Challenges and Solutions: What is OSP Fiber Network Design?
Fiber optic internet, the backbone of modern connectivity, is crucial for meeting the increasing demands of today's digital world. Americans rely on internet for their jobs, participation in school and access to healthcare, yet roughly 30 million Americans lack access to broadband infrastructure. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal targets this issue, channeling $65 billion into the expansion of reliable high-speed internet access across the U.S. and providing a unique opportunity for businesses to help our communities bridge the digital divide.
What is Fiber Internet?
Fiber optic cables, which are made of thin strands of glass or plastic, transmit data as pulses of light. This method allows for incredibly fast data transmission over long distances without signal loss, making fiber the preferred technology for delivering high-speed internet to homes and businesses. What’s more, fiber is exponentially cheaper than its predecessor, copper wires, further positioning it as a key piece of our global network. As our reliance on digital services grows, so does the need for robust and expansive fiber optic networks.
When an internet service provider (ISP) magically connects your tv, computer or phone to the internet, they do so via wireless connection like 5G technology or wired connection like fiber. Although cellular technology is fascinating–requiring the coordination of cell towers, satellites and routers to beam a signal to your device–it is not the focus of this piece. Wired connection requires ISPs to physically connect their central office to the user's endpoint in what is known as fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP). The result is a vast network of equipment and cables known as outside plant (OSP) running underneath our feet, above our heads and across the oceans.
How are Fiber Networks Constructed?
So how is this vast network installed in the first place? When ISPs decide they want to install OSP (please excuse the confusingly similar acronyms), they undergo a complex planning process to determine which routes are optimal and whether the cables need to be installed via burial (underground) or aerial (above ground). Burying lines involves laying fiber optic cables in trenches dug into the ground. The cables are then encased in protective conduits to shield them from environmental factors and remove them from the visual clutter of overhead wires. However, digging trenches and burying cables is expensive and time-consuming, especially in challenging terrain or densely populated areas.
The aerial construction process offers a more efficient method, though challenging in its own right. Rather than burying cables, they are strung along existing utility poles, requiring the the network designers to create comprehensive plans to appease environmental and regulatory constraints. One of the first steps in this design process is to determine the location of existing utility poles, their conditions, and whether attachment is currently viable or if it will require additional resources like moving existing wires or changing out the pole. This is known as make ready assessment and it provides installers with a high level design (HLD) of which routes are most viable and what work is required before installation. However, traditional methods for achieving these designs are time consuming and expensive, requiring analysts to travel to the field to gather data across huge territories.
Our Solutions for Fiber Network Design
At Vulcan Line Tools, we provide solutions and tech that allow FTTP network designers to create their plans on time and under budget. We use our software, Azmyth, to determine utility pole locations, heights, attachment points and midspan heights, providing our customers with highly accurate make ready assessments. If a pole requires power make ready, we label it red, if it requires comm. make ready, we label it yellow, and if it needs no make ready, we turn it green! We offer this “Red Yellow Green" assessment at an extremely affordable rate so communication companies can start designing without breaking the bank.
As the push to expand fiber internet continues, we are excited to offer a novel solution to the complex process that is OSP design. We work with fiber companies across the country to help connect our communities with the high-speed internet they need, and we are proud to be a key player in this transformative effort.