A Buried Duct Network (BDN) alternative represents an overall solution for such direct-buried utility lines (electric power, telephone, and CATV). The BDN provides an opportunity for conveniently and safely accomplishing cable upgrades at a low incremental cost to the utilities and/or their customers.

With more and more optical network automation, one task has remained manual: fiber connections. But now, as the result of research conducted by Verizon, that is likely to change.

Once viewed as much art as science, fusion splicing has become more routine due to improvements in the fiber itself and the development of highly sophisticated and automated fusion splicing equipment. That doesn’t mean it’s a rote process, however. There are several guidelines for doing it well and avoiding rework.

As an editor, there are many times I have to keep things under wraps. Announcements I receive are embargoed; news I hear is told to me “off the record”. There are times I feel a little bit in the know; to be honest, it’s more than a little bit fun. But because the OSP™ brand’s mission is about education instead of news, I have to keep most things to myself.

My wife was sharing her problems with Ron, a friend, about getting an issue resolved with the American Automobile Association (AAA). He relayed back to her a similar customer service problem with a phone provider and he described the blight of automation perfectly. I think you will find this insightful and entertaining:

In a small, rather unkempt cemetery near the center of St. Petersburg, Florida, there is a simple grave with a plaque attached to it. The plaque reads: Here rests the remains of ALMON BROWN STROWGER 1839 – 1902 INVENTOR & PIONEER Whose dream of better telephone service inspired him to invent in 1889 the first practical automatic telephone system. This plaque placed here in his honor on the 110th anniversary of his birth by grateful members of the telephone industry October 19, 1949.