Recently I found myself driving along the interstate pondering the affect that a system of highways I use often and take for granted has had on commerce, quality of life, and the economy as a whole. Where would our society be without them?

Think back to The Great Depression: a time, arguably more dire than the deep recession we’re now emerging from -- but with striking parallels. During that era, leaders with foresight felt similar pressures that led them to make huge, risk-laden and controversial investments in infrastructure. These actions proved to have lasting value and fueled enviable economic expansion. Predating the Eisenhower interstate system that we enjoy today, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s “New Deal” created millions of jobs through construction of public buildings, road expansion, arts, science, bridges, dams, and schools. Contentious as they were, these bold decisions paved the way for generations of prosperity and the quality of life we have come to expect.

At the risk of oversimplifying history and economic growth, the WPA provided a strategically meaningful catalyst for economic expansion resulting in not one but a cascade of springboards from which new advancements occurred. The WPA didn’t cause these developments; rather, it set the stage for them.

Think of the WPA as a launch pad not unlike that used for the space programs. Horrendously expensive to build, controversial use of taxpayers’ funds, but an enabler to seemingly unrelated developments like solar photovoltaics, satellite telecommunications, and digital imagery. Yes, it is possible to send a man into space absent a computer but there aren’t many astronauts willing to strap themselves in without knowing a network of supercomputers have their backs.

Can we make direct connection between space exploration, lasers, and optical fibers with WPA projects? Of course not, but there is little doubt that any of these revolutionary technological developments would have occurred without the robust economy to support their development; and during the Great Depression an economy of such reach was beyond the comprehension of most.

Consider how these improvements crept in the next time you surf Google Earth or accelerate to freeway speed confidently following the commands of your on-board GPS system. We have come so far.

Highways and Networks: A Parallel Path?
This is a particularly good question for the readership of OSP® magazine. Look around. The era and jargon may differ but metaphorical similarities are strong:

HIGHWAYS                               NETWORKS
High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV)     Packets
Level of Service (LOS)                 Bits Per Second
Speed Limit                                Bit Rate
Traffic Counting                          Speed Test
Trunk Highway                            Backbone
Interchange                                Bi-Directional Communication
Driveway Apron                          Demarcation Point   
Driveway                                    Private Network

The backbone of the Internet is partway through a multi-decade overhaul with new attention focused on higher speed entry and exit through switching and transceiver technology.

The physical plant consists largely of single mode optical fiber for the advantages it provides in distance, data rate and immunity to EMI and RFI. For service providers and end-users alike, this alleviates the dearth of long-haul bandwidth and supports generations of faster, richer, web-based applications that improve our collective quality-of-life. With a vastly improved backbone, the data transport bottleneck quickly shifted to The First Mile, that critical link between transmission site and the consumer. Think of these as off ramps, secondary roads, or driveways.

Much of today’s OSP conversation centers on FTTx: Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH), Fiber-To-The-Node (FTTN), and other techniques designed to provide increased speeds and scalability as modern applications and consumers demand it. These technologies bring us to the door of the consumer, the demarcation point.

Once inside, the network and next bottleneck to be widened becomes the responsibility of the home or building owner. We are familiar with many of the technologies used within dwellings, but with increased speed, opportunities emerge for property developers to add new and lasting value for tenants.

Our Generation's Challenge: Eco-Friendliness and Tech Evolution
As the OSP market expands, bringing FTTx closer to the end consumer, developers of light commercial, single-family and multi-dwelling unit (MDU) properties find themselves wrestling with tenants' desires to build green without limiting their lifestyle choices. The dilemma may not be obvious until you consider what is involved in creating structures that are more environmentally friendly.

Viewing design and construction from the perspective of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) (http://www.usgbc.org/) and its sustainable building program Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), new strategies are routinely adopted that improve our inventory of new and renovated buildings. Beyond reducing the carbon footprint, benefits to building owners included more healthy internal environments and minimized operational expense through permanently reduced energy consumption.

The LEED philosophy considers 6 primary categories:
1. Sustainable Sites
2. Water Efficiency
3. Energy and Atmosphere
4. Materials and Resources
5. Indoor Environmental Quality
6. Innovation in Design

Together, these overarching principles set the stage for what sustainable construction encompasses. And, contrary to popular belief, building green does not come at a huge premium. Recent studies suggest a 2% increase when compared to traditional construction practices.¹

Using a sustainable design/build approach, significant life-cycle savings are predicted including reduction in energy use of up to 50%, reduction of carbon emissions of 40%, potable water use of 40%, and solid waste reduction of 70%.²

The Clash
The clash between green building and technology is insidious. It happens quietly within the walls of the structure, and here is how: buildings are designed to stand the test of time; consumer electronics technology is fleeting compared to the lifespan of a structure. This mismatch creates a real problem for developers, building owners and occupants.

As building scientists scrutinize the shell of the building and its insulation envelope, they are drawn to improving methods of managing heat transfer, namely conduction, radiation, and convection. The insulation envelope of the building serves to slow the 3 processes of heat transfer with modern approaches like sprayfoam insulation. These new materials are well-suited and particularly effective in managing the major offenders: conduction and convection. Improvements like these are sensible, significantly reducing both greenhouse gas emissions and operational costs for building owners, but to remain effective the structures rely upon a static insulation envelope because seemingly small changes wreak havoc on energy efficiency.

Unlike building scientists, developers have more to contend with than energy conservation alone. They must also consider lifestyle requirements for the occupants of the building, and this means adaptation for modern consumer electronics through low-voltage wiring upgrades.

To keep pace with consumer electronics technology the traditional practice is to "fish" new wires when called for. This is cumbersome, expensive, and destructive to the insulated walls. While the damage is hidden from view of the occupants, they are an obvious hit to operational efficiency. Remember, small changes to the insulation envelope have major effects on energy conservation. Upgrading or adding new wires within the walls is disruptive to the insulation envelope and interferes with energy-conserving systems.

A Big Opportunity for MDUs
Viewed alternatively, this dichotomy becomes opportunity for forward-thinking developers. By integrating adaptive wiring systems like the eXapath® in-wall cable pathway system from Homepath Products LLC, structures can now accommodate energy conservation while providing easy access for moves, adds, or upgrades to low voltage wiring. This enables the structure to keep pace as consumer technologies evolve. Not only do these systems simplify recabling, they allow occupants to add media outlets from floor to ceiling, before or after drywall is in place. In addition, these systems support energy conservation by minimizing, and in most cases eliminating, disruption to the insulation envelope.

Energy-conserving construction and technology upgradeability no longer need to be at odds.

Using this improved approach indirectly supports the OSP market, too. As FTTx deployments continue, the latent bandwidth advantage promised through single mode optical fiber can be realized. The need for high-speed broadband is in infancy, and single-mode optical fiber, with virtually unlimited bandwidth, provides the modern highway over which applications we have yet to dream up will travel. Having walls designed for access creates new possibilities for further penetration of OSP products and services.

Creating structures to take full advantage of this while remaining eco-friendly is the win-win developers need to differentiate and provide properties with lasting value.

The Green Transition
Why, today, do most of us continue arduous commutes to large office buildings when the majority of our time is spent communicating, writing, speaking, texting, conferencing, tweeting, and otherwise sharing? Think of the fuel consumed in measures of both carbon footprint and money. Now, consider personal time devoured while sitting behind the wheel, often stopped in heavy traffic during our commutes.

Did you know that, on average, individuals commute more than 100 hours annually?³ This exceeds the average number of hours taken by individuals (80) for vacation.⁴ For a society obsessed with value-adding activity, this habit will be short-lived.

The broadband market is intensely focused on driving high bandwidth to consumers with technologies such as FTTN, FTTH, and DOCSIS 3. In March 2010 the Federal Communications Commission unveiled a National Broadband Plan promising 100 Mbps service, greater reach to underserved communities, and more competition for end users by 2020. Simultaneously, Google entered the fray announcing a market experiment targeting 50,000 to 500,000 subscribers with introductory speeds of 1,000 Mbps and open competition over planned FTTH lines. Battle lines have been drawn around data rate and outside plant providers will remain busy with network upgrades for decades to come.

Like the era of the WPA, we live in uneasy times. Optimism will prevail, and capital will be consumed to build telecommunications infrastructure for generations to come. Responsibility falls to us, as it did with our forebears, to leave the country and the economy in better shape than when we arrived.

Endnotes:
1. http://www.davislangdon.com/USA/Research/ResearchFinder/2007-The-Cost-of... of Green Revisited: Reexamining the Feasibility and Cost Impact of Sustainable Design in the Light of Increased Market Adoption
2. USGBC Green Associate Study Guide, p. 11
3. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/american_commu...
4. Ibid

About the Author
Mike Hines is co-founder of Homepath Products LLC. He and his Connecticut-based team have developed the eXapath™ in-wall cable pathway system. Building for the unforeseeable future, this smart product is integrated within traditional building systems, allowing for the efficient upgrade of low voltage wiring without disruption to the building's insulation envelope. Prior to starting Homepath Products, Mike spent several decades developing optical fiber solutions for applications including medicine, aerospace, oil discovery, military, LANs and data centers. Mike can often be found working with his kids on projects, coaching sports, or tweeting as @eXapath. For more information visit www.homepathproducts.com.

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