Navigating Through the Broadband Boom Industry Experts Offer Solutions to Filling the Ever Expanding Need for More Bandwidth
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TM Communications Offers & Insights Spring IssueMay 2012 2010 ACCESS www.kgplogistics.com Navigating Through the Broadband Boom Industry Experts Offer Solutions to Filling the Ever Expanding Need for More Bandwidth INSIDE Challenges and Solutions of Delivering More Broadband Page 6 Guide to Home Networking Page 18 “The Inside View” by Diana Harlow Page 4 Fiber to the Home Networks UP CLOSE & PERSONAL Get up close and personal with the pieces of your network that matter most. Let Corning Cable Systems show you how our differentiated solutions fit into your fiber-to-the-home network. www.corning.com/cablesystems © 2012 Corning Cable Systems LLC. JS-1705.indd 1 3/2/12 10:38 AM In this issue DEPARTMENTS 4 The Inside View Diana Harlow, KGP Logistics Director of Inside Sales, discusses how the Customer ‘s needs are at the heart of the new KGP Logistics webite design. 24-25 Ordering Guide Part numbers to reference when placing orders for products referenced in this issue of ACCESS. FEATURES 5 Connect With the Rural Cellular Association (RCA) 6-14 Navigating Through the Broadband Boom Contributed by: ADTRAN RAD Data Communications Actelis Networks 18-19 In Home Networking 22 KGP Logistics Technology Tour and Trade Show Events 26 The Download New Web Alternates and Equivalents Visibility ADVERTISERS 2 Corning 9 ADTRAN 10 Tii Network Technologies 12 RAD Data Communications 15 Actelis Networks 16 Dewalt 17, 20 PREMIER 21, 23 PREMIER 27 TE Connectivity 28 Telect KGP Logistics is one of the country’s largest single-source, value-added providers of supply chain services, communications equipment and integrated solutions to the telecommunications industry. We have a diverse KGP Logistics is a certified member of the TL 9000 and valued customer base, a national logistics network, and a portfolio of Quality Management System (QMS) US07/3791 manufacturer partnerships that is second to none. © 2010 KGP Logistics, Inc. All rights reserved. The name Premier and the Premier logo are KGP Logistics, Inc. • 600 New Century Parkway • New Century, KS 66031 trademarks of KGP Logistics, Inc. All other marks are property of their respective owners. www.kgplogistics.com • 800-755-1950 ACCESS | Spring Issue 2012 3 The Inside View “Every enhancement we’ve made to our website is the direct result of feedback revealed in our annual Customer surveys.” { -Diana Harlow, Director of Inside Sales, KGP Logistics Diana Harlow Director of Inside Sales A Powerful Website Built 100% by You he new, enhanced version of KGP Logistics’ website is a specific order or with a certain line item in the order. Tfaster with more powerful features and functionality. Customers can then click on the item invoice link and the This makes it even easier to use, while creating significant invoice will pop up for quick review or download. This same workflow efficiencies. capability applies to packing lists. The changes we’ve made have been well received, and you Product Alternates & Equivalents – Now, whenever have yourself to thank. That’s because they came from what Customers search for a certain product, they will have the you and other Customers told us you wanted. option to click on an alternate / equivalent button that will show comparable product options. This allows users to In fact, since the KGP Logistics’ website was first launched make more informed purchase decisions based on price several years ago with only the most basic functions, we’ve comparisons, on-hand inventory, backorders and drop conducted annual Customer surveys looking for areas shipments. of improvement. These surveys have been the basis for continual tweaks, updates, expansions and fine-tuning. Product Images – Customers can view product images Constant web enhancements have kept us at the forefront in high-resolution jpeg format as thumbnails or larger. of Customer requirements and expectations. A “hover” function on the pointer stylus will automati- cally enlarge an image for viewing. Customers can also It’s a never-ending process, because Customer needs download jpegs to print images for proposals, and even and technologies are continually and rapidly evolving. look at individual item images versus group assortments We’ve now reached a much higher level of sophistication or product families. KGP Logistics currently has over 20,000 and effectiveness, which has resulted in greater time- product images and more are being added regularly. savings, increased accuracy, easier online interactions, and ultimately, a better value for you. Product Data Sheets – Similarly, we’ve added 30,000 detailed product data or spec sheets as downloadable pdf Here are a few of our new, web feature highlights: files and will continue working with our manufacturers to add more. Order Entry and Tracking – This is a key area of improve- ment, deemed extremely important by Customers. Now, John Pickering, KGP Logistics’ Manager of Web Solutions, whether orders are placed by phone, email, online or via explains, “Of course, it helps for us to stay ever mindful of EDI, all can be easily tracked from the time the order is initi- the fact that we’re not creating a website for ourselves; we’re ated until the time the product arrives. KGP Logistics has doing it for our Customers. The vast majority of enhance- enhanced the shipment tracking process by taking you ments we are currently working on were prioritized based directly to the carrier’s website to access information on off survey results and are designed to expedite Customer your purchase orders. service. However, the ongoing web enhancement plan considers all survey feedback so our Customers can expect Printable Invoices & Credit Memos – We’ve added the ability to see even further improvements in the future.” for Customers to instantly view and print copies, or they can also save a pdf to their desktop or digital files. Enhanced Order Status – Since each order has different Diana Harlow invoices associated with it, Customers can click on an Director of Inside Sales invoice button to see which invoice is connected with KGP Logistics 4 ACCESS | Spring Issue 2012 Connect with the RCA - The Competitive Carriers Association Backhaul, along with access to useable spectrum, interoperable devices, and voice and data roaming, are all criti- cal inputs for mobile broadband. Mobile broadband service is transported between the consumer and a carrier’s infrastructure over wireless spectrum. Once it reaches the carrier’s tower infrastructure, the mobile broadband signal must be “backhauled” to the network, which can be transported over wireless microwave facilities or wire line facilities. In order to provide robust services in today’s marketplace, competitive carriers require meaning- ful, competitive access to each of these inputs. In today’s consolidated wireless market, competitive wireless providers have difficulties gaining access to spectrum and economically sustainable backhaul as they work to expand mobile broadband access at commercially reasonable prices. RCA is the nation’s leading association for competitive wireless providers serving all areas of the United States. Today, the licensed service area of RCA’s over 100 carrier members covers more than 95 percent of the nation. Headquartered in Washington, DC, RCA advocates on behalf of our members’ interests and works to educate policymakers on the key issues that impact our members’ ability to compete, survive, and thrive. Currently these issues include automatic data roaming, interoperability throughout the 700 MHz spectrum, Universal Service Fund reform, spectrum policy and licensing issues and handset exclusivity, among others. KGP Logistics, like RCA, has been supporting the needs of competitive carriers for 41 years and remains dedicated to these carriers as the move into the mobile broadband market. Our Product Integration Services and Deployment Solutions bring together the best of our core capabilities as a distributor of a wide portfolio of telecommunications equipment developed based on the needs of our customers to meet specifications, reduce cost, and increase speed to market. Our TL9000 certified experts in product integration and network deployment are able to consult with competitive carriers to help design their backhaul network infrastructure. We cut the costs of deployment by using standard models developed from working with other rural Telco’s on similar projects or create a completely unique solution based on our customer’s requirements. Ultimately, KGP Logistics’ Product Integra- tion and Deployment Solutions can help competitive wireless providers speed time to market, reduce process failures and ultimately lower upgrade and deployment costs and help you remain competitive. Please visit KGP Logistics’ Booth #504 at the RCA 2012 Competitive Carriers Global Expo on March 28th-30th at the Walt Disney World Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida. ACCESS | Spring Issue 2012 5 Content Wireless Accounting Mobile Wallet Social Media Applications • • NAVIGATING THROUGH THE BROADBAND Industry Experts Offer Solutions to Filling the Ever Expanding Need for More Bandwidth ADTRAN Optical Networking Edge (ONE) Reprises Role Made Famous by SONET Fifteen years ago, service providers were concerned about scaling services to meet the demand for new higher- speed DS1 or DS3 access driven by home internet, hundreds of new TV channels and the mobile phone explosion. Today, again, service providers are concerned about scaling site access to 100Mbps or even 1Gbps Ethernet to support residential and mobile broadband deployments as well as cloud computing business models. To combat these new network crashers, the starring role this time around is not a SONET platform, as it was back in the 1990s, but a new and improved Packet Optical Networking Platform (PONP) that is right-sized and more specifi- cally, one using Optical Transport Networks (OTN) as defined by ITU-T G.709. Spoiler alert: Tablet mobile devices subscribing to over-the-top video services like NetFlix (Qwikster) and YouTube put 100 times the demand on the network than that of typical feature phones. The FCC is pushing their 100M squared initiative for 100Mbps to 100 Million homes by 2020.