broadband, to urban and rural areas in 52 Indiana counties. IFN’s core network electronics upgrade will be implemented in two phases. The first phase will cover over 1,200 fiber route miles in northern Indiana, passing through (amongst others) Lafayette, Fort Wayne, Anderson and Indianapolis. The second phase will address over 1,300 fiber route miles in southern Indiana, including routes through Jeffersonville, Columbus, Greenwood and Indianapolis. Completion is expected by 2016. The upgrade will include new ROADM platforms. “This deployment, coupled with the deployment of multi-terabit optical switches which will be configured to provide a meshed protection scheme, allows IFN to offer an enhanced range of high speed fiber transport services, including 1 Gigabit Ethernet, 10 Gigabit Ethernet, and 100 Gigabit Ethernet to carriers, service providers, and enterprise customers,” said Tom Bechtel, IFN’s vice president of operations. New recruits The members of the Communications Cable & Connectivity Association (CCCA) have been joined by Graybar, Hitachi Cable America, Prysmian Group, and Teknor Apex. CCCA addresses quality, performance, non-compliance, fire safety, sustainability and counterfeit issues and how they affect the structured cabling industry as a whole and all those served by using the products. Programs range from the education on dangers of non-compliant and/or counterfeit products, to the most effective use of structured cabling in the data center, to collaborations on best practices for the design of sustainable cabling infrastructure projects. The full list of CCCA member companies is now: Accu-Tech; AlphaGary; Anixter; Belden; Berk-Tek; Cable Components Group; comCables; CommScope; Daikin America; DuPont; General Cable; Graybar; Hitachi Cable; Leviton; Optical Cable Corporation (OCC); OFS; Panduit; PolyOne; Prysmian Group; Sentinel Connector Systems; Solvay Specialty Polymers; Superior Essex; TE Connectivity; Teknor Apex; The Siemon Company; and 3M.

Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council Americas has filed its comments in response to the Federal Communications Commission’s notice of proposed rulemaking in the technology transitions proceeding. Gold, president and CEO of the FTTH Council Americas, said: “For over a decade, the federal government has sought to accelerate the deployment of all-fiber networks, because fiber is more reliable and performs better than other technologies. These networks drive economic growth, social interaction, and civic participation.Butrebuildingour communications infrastructure with fiber is time-consuming and expensive. It requires communities, governments, and the private sector to all pull in the same direction. “Thus, the FTTH Council and its members are troubled by any move that would make building these networks more expensive. The record shows that all-fiber service providers and their vendors are behaving responsibly, providing sufficient customer notice and capabilities – and consumers are not reporting any adverse effects. Heather Burnett

RSCC Wire & Cable LLC has promoted Altin Dabulla to engineering manager, reporting to Robert Canny, vice president-GM of Exane Products. In his new role, Dabulla will be responsible for Exane standards engineering, application engineering for transit, fire safety and industrial products including oversight of the RSCC Exane engineering support team. Dabulla joined RSCC in August 2014 after serving as program manager at Rexam PLC. He previously held a position in applications engineering at General Cable, Willimantic, Connecticut.

Engineering appointment

wiredInUSA - March 2015

wiredInUSA - March 2015

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