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2 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ In This Issue . . .
Feature Articles What comes to mind when you think of “disruptive?” Most likely you associate it with something you prefer avoiding - traffic delays 4 The New ILEC Transformation on the way to an appointment, the kid who sat next to you in By Greg Whelan, Greywale Insights elementary school, a power outage, or lost luggage. Generally, disruptions are what force us to re-engage our brains to figure 9 How IoT Wil Bring Change to Service Providers out how to accomplish items of importance regardless of inter- By Tim Brown, NUF ruptions, lack of resources, or changes in what we regard as nor- mal. Honestly, we all face them at least on a weekly basis. 10 Why Service Providers Need Universal CPE By Prayson Pate, ADVA In terms of our industry, disruptive technologies are those having potential to push our sense of normal into the category of irrele- 16 Innovative Solutions for Explosive Broadband Requirements vant. As technology advances forward, we find ourselves working By Jim Hollis, FISPA harder trying to keep up with it all. Perhaps you’ve thought there 19 TIA Names New CEO should be a moratorium placed on new technologies just so you By TIA can catch your breath. Unfortunately, that’s just wishful thinking.
27 UTC is Advocacy in Action But in the middle of all this disruption, customers are increasing By Bobbi Harris, UTC their expectations for improved services from your networks. They expect faster speeds, more bandwidth, quicker problem 29 Access Monitoring for OPEX Reduction resolution, faster service turn-up, the very best pricing, network By Ed Ullrich, Walker and Associates security, increased cloud storage, and more. Whatever your role - network operator, C-level executive, engineer, etc. - your job is 31 Broadband Deployment: A Path to the Future to sort through the challenges of these disruptive technologies By Chip Pickering, INCOMPAS and identify the solutions that add value for your customers and your company’s bottom line. No doubt, it’s a challenge not for the Resource Articles faint of heart.
6 The Road to Autonomous Networks This issue of Skinny Wire attempts to sort through some of the By Joe Marsella, Ciena disruption and match the technologies with innnovative solutions that matter to you and your customers. As you focus on how new 12 Capacity, Cooling, Conservation applications are disrupting customer relationships, we recognize By Brian Davis, Corning that you are turning to industry leaders and manufacturers for 13 Faster Networks Expand the Value of SIP innovative solutions that keep you relevant, competitive and By Phil Bowers, Grandstream profitable.
15 Networks Need Better Timing Examples of Disruptive Applications include: OTT services that are By Ulrich Kohn, ADVA placing pressure on carriers to provide bandwidth that matches customer requirements for more, better, faster Internet connec- 23 Deploying 10 Gigabit SD-Access Networks tions; Continued growth in IoT that creates greater reliance for By Michael Sumitra, ADTRAN “always on” Internet access. This includes everything from con- nected/smart vehicles to smart medical devices; Security is in the 33 Finding the Path to Profitability for Mobile Network Operators mix of all these conversations as smart homes, smart communi- By Juniper ties and smart cities exponentially expand the access points for 34 Data Center Transport: An Eye to the Future network intrusion. How are these risks and opportunities being By Mohammed Sarwar, Fujitsu managed through innovation among the supplier community?
35 100 Gigabit Ethernet Obviously, we can’t address all these topics in a 48 page maga- By Peter Winterling, Viavi Solutions zine. What we attempt to do, however, is offer you a glimpse of thinking that cuts through the clutter and gets to what really matters - how do you use technology to solve customer problems Special Section: A-CAM and CAF while also satisfying business performance objectives? 36 Is Your Supplier ReadyNow? By Randy Turner, Walker and Associates We live in a disruptive world, and we work in a disruptive industry. That is unlikely to change. What counts is that we restructure 38 Broadband Solutions for Rural and Remote Areas our focus toward taming the disruption in ways that matter. By ADTRAN Disruption for the sake of disruption is destructive. As leaders in our businesses, it is important we sort through the chaos and 40 Disrupting Our World have real conversations about what the real point is. In the end, By James Worden, Fujitsu it has to matter to those who are paying for it. Otherwise, we are merely adding to the disruption. Walker News 21 Walker Renews ISO Certification Randy Turner Editor, Skinny Wire 43 Walker Recognized by BBC in Top 100 List Director, Marketing Communications Walker and Associates 44 In the Spotlight 336-731-5246 46 Upcoming Events [email protected] [email protected] Letters to the editor may be sent to [email protected]
Skinny Wire is a bi-annual publication of Walker and Associates, Inc. “Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer m/f/d/v” Opinions expressed by contributors and commentators do not necessarily reflect the views of Walker and Associates, Inc. Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 3 The concept of “digital transformation” or eliminate the threat? The key ques- and are they sustainable over the life of is a hot topic these days. However, is tion is whether your “transformation” the financing? The simplest approach digitizing and/or virtualizing your cur- can be achieved by upgrading or over- would be to overbuild and offer your rent infrastructure and current mode of building? Then, what does my business current “triple play” services with real operations the right thing to do? Perhaps model look like on the other side? For or “up to” gigabit speed internet access your current business is going so well discussion purposes an ‘over-build’ here options. This may have the undesired and all you need is to buy is some “digital implies a “fiber heavy” or “fiber real deep” effect of increasing cord cutting forcing transformation” and be set for the next approach. Lots of fiber, down lots of you to amortize video costs over fewer 30 years. The access network is the most roads connecting lots of buildings. One and fewer subscribers. Plus, this will challenging part of the network, yet it’s large, multi-year construction project and not solve the rapidly rising video content the basis your business. be done for 25 years. An upgrade would costs either. include incremental upgrades such as The triple-play economic cycle is past its from GPON or to XGS-PON or from ADSL Given this, should an ILEC consider tran- peak. Cord cutting is becoming more to VDSL to G.Fast with a ‘fiber a little sitioning to Open Access? The concept than a nuisance and is expect to continue deeper’ approach. itself sounds odd: let other service pro- or accelerate its steady climb. At the viders run on my new $Millions network same time the cost for video and televi- However, an upgrade strategy doesn’t that took me years to build? First, we sion content is ballooning and due to cord solve the cord cutting and rising video must ensure we are talking about the cutting you must amortize your video content costs problems. In many areas, same definition of “Open Access”. infrastructure and content cost over less at a minimum, you have no choice but and less subscribers. Traditional voice to offer voice services and meet the A big issue around “open access” is the maybe okay since the infrastructure is FCC minimum rates for broadband term “open access”. I’ve come across long depreciated, works fine and a large access. Strategically, an upgrade will at least five definitions of “open access” enough segment of the population still buy you time, perhaps more than 10 some of which have failed and some wants it. It’s the proverbial cash cow. The years. Unless, of course, communities where the use of the word “open” is issue here is millennials have never had a convince themselves that it’s a ‘giga- purely gratuitous. For example, when an voice “cord to cut”. bit or die’, which it may be, and do it ILEC describes a town with both a Cable themselves anyway. The important part and Telco provider as “open access” it’s For now, your environment is okay with of “Community Broadband” is the word not. It’s called “competition”. Huntsville, manageable competition, if any, minimal “community”. A corollary is “broadband Alabama is not open access either; it’s threat of a new over-builder, GoogleFiber is not about bit rates, it’s about com- dark fiber leasing or wholesaling. Great isn’t coming to town, favorable incum- munity survival or vibrancy”. Hence, for the city, great for GoogleFiber, but still bent climate in Washington, D.C., low some communities will move forward not open access. Then there’s an open interest rates, etc. How different would with their own “community broadband access narrative that sounds too much your business environment be if a city networks” for reasons beyond gigabit like the dreaded unbundling of network government in your footprint announces speeds. The point to remember is an elements. The good news is it isn’t. a municipally funded gigabit FTTH ini- upgrade strategy may not eliminate the tiative. Or any other entity announces gigabit over-builder threat. This “real” open access model is based plans to over-build your ‘best’ areas with on a Three Layer Model shown in Figure FTTH? These are your real threats, not The alternative is to over-build your- 1, below. This model currently serves the narrative that 5G will take over the self. The biggest challenge to over-build over two million households in Sweden world. is funding. How does the ILEC fund and many millions more across Europe, a multi-year civil construction project Africa and Asia. It’s a model that is also If the biggest risk is a fiber heavy over- based on anticipated future cash flows? appearing in the U.S.A., driven by for- builder what can an ILEC do to mitigate Then, what are these future cash flows ward looking municipalities.
4 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ ments, local business and anyone else Greg Whelan, Principal who wants to be a “layer 3” service pro- at Greywale Advisors, is a vider? Everyone can share “the road” on leading expert on Open a fair, equitable and non-discriminatory Access Broadband in basis. the U.S. His unpublished research “Overcoming the 12 With this model, the transformed ILEC Challenges of Open Access can focus on the local engineering Broadband in the United States” provides a aspects of building and maintaining a playbook for a range of Open Access deploy- physical asset that’s hanging from poles ment and funding strategies for both public or buried underground. Then they can and private entities. His research focus is in decide whether to outsource the Layer 2 virtual access networks, Real Open Access operations or do it themselves. They in Broadband, Gigabit Broadband, fixed-wire- effect become “access providers” in the less broadband and Community Broadband. truest sense. They provide access to and He’s a pioneer in broadband telecommu- from consumers, business and service nications and drove the first global DSL standards and was a co-founder, and Vice In today’s model, the ILEC must own President, of the Broadband Forum. and operate every function in the entire “In today’s model, model. This is costly and requires a vast the ILEC must own Greg has worked in technical marketing roles array of capabilities and skills. The Open for large technology firms including Cisco Access Model identifies three distinct and operate every Systems (San Jose, CA) where he led award “layers”. Each one is optimized based on winning global marketing campaigns in skill sets and funding options. function in the entire telecommunications and cable markets and Analog Devices (Norwood, MA) where he cre- Starting with the physical asset, Layer 1 model. This is costly ated and lead their successful entrance into is the fiber owner. They’re responsible the broadband telecommunication market. for the design, construction and main- and requires a vast He’s also spearheaded marketing and prod- tenance of the passive fiber network. ucts for a number of early stage SP Focused Layer 2 is the entity that “lights” the array of capabilities venture-backed start-ups in the Boston area, fiber and provides the open access inter- three of which were acquired by larger tech faces and APIs (Application Programming companies. Interfaces). Layer 3 are service provid- and skills.” ers enabling businesses and consumers providers. You would no longer have to He has a BS in Electrical Engineering from to choose from a menu of competing manage three separate infrastructures Cornell University and an MBA in Innovation offers. This is not dark fiber leasing. and adapt to evolving regulatory frame- from Northeastern University. He has also In this real open access model all ser- works (voice, video and data). In fact, if studied Digital Video over Broadband at the vice providers get access to customer you outsource the Layer 2 you don’t have MIT MediaLab. at “Layer 2” of the network protocol to manage anything! stack. To eliminate some confusion, the Layer 2 open access operating entity The Open Access Transformation will owns and operates Layers 1 and 2 of enable the ILEC’s management team to the traditional seven layer ISO network focus on two things: providing access protocol stack. So, in concept, Verizon, between every building in the area and AT&T and Comcast could each offer ser- everyone who wants to be service provid- vices to the same home at the same time er and satisfying the financing. With this over the same strand of fiber. So too approach, you’re not just digitally trans- could cloud companies such as Amazon, forming your network, your transforming Google, Facebook et al. Then why not your business for the next 30 years. the local community college, city govern-
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 5 ways to improve customer experiences and increase satisfaction. In the race to woo and keep his customers happy, our hero fully recognizes that his organiza- tion is lagging behind. He must find a way to sprint forward, despite the shackles of network complexity that have made progress so difficult.
And that’s when he sees a fork in the road – a new path ahead, perhaps? This new route holds not only the promise of accelerating service delivery but also enables an entirely new degree of service innovation that wasn’t possible before.
But the start of the route looks rough, with steep hills, twists and turns ahead. Envisioning Intelligent Ops – Turning the Dream into a Reality
To overcome the shackles of network complexity, and avoid being 'locked-in,' our hero has opted to take a new path forward—one that focuses on the opti- mization of the service life cycle. This route can help him to drive the business forward, improve customer satisfaction, and boost bottom line results.
He now believes that optimizing the ser- vice lifecycle is the way to break free from legacy network complexities and gain some much-needed agility and scalabil- Our hero is hopelessly stuck in an enor- ing just one proposed service change ity. And he sees this is his only hope to mous tangle of network complexity. also comes with an exorbitant 'tax' to be keep pace with relatively younger com- paid in the form of internal OPEX, but petitors who are sprinting ahead, work- As he struggles, he realizes that for most also potentially to external vendors and/ ing hard to chip away at his customer network operators the concept of a self- or integrators who support the current base. But he faces a steep learning curve driving or self-optimizing network seems network infrastructure. ahead—how best should he start? far out of reach. At the same time, this often crippling With persistence and dedication, our Still, his most fervent desire is to break 'tax' increases with each service change hero makes progress, as he chooses to free from current network complexities request. Despite a strong and growing start with network automation and adopt to accelerate the pace of service delivery, desire for change, our hero's network a data-driven WAN automation architec- and eliminate lock-in. has become stuck in perpetual inertia, ture, which is relatively easy to adapt. unable to unlock innovation, and requir- And he also learns to leverage DevOps As he struggles, he determines that ser- ing constant manual tinkering using processes and techniques to help him vice delivery optimization should be his arcane processes to overcome barri- drastically increase agility, while simulta- most coveted goal. ers to achieving his desired new service neously increasing his ability to execute objectives. on the adaptations. Trouble is, how can he turn this dream into a reality? In some cases, the cost of operational- Bringing together teams of personnel izing a single new service may grow so from various product, networking, engi- Turning static, costly and slow moving complex and cost prohibitive, the risks neering and IT disciplines, he helps them network assets into a dynamic, agile, simply outweigh the benefits. collaborate, building new WAN services intelligent operational infrastructure is through the use of service templates no small undertaking. For many net- Without the ability to quickly make ser- and bringing in new domains by creating work operators, the changes required vice changes, there is also little chance 'adapters' to abstract away from underly- and obstacles they face may seem over- our hero will be able to keep up with ing complexities. By leveraging DevOps whelming, and costly. However, they the pace set by more nimble and agile tools and techniques, this newly estab- increasingly understand that delivering providers – those not saddled with the lished team of superheroes finds a way even a single new service leveraging burden of dragging legacy networks and to introduce and bring together different their current infrastructure is also an operational environments along with sets of underlying controllers, manage- arduous, expensive series of tasks. And them. These competitors have the free- ment systems and even network ele- the entire process involved in complet- dom to swiftly adjust and focus on new ments ranging from IP/MPLS to Ethernet to optical, melding together previously
6 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ independent worlds. service-oriented view, northbound to end users and network administrators. Our hero can now utilize this engine and As part of the effort to simplify network Through all of their efforts, the team of its secure access to structured data mod- operations, our hero also learns to fully superheroes is now driving a new servic- els to drive immediate value through the embrace virtualization. He recognizes in es-oriented or Service Level Agreement use of sophisticated machine learning his B2B market arena that enterprise (SLA) centered view of the network, to and predictive analytics. He can now connectivity has become intensely com- replace their prior technology-driven ‘mine’ for golden ‘nuggets’ of data, from petitive and essentially commoditized, view. On this journey from technology- the treasure chest that is his data lake, while the ability to offer valued-add- driven to services-based operations, our deducing key analytical insights that add ed services not only increases market hero has also learned that simplifying value to business operations. With this opportunities, but also provides further the service lifecycle can help him to new capability, our hero decides to focus differentiation for his firm. dramatically speed the process involved in the short term on three primary appli- in service turn ups and/or turndowns, cations: At the same time, however, he under- effectively creating an on-demand ser- stands that managing physical platforms vice capability that gives his business a 1. Improved customer satisfaction and networks across every enterprise unique market advantage. His service Using performance-related data branch location will make his service simplification ideology also helps bring combined with machine learning simplification goal unachievable. Our a new end-to-end service-centric view algorithms, it now becomes possible hero quickly determines that virtualiza- of the network, which in turn improves to actually predict failures before tion is the answer, enabling him to break service assurance and overall customer they happen. By focusing on risk through previously cost-prohibitive oper- satisfaction. assessments, a network operator ational barriers to offer a wide range of can stay ahead of potential outages. virtualized business appliances that add By choosing the path toward MDSO, our But just pointing to a problem won’t a new level of value on top of the busi- hero now has freed himself from lock- necessarily ensure the network ness’s basic connectivity offerings. in and created a true end-to-end ser- availability customers demand, vice automation platform, which has also so evolving to a fully autonomous From his new vantage point, it’s now pos- streamlined business operations. But network requires that network intel- sible to see further ahead. Turns out he automated does not necessarily equal ligence evolves to automatically was right! There are new and emerging autonomous. What else can be done to steer services away from potential, market opportunities ahead. And he fully bring an element of intelligence to the predicted problem areas. understands how utilizing automation network? 2. Improved demand planning and virtualization will efficiently help him Predicting capacity requirements enable a range of new services. But while As the story concludes, our hero has and traffic growth was once a chal- he now has automated the WAN and learned to conquer the dreaded lock-in lenging, offline guessing game. By added the ability to offer virtualized func- beast, and streamlined outdated pro- leveraging predictive analytics, it’s tions, he still has more work ahead on his cesses and technologies to deliver new now possible to predict the specific network automation journey. services, quickly and efficiently. areas that may require capacity aug- mentation, and to automatically trig- As he gains momentum, our hero sees How much more quickly, you ask? In ger those changes in the network, that he now needs to focus on the true terms of building and delivering new ser- as the operator’s network policy end-to-end service regardless of whether vices, processes that once took months allows. Today, this process requires it is traversing a physical or virtual infra- to complete, are now accomplished in some human interaction and cre- structure. He now understands that to minutes. ative thinking, but in the future, this ‘abstract’ away network technologies and type of predictive planning will ulti- provide true end-to-end service lifecycle Because our hero has created an abstract- mately become the norm provisioning with performance-driven ed network model that is able to retrieve 3. Network optimization SLAs, he must look beyond simply WAN an amazingly rich set of information and As the rate of change accelerates automation and virtualization, and focus data from across the entire network in network operations, and more most on each customer service — this infrastructure, he decides that it’s time to organizations enable both machine- customer oriented perspective now leads utilize this information to draw insights driven and even external customer- him down a path toward Multi-Domain from the network. He decides to deposit driven inputs, the need for networks Service Orchestration (MDSO). and store this 'big data' in what is called to self-optimize, in near real-time a data lake, which can store data from will ensure the network architecture Our hero now realizes that the move both within and outside the network in remains ideally suited for the traffic into multi-domain service orchestration an efficient, unstructured manner. types and services carried. is simply an extension of the WAN auto- mation he has already implemented. Because analytical insights and intelli- Each new application developed further In fact, to add new virtual, mobile or gence may be garnered from this data increases the level of ‘intelligence’ in data center domains to his automation lake, our hero adds an analytical engine the network and provides much needed platform becomes as simple as creating that can provide a more structured and insights that our hero and other network new 'adapters' to interface to these new normalized view of the data, complete operators can use to drive changes back domains and new templates, which can with a set of rich APIs that support into their now automated networking even utilize previously built WAN tem- higher level applications. These APIs are environments. Our hero’s new autono- plates in a hierarchical manner. By build- designed to be open, to enable a wide mous architecture continues to grow ing upon his existing architecture, he can range of future ideas, from multiple, increasingly intelligent and autonomous, now further abstract away the details of varying sources, as and when they are the network and apply a true end-to-end created. Continued on Page 43
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 7 DEFINING THE FUTURE NETWORK
ADTRAN is accelerating the path to SD-Access with Mosaic. This solution provides an open, programmable and scalable architecture that spans the entire network from cloud edge to subscriber edge – from data center to device and delivers improved efficiency, reduced OpEx and a path for future growth.
To learn more, visit adtran.com/SD-Access
8 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ DEFINING THE FUTURE NETWORK
By Timothy Brown Director, Security and Virtualization Network Utility Force
One of the many fantastic innovations world. There are a variety of different Chinese vendor that were often open technology brings is low-cost, low-power mechanisms for evaluating IMIX traffic, to the Internet and not well secured. networked industrial control and home but usually, they are very biased towards Municipalities rarely have the security automation equipment. larger packet sizes. operations staff or architecture experi- ence capable of mitigating these chal- I recently added a new set of sensors OEMs have deployed many capabilities lenges, so an unwary service provider at my home for home automation. For in the later generations of switching chip- might find their network crippled by sen- under $200, I was able to automate every sets both commodity and custom-fabri- sors they have no control or dominion light in the home, added new motion sen- cated. One of these capabilities allows a over. A French web host had a similar sors and window sensors, and can even service provider to change the dimension attack driven by the same vector that was tell the intensity of ultraviolet light in my of the tables used to store what address- over 1.1 Tbps of traffic - a truly staggering living room. My television automatically es are reachable off of what ports. For number to many of Walker’s customers turns on in the morning based on what example, a Juniper EX4300 has a default in the service provider realm. Software ADTRAN is accelerating the path to SD-Access with time my first meeting is and a few lines table of 5120 addresses per VLAN; a very defined networks, security virtualization Mosaic. This solution provides an open, programmable of code have my streaming television respectable number in any case. In some with virtual firewalls from many vendors services throwing up the right channels. large scale sensor networks, though, such as Juniper and Fortinet, and new and scalable architecture that spans the entire network A news summary is read during morning 5000 addresses is not uncommon to techniques for micro-segmentation can coffee, and the commute time to my first reach on a city block, and provisioning a offer some relief on the security front. from cloud edge to subscriber edge – from data center meeting is part of that briefing. It sounds VLAN for a city block’s sensor devices is to device and delivers improved efficiency, reduced amazing, doesn’t it? It sure is. There are not all that sound of an engineering judg- What can service providers do today to other effects, though, that are not appar- ment on its face. prepare for the onslaught of the Internet OpEx and a path for future growth. ent at first glance. of things? Walker can help. With our labo- So what does this mean for service pro- ratory and integration services and our Municipalities are rolling out IP-connected viders? It means the traditional metrics new SDN/NFV Integration Lab, we can To learn more, visit adtran.com/SD-Access elements at a rate never seen before, we’ve used in the past to dimension test equipment and validate its perfor- and homes are buying up automation our networks and devices will need to mance. We can also help service provid- devices such as connected thermostats be added to and augmented. It means ers prepare and offer new services such and cameras at a record pace. While the a host of additional devices placed on as virtual firewalling, DDoS detection and bandwidth for some of these sensors our networks will force us to consider response mechanisms, and application may be low, they still take up space on alternative models for connectivity such and wireless gateways. the network: an entry in a CAM or MAC as traditional wireless (802.11 or mesh), address table, an IPv4 or IPv6 address, or bespoke low power wireless networks. Walker offers professional services in- and depending on the rate of the sen- The face of security and management house or through our partner, NUF, and sor’s involvement with the rest of the changes as well. With so many more can help you understand how the new network, a lot of packets. devices to secure and manage, providers rush of devices might affect your existing have both an opportunity and a chal- network. We often determine what OEMs are good lenge ahead of them. The opportunity is candidates in our networks using a vari- in providing security at the interconnec- ety of models: the more common speeds tion point of these sensor trees to the and feeds, features, investment protec- network. tion, etc. Any axis can be deceptive; “wire rate” often means wire rate for a The challenge is that many of the sen- given packet size and packets per second sors are not built with security in mind. count. OEMs often do their own assess- A recent attack against a popular secu- ments and design work around what’s rity researcher’s website saw more than called IMIX, which is a typical picture of 620Gbps of denial of service traffic, what equipment is likely to see in the real brought about by cameras made by a
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 9 Why Service Providers Need Universal CPE
By Prayson Pate CTO, Ensemble Division ADVA Optical Networking
By Prayson Pate CTO, Ensemble Division ADVA Optical Networking
Universal customer premises equipment • Scalable solutions that can be even when wireline connectivity is not (uCPE) is getting a lot of attention from deployed over a broad range of host yet available. Once wired access service providers. Can uCPE live up to the platforms is provided, the wireless interface hype? Yes! Here’s why. • Able to fit into today’s networks – can be used for backup or true and tomorrow’s. uCPE solutions can bandwidth on demand. What Is uCPE? take advantage of network interface • Service on demand. Today’s In general, service providers want to cards to support non-Ethernet services are coupled with an simplify customer site deployments by network interfaces such as TDM or appliance. Adding or changing a replacing a panoply of dedicated appli- DSL, as well as the inevitable service means adding or changing ances with software virtual network func- evolution to faster and cheaper an appliance. Changing hardware is tions (VNFs) running on a single, universal processors slow and costly, especially if done platform. Preferably, the uCPE platform over hundreds or thousands of is a pure commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) The Real Value of uCPE – On-Demand sites. Moving to a software-centric server hosting a mix of open source and Services solution means the customer can proprietary software from a variety of The ability to leverage open software get the service they want when they vendors. uCPE provides the means of and a multi-vendor approach to services want it (which is usually now), and achieving this vision by using network sounds good. It aligns with the service that multiple services can be hosted functions virtualization (NFV) to extend provider vision of leveraging the cloud, on a single platform. cloud-centric technologies all the way to but how does it help today? • Shared resources. A proper choice the access part of the telco network. of uCPE architecture (including If you step back and think about that orchestration and control) can enable A universal CPE deployment would typi- cloudy goal of a programmable network, the hosting server to be used by cally include most or all of these attri- you can start to understand the real multiple service providers. Doing so butes: value of uCPE: dynamic services turned enables new opportunities for • White box or COTS server for hosting up on demand. With the proper uCPE wholesale revenue as well as for cost- • Standard and open software architecture, service providers can offer effective access to off-net locations. architecture built on standard net-new services that are not possible components such as Linux, KVM, today. Yes, But Does It Catch Fish? open source containers, and Those of us of a certain age may remem- OpenStack Here are some examples of what uCPE ber television commercials for the Popeil • Multi-vendor solutions combining can enable: Pocket Fisherman. The Pocket Fisherman a mix of open source and • Instant turn-up of locations. With was clearly compact and portable but proprietary software components local sourcing of COTS servers, seemed like a toy. The manufacturer rec- as well as flexibility to swap out service providers have the ability ognized this objection and addressed it software components in an to respond immediately to service by showing it in action and catching fish. automated and efficient manner requests, so delays for import and • Zero touch deployment provides onsite support go away. I have heard similar objections from the ability to perform service turn-up • Wireless access. Today’s COTS service providers regarding uCPE. They without pre-configuration or manual servers support optional wireless acknowledge the benefits above but are intervention interfaces, enabling service turn-up skeptical of how to achieve them. “It
10 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ costs too much,” or “the performance is Services (VNS) offering. ADVA’s Ensemble too low,” or “I have to give up features.” division is providing the NFV infrastruc- Prayson Pate is ADVA Service providers are justified in worrying ture (NFV-I) with our Ensemble Connector Optical Networking’s about these areas. We at ADVA Optical software. Verizon has assembled a multi- chief technology officer Networking have worked with our COTS vendor ecosystem to achieve the true for the Ensemble division and VNF suppliers to address these con- value of uCPE, and we are proud to be a and is an evangelist cerns with third-party performance tests. part of that. for network functions virtualization (NFV). The real test of uCPE is to put it into the uCPE – Enabling New Services and He speaks at industry lab and try it out. Fortunately, the low Driving Innovation events and writes posts cost of the hardware and software, along Service providers can leverage uCPE to and articles to inform, with the ease of turn-up, makes such lab enable new services and revenue. At the educate and entertain, mostly about testing straightforward – at least when same time, they are deploying a cloud- NFV with plenty of innovation for good uCPE is done right. centric platform for innovation. It’s a measure. These include The Real CTOs of win-win – concrete benefits today, and NFV series. Even better than lab tests is a live deploy- preparation for longer-term strategic ment, and we have one – at Verizon. innovation. Prayson received a master’s degree in We at ADVA are pleased to be working electrical and computer engineering from with Verizon on their just-announced North Carolina State University and a uCPE platform for their Virtual Network bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Duke University. Prayson has contributed to standards bodies such as the MEF and IETF. He is a named inventor on nine patents.
Verizon Adds Ensemble to Its Virtual Network Services uCPE Solution Zero Touch Capabilities of Ensemble Connector Deliver Key Agility and Scalability
Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. May 16, 2017. - Ensemble, a division of ADVA Optical Networking, announced today that Verizon has selected its Ensemble Connector as part of the deployment of the service provider’s universal customer premises equipment (uCPE) solution. Verizon is using the Ensemble Connector as its network functions virtualization infrastructure (NFVI) on commer- cial off-the-shelf (COTS) white box servers. Ensemble Connector’s zero touch provisioning enables Verizon to drop-ship servers directly from the COTS supplier to the end customer – dramatically simplifying supply chain logistics. Ensemble Connector further simplifies operational processes with access to the industry’s largest collection of virtual network functions (VNFs).
“As we expand the number and scope of SDN/NFV-based transformations with our customers, we see significant demand for solutions based on COTS hardware,” said Shawn Hakl, vice president, Business Networking and Security Solutions, Verizon. “The demand to move from hardware-based services to software-based, cloud-enabled solutions is growing by the day and is only going to accelerate. Ensemble Connector is an important enabling technology for us to bring these solutions to market. This approach allows us to provide our customers with a simple, rapid installation experience and allows them to securely deploy multiple software-based services on a single uCPE installation.”
Verizon’s uCPE solution has been built from the ground up to provide end customers with greater agility, functionality and scal- ability. Ensemble Connector improves OpenStack scalability and manageability by embedding local controllers in each COTS white box. This is something no other NFVI technology on the market offers. Ensemble Connector is also unique in that it provides sup- port for wired and LTE connections. This enables the Ensemble Connector to “call home” using the most suitable access available and automatically configure customers’ virtualized services without any need for pre-configuration or onsite visits.
“What we’re announcing here is more than an agreement between Verizon and ADVA Optical Networking; it’s a dramatic shift in how companies build next-generation networking solutions,” commented James Buchanan, general manager, Ensemble Division, ADVA Optical Networking. “Adding our Ensemble Connector to its VNS uCPE solution will provide Verizon’s customers with more choice, more services and more flexibility. Ensemble Connector’s capabilities help solve deployment, operational and runtime challenges.”
Watch this video for more information on Ensemble Connector: https://youtu.be/pCmZV7mxDRc
Further details on the announcement are also available in these slides: http://adva.li/verizon-vns-ucpe
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 11 Capacity, Cooling, Conservation: Approaching Access Network Challenges
By Brian Davis - Global Market Development Manager - Carrier Networks Sebastian Sassi - Market Development Manager - Carrier Networks Corning
The Internet of Things, increased demand white space in them is crucial. To build for bandwidth by customers, and the more access network capacity means to “APPLYING NFV explosive proliferation of mobile devices add more fiber, more interconnections, around the globe all mean that car- and more racks of networking equip- AND SDN CAN HELP rier networks are facing massive capac- ment to move the flow of data to and ity challenges. With the last decade’s fro; as such a conflict between available DRIVE LOW COST explosive growth in handheld computing space in telecommunications facilities power and the increasing number of IP and the need to expand carrying capac- SCALING WHILE enabled devices, carrying capacity must ity is in the immediate offing for many grow substantially in the coming years access networks currently in operation. PROVIDING FOR on carrier access networks everywhere. A significant market trend in response A MORE AGILE Over the next few years access net- to the need for more bandwidth (and works will find themselves stretched well the equipment to provide it) is the move SERVICE DELIVERY beyond capacity, and network operators toward network function virtualization; will have to spend significant capital and by virtualizing the legacy hardware that PLATFORM.” effort optimizing their throughput capa- provides authentication, security, load Essentially, the question is merely when, bility in order to meet customer demand. balancing, and the nuts and bolts con- not if, fiber goes essentially everywhere. sumer services customers demand, sig- What’s driving this bandwidth shortfall? nificant capex and space savings can be How to manage it? • Continuous growth in IP video traffic. realized along with reductions in power An effective fiber deployment strategy • Increase in mobile connections – and cooling requirements. Deploying necessitates an adequate consideration whether WiFi or cellular. latest generation NFV/SDN appliances for how to manage and terminate the • Internet of Things – connected IP in lieu of legacy central office and head- millions of cross connects and intercon- devices, everywhere, and lots of end equipment certainly can alleviate nects an FTTx world entails; according them. concerns about floor space availability to the FTTH Council, in 2015 the number • Bandwidth demand in the home. to some very real extent. With many of homes passed by fiber lifted by 13% market surveys showing a majority of to over 26 million, and anticipation for To handle the explosive growth in mobile service providers either implementing or acceleration continues for the next sev- devices and consumer demand for sym- planning on NFV/SDN deployments this eral years. Adoption or “take rates” in metrical last mile speeds that far outstrip year, it seems relatively uncontroversial areas with homes passed by fiber are today’s, telecommunications companies to say that modernized, high-throughput approaching 50%, and more than half are considering how best to quickly mod- networks for the 21st century are going of the 1000+ fiber providers in the US ernize their access networks. The cen- to make extensive use of NFV/SDN. And anticipate offering gigabit level services tral offices and headends of today will capacity is certainly not the only chal- within the next five years. With yet mil- see much higher fiber counts, increased lenge carriers need to address—a gen- lions more homes—and businesses—to demands for density, and the virtualiza- erational shift in the market, and the be passed by fiber in coming years, it is tion of back office functions like BGP, fledgling availability of on-demand pro- certain that telecommunications provid- security, access management, and net- visioning of bandwidth in some markets, ers will necessarily have to handle scads work analytics. Applying NFV and SDN means the enterprise space is starting to more fiber terminations over the next can help drive low cost scaling while pro- demand a service model paradigm shift. few years. viding for a more agile service delivery platform. Such networks offering consumers There are certainly significant advantag- throughputs--measured in the hundreds es inherent in this modernized access One of the inherent challenges for ser- of megabits and beyond into the gigabit network model from an opex and capex vice providers looking to add infrastruc- range—are going to require fiber run point of view; virtualized network func- ture to support these growing expecta- deeper than ever into the network. Fiber tionality means greatly reduced capex tions is a structural one—legacy telecom is the only medium that can reliably for standalone hardware that provides infrastructures were built in adherence carry gigabit traffic past downtown MDUs communications services. By moving to to 1970s era NEBS standards which and multi-tenant commercial structures, a NFV architecture, carriers avoid procur- could never have possibly anticipated urban developments, business parks, ing and servicing legacy equipment that the power, cooling, and fiber connectiv- dense suburban and exurban neighbor- often is purpose-built for a single func- ity requirements dictated by 21st cen- hoods, and make the long haul runs into tionality; they instead can load virtualized tury access networks. Central offices and rural markets clamoring for high speed, telecom services onto commodity serv- headends in use today are not getting low latency connectivity. ers bought in bulk that cost significantly any bigger, and thus conservation of less. Major carriers are reporting savings
12 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ in excess of $10 million as a result of Fortunately the fiber optic hardware mode & multi-mode, simplex & moving network services from non-vir- industry has been planning ahead for duplex, SC & LC & MTP, as well as tual legacy gear to a virtualized platform. this eventuality, and an emerging con- various devices such as splitters, port Carriers running NFV/SDN also enjoy sensus exists on a few points that should taps, WDM, etc. will be beneficial. lowered opex requirements for power- help guide network architecture discus- ing and cooling their networks—moving sions. While many different approaches Carriers and access network providers a series of telecom services onto more for handling fiber in the ISP environment everywhere are considering these sorts cutting edge virtual servers reduces the exist, a few best practices have arrived. of infrastructure questions, assessing the power required to operate a network sig- • Not all density is created equally— changes necessary for their service mod- nificantly. This does not merely mean a manageable density is the key. els and go to market strategy, exploring lower power bill, but also a requirement • Excellent finger access to individual new means of revenue generation and for far less cooling equipment and its connectors helps to prevent cloud based WAN and application servic- associated expense. inadvertent disconnects and aids es, and grappling with network capacity in making adds, moves, and changes and whitespace conservation challenges Even as the network service applianc- easier. on an unprecedented scale. While these es themselves are virtualized, the real- • A defined and intuitive jumper are not insurmountable, they are con- ity is the number of fiber terminations routing design makes it much easier cerns that will keep strategists and net- required will increase. How best to man- to keep day 2 discipline. work architects up late at night, and the age this massive build coming to a central • Jumper options should be job of the fiber optic hardware industry office or headend on your network? It is considered. What sort of jumpers is to continue to innovate the next gen- simply not a question network providers does the fiber solution in question eration optical solutions that make the dare ignore, and it goes without saying require? 2.0mm? 1.6mm? How interconnected world of the 21st century that poorly considered and undisciplined many different jumper lengths are a practical reality we can all rely on— fiber management in the central office required? after all, an informed, well connected, and headend environment can lend to • NFV/SDN may introduce different educated world with access to informa- outages, inadvertent disconnects, and connector types, fiber types, and tion on demand is a better world for the inefficiencies. devices into an ISP space – having a next generation. solution that can manage single
Faster Networks Expand the Value of SIP Endpoints through Integration By Phil Bowers Senior Marketing Manager Grandstream As service providers across the world types of solutions. Instead of having to on your SIP network (or even simply continue to optimize their networks with build a video conferencing network, you by using IP cameras that can be new technology that create faster net- can use your existing network infrastruc- integrated with door openers), you works, SIP endpoints and technologies ture to do so. can use your IP phones to let people have begun to take on a new life. With in the building or speak to visitors business having access to faster speeds Let’s look at some of the many ways when they arrive. Your Door System to build more comprehensive networks, that faster networks have expanded the can automatically detect when a they are able to integrate all of their value and functionality of SIP devices and visitor arrives and trigger a call to devices and services onto common net- technologies. set IP phones, where works. This allows devices vendors to • Telephony and security – With the • SIP Video conferencing – Video expand the features and functionalities addition of a few SIP cameras to conferencing has historically been of our devices by allowing endpoints to your SIP network, you can allow too complex for most businesses, communicate like never before on com- your IP phones to work directly with in part because of the amount of mon networks. The combination of bet- those IP cameras to keep your busi- complicated network management ter, faster networks not only allows ven- ness safe and secure. Set IP cam- this often proprietary technology dors to expand endpoint functionalities eras to make voice or video calls required. Now, there are a wealth and offer a wider array of new solutions, to IP phones when a security event of SIP video conferencing devices but it subsequently allows end-users to occurs, allowing your IP phones to out there that can be integrated better protect and manage their offices proactively alert you when some- into your existing network and the while having access to more tools and thing has occurred. majority of business networks can information. For example, instead of hav- • Telephony and Facility Access – You easily support the bandwidth need- ing to invest money on a new security, can use your IP phones to monitor ed for video conferencing. These facility access or intercom system, the and proactively control access to devices are more affordable than SIP devices most businesses probably any facility. By simply adding an IP ever before as well. already have allow them to build these Video Door Station as an endpoint
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 13 JOIN US IN PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA FOR UTC TELECOM & TECHNOLOGY 2018
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14 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ Growing Demand for Precise Alternatively, synchronization informa- source a number of slave clocks concur- Synchronization tion can be extracted from the Global rently. Communication networks are transform- Navigation Satellite Signal (GNSS). ing into intelligent application environ- Accurate timing data is provided to a Service providers need to identify any ments supporting every aspect of our grandmaster as the source of PTP pack- deviation from required time precision. social and business lives. Mobile phones ets and so synchronization can be imple- That’s why synchronization delivery have become highly versatile lifestyle mented completely independently from must be complemented by sophisticat- gadgets with an ever-growing need for the communication network. However, ed synchronization assurance functions. bandwidth. The IoT is opening up a wide jamming or GNSS disruptions can severe- Synchronization is an extremely technical range of new applications using data ly impact the quality of the synchroniza- topic and the innovation and expertise of from various sensors deployed at the tion, leading to service faults. In addition, an experienced supplier is essential to edge of the network. And today’s busi- the GNSS receiver requires antennas to design and implement the most suitable ness processes from transactional ser- be mounted on rooftops. This can often solution. vices in the financial market to control be costly or completely impossible. systems in critical infrastructures are supported by networked software solu- A Flexible Synchronization Solution tions. All of these applications face a Makes the Difference common challenge. They need highly The combination of GNSS-based syn- accurate time information at the edge of chronization with PTP sourced from one the network: or several grandmasters can address most synchronization requirements in • The latest mobile technologies a highly efficient way, as the best time require precise base station timing source can be selected based on cost • High-speed trading needs financial and quality metrics. The highly accurate transactions to be precisely time- GNSS-derived time is used for standard stamped operations, while the network-based PTP • Digitized cable networks demand flow is a backup in case of GNSS distur- synchronized remote PHY devices bances. GNSS-derived time information • Fault isolation in energy networks is also used to calibrate the PTP behavior builds on accurately timestamped of the packet network. This significantly power measurements improves the quality of the network- • Sensor data in the IoT will need based synchronization. to be associated with precise time information New unique PTP solutions incorporat- ing grandmasters and GNSS receivers How to Deliver Accurate Timing allow antennas to be mounted at street Today, timing is provided in two very dif- level or even indoors, removing the need ferent ways. Timestamped packets can for problematic rooftop antenna instal- deliver this information over data net- lations. works. IEEE 1588 Precision Time Protocol (PTP) describes a method for packet- The wide range of accuracy requirements based synchronization delivery. If high translates into a need for different syn- accuracy is required, any network node chronization products. In case of very needs to process the PTP packets. Hence, high accuracy, the timing source should legacy networks are frequently limited to be very close to the slave clock. This delivering only moderate sync quality. approach is costly and not suitable for A full network upgrade is required for moderate timing requirements. In such highly precise time synchronization. cases, higher capacity synchronization products need to be applied, which can
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 15 Innovative Solutions for Broadband Requirements
By Peter Radizeski Rad-info, Inc. Jim Hollis Executive Director FISPA
Since the 1990’s members of www.FISPA. and answer their phone. The current, paying the bill. Services providers like org (FISPA) have been bringing a variety most identifiable Broadband deployment this technology and ‘data only’ plans as a of Internet access solutions to America pattern among independent ISPs is: 1) wireless WAN back up. after legacy Bulletin Board System (BBS) reselling another provider’s network, 2) operators discovered the Internet as an adding wireless; and then 3) fiber - creat- Cable Modems improved access method for their online ing a “Hybrid Service Provider”. There has In urban areas Data Over Cable Service communities. Over 7,000 independently never been a one-size-fits-all network Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is the owned and operated Internet Services solution for ISPs. dominant broadband delivery available Providers (ISPs) enabled America to from most cable providers and used access the Internet with improved com- Today’s ISPs use a combination of fixed by 60% of residential consumers that munication applications, customer sup- wireless, microwave, satellite, licensed have Broadband. DOCSIS 3.1 provides a port, and web browsers before AOL wireless, copper/cable and fiber to deliv- shared, asymmetrical access with down- mass-mailed disks to every household er their services and they do so through load speeds up to 10 Gigabit (Gb) and in America. resale, wholesale, and agent agreements; uploads up to 1Gb. However, in February, becoming a Competitive Local Exchange 2016 at the CableLabs Conference, A new “State of the WAN Report” from Carrier (CLEC); and, ultimately building DOCSIS 3.1 Full Duplex was announced Software Defined Wide Area Network their own networks. with symmetrical speeds of 10Gb by (SD-WAN) specialist Aryaka found global 10Gb. WAN traffic increased 200% in one year Fixed Broadband Wireless after analyzing data from more than FISPA’s members have seen this tech- For customers that require higher reli- 5,000 WAN sites in 63 countries. Verizon nology evolve with continued improve- ability, ISPs will bond cable with DSL Wireless saw 33% growth in data usage ments in performance and reliabil- and/or cellular wireless to provide mul- per customer in 2017 after an even more ity while enjoying decreasing equipment tiple paths of Broadband access. impressive 45% 2016. Consumers con- and deployment costs. ISPs are closely tinue to devour Internet bandwidth and watching the evolving TV white space Copper companies providing the desired content (UHF TV channels in the 470 to 790Mhz Independent Local Exchange Carriers equally scramble to meet their needs. frequencies reclaimed by the FCC in (ILECs), like AT&T’s U-Verse and Verizon’s 2014) equipment with the promise of FIOS, are leveraging Very-High-Bit- Founded in 1996, FISPA was one of sev- better geographic coverage and Non- Rate Digital Subscriber Line 2 (VDSL2) eral state ISP associations (originally The Line-of-Sight performance. technology connected to Fiber-to-the- Florida ISP Association) that recognized Neighborhood (FTTN) that allows them to the value of a shared knowledgebase, Satellite use existing copper networks to deliver aggregate buying power, and established There are two satellite broadband pro- up to 300Mbps. G.fast is a DSL standard resale agreements with the then 9-state viders serving the US market (Hughes for copper connections shorter than BellSouth Corporation. Renaming itself Net and Viasat and their private-label 500 meters and is another emerging The Federation of Internet Solution resellers). Like fixed wireless, satellite DSL technology with speeds between Providers of the Americas to reflect their technologies have improved while costs 150Mbps and 1Gbps. Service provid- national value to ISPs, members would have decreased. ISPs include satellite ers love higher-speed DSL solutions but combine their unique value-add services options for their most remote customers are encumbered by ILEC exclusionary with legacy telecommunication carriers’ and to provide an effective back up to practices, market coverage, distance limi- networks to deliver their own versions other access technologies. Worldwide tations and poor provisioning, installa- of high-speed Internet services. By 2001 Google’s Project Loon places balloons on tion, and/or billing practices. AT&T technologies like unlicensed fixed broad- the edge of space to deliver broadband announced Project AirGig which is a band wireless, satellite, SDLS, ADSL, ISDN, and expand the definition of satellite. Wireless Broadband over Power Lines T1 and DS3’s dominated Internet access (BPL) technology. and “Broadband” was defined. Since the Licensed Cellular Wireless 1990’s, flavors of fixed wireless and DSL The hype and promise of cellular oper- For customers that require higher reli- are the most popular technologies for ators winning the market with fourth ability or greater bandwidth, ISPs will independent ISPs to bring broadband to generation (4G) and long-term evolution bond multiple DSL connections or add their consumer markets. (LTE) – fifth generation (5G) on the 2-year cable modems and/or cellular wireless horizon - remains but only 13 percent data to provide multiple paths and high- The technology, however, doesn’t mat- of households are smartphone only and er Broadband speeds. ter as much as the ISP’s willingness to most of these have no other broadband make it work, support it, bill it correctly, access or Mom & Dad or government is
16 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ Fiber years but they remain less likely than When discussing broadband access non-rural adults to have home broad- solutions for businesses, the winner is band, smartphones and other devices.” fiber. For the consumer market, there Facebook's Connectivity Lab has been are more than 700 fiber providers with tasked with “Connecting the world”. In Verizon’s FiOS service leading the way. that mission, Internet.org by Facebook Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) providers has been experimenting in Paraguay include smaller ILECs, municipalities, and the Philippines with drones and electric coops, CLECs and independent unmanned planes. ISPs. Google’s Google Fiber Broadband as been announced in 27 US cities and FISPA brought to America’s attention the need Subsequent to the great ISP roll up and for ‘Giga’ speeds. Consumers now look Telco crash of 2001, 7,000 ISPs become to Giga as the Holy Grail of broadband 1,500 comprising of a few national carri- that symbolizes an almost limitless res- ers and a scattering of local and regional ervoir of Internet content from Facebook, ISPs. Today that number is up to approx- Instagram, Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, Apple imately 4,000 due to start up fiber provid- and others with multiple high-definition ers and WISPs. FISPA serves the needs streaming devices while satellite, cellular of independently owned and operated wireless and copper technologies admin- local and regional ISPs and CLECs across ister data caps and overage charges. America. By helping small- and mid- Some ISPs chose FTTH as the design for sized ISPs and CLECs compete against some communities but the customer and work with incumbent carriers FISPA acceptance, defined as ‘take rates’, has members increase their probability for been mixed – some with high take rates; success. FISPA is the “How To” organiza- others with low take rates. Currently tion where members learn, share, and Google Fiber is experiencing the politi- teach. Join FISPA – they make being an cal and regulatory hurdles that all ISPs ISP or CLEC easier! endure when building fiber networks which prompted Google’s purchase of a Contributing writers: Peter Radizeski @ Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) Rad-info, Inc. and Jim Hollis @ Internet to start delivering broadband by fixed Broadband Consulting, LLC (also serving wireless. as the Executive Director of www.FISPA. org) Digital Divide Despite almost one trillion dol- Bibliography: http://info.aryaka.com/ lars invested in networks in America state-of-wan-2017.html, http://www. there is still a Digital Divide with 33% pewresearch.org/ , http://www.pewin- .org of America’s households being ‘under- ternet.org/topics/broadband/ , http:// www. served’. According to Pew Research, internet.org The HOW TO Association for “Rural Americans have made large gains in adopting digital technology in recent CLECs & Service Providers
FUN FISPA Facts FISPA FACT 1 - 25% of FISPA’s membership own and operate a fixed broadband wireless network and this is forecasted to double in the next 2 years.
FISPA FACT 2 - Although DOCSIS provides superior access speeds cable providers that have aging physi- cal plants or over loaded networks result in poor service levels during periods of rain or peak usage.
FISPA FACT 3 - Although slower than DOCSIS, DSL modems that are terminated into a fiber backbone provide a more stable, predictable access method for voice and cloud-based applications.
FISPA FACT 4 - 22% of FISPA’s membership operate their own fiber networks and this is forecasted to double over the next 2 years.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 17 Innovation lives here.
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18 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ TIA Names New CEO: Tech & Telecom Veteran Wes Johnston
Hiring is Part of Strategic Initiative to Align Organization with Industry Advancements
invest in, and stay ahead of, the changing needs of members and rapid industry advancements. In addition to his hir- ing, TIA recently enhanced its leadership team, adding four senior executives with deep communications industry, govern- ment, and association experience.
David Heard, chairman of the TIA Board of Directors commented, “Wes has a tre- mendous track record of driving change, being customer-focused and making an impact in the tech and telecom indus- About TIA tries. He’s a perfect fit for TIA’s mission to help companies navigate through tech- The Telecommunications Industry nology transformation, shifting policy Association (TIA) represents environments and a dynamic innovation manufacturers and suppliers of global environment, which are causing major communications networks through changes to our member companies’ busi- standards development, policy and ness models and supply chains.” advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence, and events and Arlington, VA (June 5, 2017) – The Mr. Johnston has held board and networking. TIA enhances the business Telecommunications Industry senior executive positions with large environment for broadband, mobile Association (TIA), the leading associa- global technology firms, as well as with wireless, information technology, tion representing the manufacturers and dynamic start-ups. While with Gores, networks, cable, satellite and unified suppliers of high-tech networks, today he was a board director with Alpheus communications. Members' products announced that Wes Johnston has been Telecommunications, Elo Touch Systems, and services empower communications named Chief Executive Officer. Johnston Imagine Communications and the in every industry and market, including comes to TIA with more than 25 years Tweddle Group. Prior to his work with healthcare, education, security, public of experience leading and transform- the Gores Group, he was Executive Vice safety, transportation, government, ing technology and telecom business- President and Chief Operating Officer the military, the environment, and es. Most recently, he was the Managing with technology integrator Dimension entertainment. Visit tiaonline.org for Director for Technology, Media and Data, a $6B information and communica- more details. Telecommunications (TMT) at The Gores tion technology (ICT) firm where he led Group, a global private equity firm. sales, marketing, solutions and service TIA is accredited by the American delivery in North and South America. National Standards Institute (ANSI), “I was drawn to TIA because its members and is a proud sponsor of ANSI’s play critical roles in supplying the innova- Johnston will join with other industry Standards Boost Business campaign. tive equipment and services that enable executives at TIA’s Connectivity Jam, June Visit www.standardsboostbusiness.org network connectivity,” Johnston said. “The 5-7 in Dallas. The event is a gather- for details. tremendous footprint of these members ing of senior leaders, who will tackle makes this an exciting opportunity, as the challenges of connectivity related to TIA adapts to a shifting policy landscape the Internet of Things (IoT), the future and rapid technological changes. There of television, network infrastructure and couldn’t be a more important time for TIA investment, security, smart cities and to be aligned with its member needs and more. The priorities and recommenda- focused on accelerating business oppor- tions shaped by these leaders will be tunities and innovation.” captured in a communications industry outcomes report produced by TIA with The selection of Johnston is part of a partner analyst firm IDC. broader strategic initiative by TIA to
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 19 Accelerate Your Business and Brands at Upcoming Events SPONSOR TODAY!
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20 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ Walker Renews ISO Certification
“At Walker and Associates, Inc., quality is definitely no accident . . . “
By Chrystie Walker-Brown CEO Walker and Associates, Inc.
As William A. Foster once wrote, “Quality years ago by the late co-founder, Chris Walker continues making strides in its is never an accident; it is always the result Walker. The Associates at Walker under- quest to improve processes in ways of high intention, sincere effort, intel- stand these values and exude awareness that deliver stronger value to custom- ligent direction and skillful execution; that the processes they utilize each day ers. Whether it is supplier relationships, it represents the wise choice of many are vital to a positive customer experi- handling of materials, assembly of inte- alternatives”. At Walker and Associates, ence. In addition, Associates have the grated products, managing returns, pro- Inc., quality is definitely no accident and voice, the power and the responsibility to cessing orders and more, Walker seeks has ultimately been the driving force for see that adjustments and improvements to continuously enhance everything that a successful business. are made as needed. This empowers matters to the customer experience. The everyone in the organization to initiate company’s basic agreement is reflected Walker chose to highlight its commit- change. in its values statement: “We take our ment to quality by becoming ISO certified commitment to service, quality and on in 2008 and has remained certified for Every Associate is equipped and engaged time to promise very seriously. We are nine years. The preparation for official- in preventing, responding and resolving solution oriented. We cannot merely ly earning quality certification, and the any issues that arise. In fact, associate promise reliability and excellence. We work involved in retaining it for nearly empowerment contributed significantly must back it up daily with action and a decade, has been easy since the focus in the success of Walker’s most recent with processes that are engineered for on quality is a cornerstone of the Walker ISO audit to the new standard 9001:2015 success.” Values, which were established many on June 2nd, 2017. The business benefits sought and suc- The new standard “2015” brings with it cessfully achieved by many companies “Quality is not what some key updates such as an empha- who are ISO certified includes higher sis on risk-based thinking to enhance rates of survival and growth, increased happens when what the application of the process approach, wages, reduced waste, enhanced pro- and increased leadership requirements. ductivity and improved health and safety you do matches Walker has met the challenge of com- performance. Walker is committed to pliance to the new standard by incor- maintaining a sound quality manage- your intentions. It is porating Risk Awareness throughout ment system that brings with it many the quality system by conducting train- rewards. Enhancing the customer expe- what happens when ing on risk awareness and analysis for rience, building steadfast relationships all associates and by incorporating the with suppliers, and strengthening the what you do risk factor within the Corrective Action current and future associate base with process. Additionally, the company is quality driven employees are actively matches your incorporating a focus on risks within pursued through Walker’s quality initia- the Management Review process. The tives. customers’ increased leadership requirements are also evident through the Management expectations.” Review process, which has been docu- mented to be an ongoing strength for ~Guaspari Walker throughout its decade of certifica- tion audits.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 21 FEBRUARY 5-7, 2018 HYATT CENTRIC FRENCH QUARTER NEW ORLEANS
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22 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/CONFERENCE DEPLOYING 10 GIGABIT SD-ACCESS NETWORKS Using the Emerging NG-PON2 and XGS-PON Standards to Build Next-Gen Broadband Networks By Michael Sumitra, Strategic Solutions Marketing Manager, ADTRAN
What is Driving the Need for Next- for residential, business, and small cell and agility of multi-wavelength NG-PON2 Gen PON? densification applications to fully tunable access technology, this offers unprec- Rapidly rising bandwidth usage in both NG-PON2 optics for premium enterprise, edented fiber distribution and network residential and business subscriber datacenter, fronthaul and backhaul ser- flexibility, supporting fiber network auto- bases combined with the need to deliver vices. grooming and reducing the need for user-driven services has network opera- expensive truck rolls. tors around the globe taking stock of In terms of fully tunable NG-PON2 optics, their existing networks. They must iden- ADTRAN is introducing Subscriber Edge Open Systems, Endless Possibilities. tify the technologies needed to ensure Tunable (SET) optics, a new category of Open interfaces for cable, video and their competitive position moving for- tunable optics addressing several key DSL broadband networks allow carriers ward when facing both existing and new technology and innovation gaps that to select customer premises equipment, entrants into the markets they serve. have hindered market development for middleware and access platforms based Next-Gen Passive Optical Network (PON) multi-wavelength access networks. SET on their specific network topology and technologies will enable access speeds optics will be a key enabling technology service requirements. Traditional rollouts up to 10 times that of existing Fiber- for the NG-PON2 solution, facilitating the of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) broadband to-the-Premises (FTTP) service offerings, delivery of highly elastic fiber services to networks, however, have used a closed while also providing the agile physical the customer premises equipment (CPE). system. This has historically forced ser- layer for on-demand services creation This flexible optics approach allows for vice providers into selecting the same and cloud-based services delivery. mass market 10/10G NG-PON2/ XGS- vendor for the fiber aggregation and the PON adoption for all broadband appli- ONT equipment, limiting the available Converging Multiple Services over a cations while maintaining flexibility for solutions. In a multi-vendor network, this Common Access Services Architecture the future overlay of an additional fixed further complicates the ability to offer The primary value of Next-Gen PON tech- optics 10/10G business PON and/or network-wide services and solutions. nologies -- NG-PON2 and XGS-PON --is multiple Time and Wavelength Division NG-PON2 will be the first PON technol- their ability to serve a mix of residential, Multiplexing (TWDM) PONs using higher ogy that will be implemented day one as business and backhaul services over a performance tunable optics. This inno- a multi-vendor solution supporting fully common Optical Distribution Network vation will enable access providers to open physical and application program- (ODN) using a mix of point-to-point and cost-effectively and efficiently leverage ming interfaces (APIs) to create best of point-to-multipoint technologies. The Nx10G NG-PON2 to deliver even higher breed access solutions. biggest challenge is developing a single speed FTTH services to homes, business- system that meets the scale and flexibil- es, G.fast MultiDwelling Unit/ Distribution With an open architecture approach, ity needs of premium enterprise, G.fast Point Unit (MDU/ DPU) and 4G/5G densi- service providers have the freedom to and 4G/5G densification access services fication installations. choose network elements and control while also delivering on the price points the introduction and rollout of new cus- needed for mass market residential Applying Data Center Architectures to tomers applications and broadband applications. Next-Gen PON technologies Access technologies, eliminating high overhead will provide these traits while doubling As telecom and cable operators look to costs. As shown in the diagram below, the life of operators’ investment in their optimize their networks, they are apply- a single system can meet the scale and optical distribution network. ing lessons learned from data center flexibility needs of premium enterprise, networks. Therefore, they are looking to G.fast and 4G/5G densification access Flexible Optics Balance Cost and Scale build modular, component-based net- services while also delivering on the price Realizing that the major cost compo- work architectures that are open, pro- points needed for mass market residen- nent of any Next-Gen PON system is the grammable and scalable. This approach tial applications. optical transceivers (both at the Optical represents a major shift from closed, [Insert illustration diagram attached sep- Line Terminal (OLT) and Optical Network monolithic systems controlled by mul- arately] Terminal (ONT)) it is vital to develop a tiple misaligned vendor-specific manage- flexible optics approach to NG-PON2. ment systems. ADTRAN has done so in allowing for a single NG-PON2 OLT system to utilize ADTRAN Mosaic is the industry’s most multiple types of optical transceivers, open and complete Software Defined enabling the service provider to bet- Access (SD-Access) solution that natively ter align cost with the target applica- integrates a complete FTTx portfolio with tion. These flexible optics range from an open source SDN controller whether innovative Class G, low-cost fixed optics ONOS or ODL. With the inherent scale
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 23 FTTH Optical Termination Enclosure
CommScope’s family of optical terminal enclosures (OTE) was designed specifically to save time and streamline the deployment of fiber while delivering long-lasting reliability and peace of mind. • Next-gen OTE portfolio provides almost limitless choices for sizes, styles and configurations • Plug and play, full-size or miniaturized hardened connectivity • Option of integrated splitter, optical tap or CCWDM (mini-OTE 300 series) • Built to withstand extreme weather and climate when mounted in aerial, manhole and pedestal locations • Gel sealant is ideal for closure re-entry without need of tools Walker and Associates and CommScope connects the right solution to your needs while delivering excellent service and value.
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24 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ FTTH Optical Termination Enclosure
CommScope’s family of optical terminal enclosures (OTE) was designed specifically to save time and streamline the deployment of fiber while delivering long-lasting reliability and peace of mind. • Next-gen OTE portfolio provides almost limitless choices for sizes, styles and configurations • Plug and play, full-size or miniaturized hardened connectivity • Option of integrated splitter, optical tap or CCWDM (mini-OTE 300 series) • Built to withstand extreme weather and climate when mounted in aerial, manhole and pedestal locations • Gel sealant is ideal for closure re-entry without need of tools Walker and Associates and CommScope connects the right solution to your needs while delivering excellent service and value.
Contact Walker and Associates at 1-800-WALKER1 or walkerfirst.com. For pricing and availability, email: [email protected].
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Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 25 26 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ UTC is Advocacy in Action
By Bobbi Harris Vice President of Market Strategy and Development UTC
The Utilities Technology Council (UTC) is Most recently, UTC filed comments with About UTC a global trade association headquartered the FCC in response to its Notice of The Utilities Technology Council (UTC) is in our nation’s capital. The member- Proposed Rulemaking in WT Docket No. a global trade association dedicated to ship of UTC is comprised of utilities and 17-84, and it opposed the proposals to serving critical infrastructure providers. critical infrastructure providers as well as shorten deadlines for application pro- Through advocacy, education and collabo- the solution providers who serve those cessing and make ready, as well as pro- ration, UTC creates a favorable business, industries. One of the important ways posals to eliminate capital costs from regulatory and technological environment UTC services its members is through make-ready fees and pole attachment for companies that own, manage or provide advocacy in Washington, D.C. and with rates and to entitle ILECs to regulated critical telecommunications systems in sup- other government agencies outside the rates. UTC explained that reduced time- port of their core business. U.S. UTC advocates for utility spectrum lines would impose costs on utilities that access and utility innovation as part of must be reimbursed and that the time- History: UTC was founded in 1948, to advo- integrated policies for safe, clean and lines must provide flexibility for circum- cate for the allocation of additional radio secure energy, water and gas services, stances outside of the control of the spectrum for power utilities. Over the last which are essential to improving U.S. utility, including lack of resources. UTC 65 years, has evolved into a dynamic orga- economic productivity, enhancing our also explained that any further reduction nization that represents electric, gas and quality of life, protecting our environ- in make-ready fees or pole attachment water utilities, as well as natural gas pipe- ment and ensuring our Nation’s security. rates would systematically under recover lines, critical infrastructure companies and costs and would thus violate the Fifth other industry stakeholders. Utilities and other critical infrastructure Amendment of the Constitution. UTC industries (CII) face increasing demands supported the adoption of rules to pro- From its headquarters in downtown for wireless communications in order mote the use of one-touch-make-ready, Washington, DC, UTC provides information, to support smart grid and cybersecurity which should accelerate the deployment products and services that help members: requirements. They lack access to suf- of broadband and at the same time ficient and suitable RF spectrum to meet ensure that pole attachments comply • Manage their telecommunications and their increasing communications needs. with safety codes. Finally, UTC's com- information technology more effective- At the same time, they face challenges ments opposed the adoption of a 180-day ly and efficiently affecting their existing wireless commu- shot clock for FCC review of pole attach- • Voice their concerns to legislators and nications systems, due to interference ment complaints. UTC's Comments also regulators and congestion, as well as reallocation opposed all of the proposals by the FCC • Identify and capitalize on opportunities of radiofrequency spectrum by the FCC. to eliminate consumer protections that linked to deregulation worldwide require carriers to provide direct notifi- • Network with other telecom and IT UTC has advocated for and promoted cation to residential and non-residential professionals. opportunities for utilities to have access customers, including utilities, prior to to funding through the Connect America the replacement of a legacy service or its UTC is an authorized certified frequency Fund (CAF) to allow utilities to provide discontinuance of a legacy service. UTC coordinator for the Private Land Mobile Rural Broadband Experiments (RBE) and explained that these rules, which were Radio Services below 512 MHz and 800-900 to access even more broadband funding only recently established by the FCC, MHz frequencies. UTC is the sole frequency that will be available through the CAF should not be eliminated now, during a coordinator authorized to coordinate chan- Phase II reverse auction. Utilities that time when carriers continue to transition nels previously allocated exclusively to the applied for RBE Category 1 project fund- away from legacy copper-based networks Power Radio Service. In addition, UTC main- ing will be able to compete for access and services. To read the comments filed tains the national Power Line Carrier (PLC) to CAF Phase II funding in those census by UTC, visit the UTC website at UTC. database for the coordination of PLC use blocks where they proposed to provide org/respected-and-effective-advocacy/. with licensed government radio services in service, and in addition utilities will be For more information, contact the UTC the 10-490 kHz band. able to access compete for funding in Regulatory Department through email at other areas where the ILECs declined [email protected]. their right of first refusal for access to model-based support (i.e. funding) to provide service in states like Missouri, Virginia, Pennsylvania and New York. UTC is working to promote access to sufficient funding and suitable spectrum to meet the increasing communications needs of utilities and other CII, and to protect their existing communications networks against threats to their operational reli- ability, safety and security.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 27 Now I’m the fiber test expert on the team.
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28 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ Access Monitoring for OPEX Reduction By Ed Ullrich Technical OEM Development Manager Walker and Associates, Inc.
Why consider monitoring fiber access “The cost of emergency restoration is How do “Next Gen” fiber access links? approximately $25,000 per repair. The solutions work? Fiber in the access is becoming increas- FCC reports that historically an average Fiber access monitoring solutions work ingly difficult to manage. In an ever of 4.4 major fiber outages occur per year by monitoring an access network 7x24 changing world, more and more fiber will per 1000 miles of cable. Sources differ with a signal that is outside of the normal be deployed in the access for everything on the average mean time to repair for a bandwidth channel. They first establish from IoT, Mobile, SmartCity, Business fiber optic cable. The average meantime a benchmark and then alarm on any and Residential. Congestion in the to repair to be anywhere between 5 and change it detects such as a fiber break or access with fiber runs will make it more 11 hours. Based on this information, a fiber bend. The customer may not even difficult to quickly gain access to fiber, monitoring system which eliminates 3 be aware of the condition if it is a slight while access at times may be blocked to outages per year, 7 hours in duration, fiber bend. Once the change is detect- due weather, special events or secure would recover an average of $21,000 ed the information is sent north bound locations. In addition to these difficul- per 1000 miles per year or as much as along with the alarm severity. This infor- ties, the cost to chase these outages $168,000 per 1000 miles per year. mation can now assist in determining if and have them repaired poses additional a truck roll is necessary and where that challenges. The FCC and Bellcore reports show an truck should be sent. No more lost time increase in the rate of fiber outages looking for the problem, only the time What is the true cost from fiber access through the last four year. This can be needed for the repair. See drawing below outages? While it is difficult to assign a surmised that this increase is due to the of how these “Next Gen” systems work. dollar amount, it is entirely accurate to fact that the fiber in telephony systems is state that costs can be significant. When being installed closer to the “Local loop”, Summary: a company experiences a fiber outage in which has always been known as the Walker and Associates represents sev- the access, it usually means that systems harshest environment for outside plant.” eral manufactures of fiber access moni- will be down until the fiber is repaired. toring solutions. Some are designed for In addition to financial penalties due Lost time is lost money: The time to larger networks while others are better to lack of performance, companies face detect an issue with a fiber access moni- suited for small deployments. Some are increased financial loss due to bad press, toring system is almost instantaneous embedded within the transport equip- word of mouth and even loss of cus- compared to how long it takes to dis- ment while others are fully stand alone tomers to competition. The longer the patch a truck to seek the issue. The OPEX and will work with any transport vendor. downtime, the greater the cost. The bad savings are significant compared to the Learn chow you can save OPEX while press and potential loss of a customer is OPEX that is taken right off of the bottom increasing the value of your fiber access probably the largest expense to anyone line of company savings. network. Stay competitive and speak that operates their own fiber systems. All with your local Walker Representative are undesirable consequences in today’s This is a very simple discussion. Do you today. fast paced competitive markets. want to pay for a faster, more modern way of determining when there is a prob- The upfront true cost from a fiber lem? Or, do you want to continue with an access outage older, slower method of operation? One Whenever you have an issue in your additional twist on this newer method is fiber access network you must dispatch that your product team can now propose a truck roll. Truck rolls are expensive “Gold” plated service for fiber access due and if using third party companies for to the faster detection ability and gener- truck rolls they are even more expen- ate additional revenues. sive. Often with bad conditions in the field, technicians working to locate the outage often leave a path of destruction by accidentally tapping into the wrong circuits which can then cause additional outages. And lastly bad weather can make chasing an outage difficult. In times of severe weather conditions or other natural disasters, numerous outages can occur making location identification even more challenging.
So how much time does fiber access monitoring actually save? How much OPEX can it actually save?
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 29 A secure and connected business is a succesful business
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30 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/www.grandstream.com Broadband Deployment: A Path to the Future
By Chip Pickering CEO INCOMPAS, and a former Republican Member of Congress from Mississippi
I like to say we’ve never met a problem future cutting-edge technology everyone cell deployments by the end of 2018, and that more competition can’t fix. When is talking about—connected vehicles, 800,000 by 2026. it comes to wanting more broadband drone delivery, the Internet of Things and choices, faster speeds and lower prices, Artificial Intelligence. These services are To ensure this wave of new broad- the rest of America agrees with me. Yet, going to require massive network infra- band investment in rural, urban and over 51 percent of Americans only have structure and new 5G networks that can tribal lands, unnecessary governmental ONE choice at home for broadband, carry a bigger data load with near zero reviews on small cell deployment and and 38 percent have no more than two latency. Looking at it this way, it’s easy the resulting costly fees should be elimi- choices. That’s a whopping 89 percent of to see why network deployment issues nated. Americans stuck with little to no choice. are critical. Finally, the FCC should end monopoly Busting consumers out of monopoly The good news is the Federal power abuse in apartment buildings and town has proven tricky. Since we passed Communications Commission (FCC) is condo complexes across America. These the Telecommunications Act of 1996 and currently reviewing how to speed infra- multiple tenant environments, or MTEs, made competition the law of the land, structure deployment for wired and wire- have long been a barrier to deployment, smaller, more innovative companies less providers. With increasing consumer more competition and lower prices for have come onto the scene. Even though demand for reliable, high-speed connec- consumers. customers are desperate to try their ser- tivity, it is important our policies reflect vice and these competitors are eager for advancements being made in this area. The FCC has addressed this problem in the business, most still cannot connect. the past, but sweetheart deals between One of their first areas for review must big cable and landlords are locking up Why? Building new networks is already be pole attachments. Current practices consumers and keeping competitors a daunting task – a problem that is true and timelines are like molasses running out of these buildings. This makes it in both rural America and urban cen- uphill. In order to prepare poles for new impossible for customers to access bet- ters – and bigger, incumbent players connectors, each attacher already con- ter deals, services, speeds and prices have been using every trick in the book nected to the pole must move its facili- from competitors. Renting an apartment to block new competitors from building ties to make room – a laborious process shouldn’t mean giving up your American out these new networks of the future. exacerbated by the fact that attachers right to competition and tenants in these Much of this blocking takes place around often work one at a time. We also cannot buildings would be well-served to have infrastructure, like access to poles and ignore the fact that existing attachers the FCC prohibit practices – like revenue multi-tenant buildings. Indeed, competi- and pole owners with broadband service sharing and exclusive wiring arrange- tive wireless carriers seeking to upgrade have an incentive to delay the process, ments – that stifle competition in MTEs. their networks can sometimes spend as new connectors may be their competi- more time and expense on regulatory tors. Thankfully, we believe the FCC is on approvals than it takes to deploy the new the right track to streamline infrastruc- infrastructure. Currently, the process provides 60 days ture deployment in several proceedings. for each connector to make room for INCOMPAS and its members are partici- How big of a deal is broadband deploy- a new attachment. There is an alterna- pating in those proceedings to help lower ment? Consider this: $275 billion could tive to this inefficient system. It’s called barriers to competitive deployment. be invested over the next seven years, one-touch make-ready. Here, the new which would create three million new attacher uses one approved contractor We know that these important reforms jobs. While the intricacies of how compa- to perform all the ‘make-ready’ work to will help to increase competition in the nies expand their infrastructure may not the pole in one procedure, rather than market and provide diversity in custom- be the world’s sexiest topic, we simply requiring sequential work that can take ers’ choices. More choices will benefit cannot afford to ignore the resounding months on end to ready one pole for a consumers, both in price and in the qual- impact competitive broadband deploy- new attachment. This will drastically cut ity of services being provided. Expanding ment—both wired and wireless—will down the time it takes to deploy new net- broadband infrastructure will benefit have on our economy. works in addition to being safer for work- small businesses and entrepreneurs ers and more convenient to the public. who need reliable, high-speed inter- Consumers will see faster movie and net to launch new ventures. Education music streaming services, businesses will It’s important to note that all levels of improves when students can go home grow with new software applications in government can do more to work togeth- to reliable internet service to aid them the cloud, and communities will have er and enable wireless deployments. The in their studies. The expansion of broad- better health and public safety systems FCC and Members of both parties in band into underserved communities will that could mean the difference between Congress have identified that 5G deploy- also bolster local economies and spur job life and death. And that’s just the ser- ment is central to economic growth and creation. vices available today. global competitiveness. Getting the small cell revolution right will be key. If It’s time America puts competition in the Now consider the potential impact on done right, we could see 150,000 small position to win the future.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 31 Hot Swap Rectifiers
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representative or visit Public Safety DAS Power Enclosures walkerfi rst.com 32 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ Finding the Path to Profitability for Mobile Network Operators
By Juniper Networks
Potentially the most disruptive new implying that mobile network operators One promising avenue is data monetiza- trend impacting networks is the arrival (MNOs) should consider building over- tion. Successful service providers will col- of the Internet of Things, or IoT. Industry lay IoT networks to address them. For lect, correlate, aggregate, and contextual- experts predict that by 2020, about 21 example, IoT generates widely diverse ize data from the network, devices, and billion connected devices will be collect- traffic patterns unique to each IoT appli- applications, and then present it to third- ing data and sending it across the net- cation. That characteristic demands spe- party analytics platforms, or directly to work to IoT applications. For service pro- cial attention to network capacity plan- customers. viders, the pending IoT boom presents ning, load balancing, and quality-of-ser- a milestone opportunity as their mobile vice implementation. The unpredictable Ultimately, IoT’s primary value for MNOs voice and data revenues slow. nature of IoT traffic—especially during will lie in the management, analysis, and peak traffic periods—could also nega- use of the data it generates—so it makes For this opportunity to materialize, carri- tively impact the experience for existing sense for carriers to provide data-centric ers must make some hard decisions. At mobile subscribers. value in addition to shuttling the data Juniper, we see this as a pivotal moment from point A to point B. The sweet spot in the IoT evolution. Much depends on What if someone gains wireless access where carriers can differentiate them- the choices that carriers make today, and to vehicles on the road? Or tampers with selves and make real money lies beyond the partnerships they forge, to cultivate weather sensors to simulate an emer- traditional transport. profitable IoT business models. gency? Building a Network for IoT The Service Provider Dilemma Further, IoT presents new vulnerabili- It goes without saying that to make IoT As IoT connected devices ramp up, ser- ties with far-reaching safety and priva- pay, carriers must control OpEx—they vice providers are struggling to find ways cy implications. What if someone gains cannot let orders of magnitude in the to make that multitude of connections wireless access to vehicles on the road? growth of connected devices lead to a profitable. Revenue from the machine- Or tampers with weather sensors to significant increase in operational costs. to-machine (M2M) communications that simulate an emergency? Or manipulates At the same time, the sheer volume make up IoT is nominal compared to the medical data? of IoT devices introduces new require- average revenue per user (ARPU) from ments for quickly provisioning, scaling, traditional mobile traffic. A smart meter, The network of a bona fide IoT provider and securing data. for example, might generate 50 cents a must be able to address all of these situa- month in data transport revenue, com- tions. But how can an MNO justify invest- The only way to reconcile minimal oper- pared to an ARPU of $70 for a monthly ments in IoT networks, when a typical ating costs with the demand for fast, smartphone plan. IoT device generates less than a dollar of highly scalable provisioning is with auto- revenue per month? mation. At these rates, it doesn’t make economic sense for carriers to serve this market Getting IoT to Pay The key is for carriers to harness network with their traditional network architec- To turn a profit with IoT, service provid- and IT resources that meet their custom- ture and service delivery cost structure. ers need to look beyond providing solely ers’ requirements dynamically. A flexible connectivity and transport services. Most telco cloud, for example, can dynamically IoT’s Unique Characteristics current research agrees that IoT’s true shift and manage resources, whether In addition, IoT presents new challenges revenue opportunities for service pro- those resources reside within the end in terms of traffic behavior, device scale, viders will lie in applications and added- device, customer premises, carrier edge, security, and billing and provisioning— value services. or in the cloud. Continued on page 43 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 33 By Mohammed Sarwar Principal Systems Design Engineer Fujitsu
Data Center Interconnect (DCI) applica- that will benefit greatly from richer fea- (OTN), ODUFlex can now provide a flex- tions have gained market traction as a tures at the optical transport level. ible (rather than a fixed-size) OTN con- result of significant developments in opti- tainer. This overcomes an important limi- cal technology to support the efficiency, Towards More Flexibility and tation that has prevented use of OTN in capacity and reach requirements. Today, Efficiency DCI applications. the growing prevalence of hyper-dense The relationships and interfaces among DCI solutions owes itself to technologi- standard speeds and feeds at each of the Flex-E (Flexible Ethernet) is now provid- cal maturity in areas such as coherent various network layers results in succes- ing an option to decouple MAC from optics, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) sive levels of granularity, imposing cumu- Ethernet PHY, hence allowing MAC rates and Analog Coherent Optics (ACO) with lative overhead that limits the agility of to be variable at 5G granularity, regard- 16QAM modulation. While some of the data center networks. This is especially less of the PHY rates. Flex-E, therefore newest developments—such as client notable where links are bonded together opens up the capability for Ethernet pipes and Link-Level Discovery Protocol (LLDP), (for aggregation, when the overhead of to be sized dynamically. Combining Flex- Remote Network Monitoring (RMON), traditional link aggregation is not desir- Lambda with ODUFlex and Flex-E now and encryption—are already integrated able) or sub-rated (Media Access Control has the potential to achieve the ultimate into DCI solutions, more developments (MAC) can operate at variable rate). goal of coordination and adjustment of are on the horizon. These developments pipe sizes across Layers 0–2 at the data will be driven in large part by the ever- The increasing mixture of pipe sizes, pro- path level, obviously with coordinated, present downward pressure on cost-per- tocols, and client/network interface types smart software controls. bit as well as the need to control total is imposing a significant burden on net- cost of ownership (TCO). work management and network design. An earlier concept of managing tran- Incompatible pipe sizes across layers sponders with a variety of configuration Big Fat Smart Pipes further amplify the granularity problem. options that operators can evaluate and DCI was originally all about what are col- There is a need for separate controls on experiment with, is already becoming loquially termed “fat dumb pipes” that each of Layers 0–2, to manage aspects reality with a combination of next-gener- connect data centers hundreds to thou- such as configuration, redundancy, and ation DSPs and optics. However, greater sands of kilometers apart. Now, how- sizing. There is an additional imperative value can be achieved by extending this ever, these “dumb” pipes are not only to further collapse the functions of these concept across Layers 0–2, such that getting bigger, but they are also going to three layers to make things simpler, and operations and management work seam- get smarter—smarter as in more flexible, to address the limitations imposed by lessly across layers and provide more more intelligent and more programma- granularity among the different layers. coordinated and coherent DCI pipes. ble across Layers 0–3. Big fat smart pipes Flexible sizing is also a highly advanta- Architectural Considerations are in the future for DCI applications. geous capability. Given the forecast of enormous expan- For today’s typical data center architec- sion in the scope and diversity of cloud New Features on the Horizon ture, DCI infrastructure (transponders applications over the coming decade, it The next wave of coherent Digital Signal and line systems) is statically connected should come as no surprise that data cen- Processors (DSPs) will offer a range to the packet infrastructure within the ter transport will need to advance in order of new possibilities for reach, capac- data center. Future DCI applications will to keep up with demand. Enterprises ity and spectral efficiency that enable emphasize flexible client grooming and moving their services and applications much more agile approaches to network any-to-any mapping of client ports to net- into the cloud already demand seam- design. work ports. It will also become possible less connectivity, sometimes among to add cross-connectivity in transponder multiple data centers spread over large Flexible modulation schemes at Layer 0 elements that can map any client port to geographical areas. Virtualization; auto- will increasingly optimize utilization of any network port, enabling a variety of mation; “conscious” networking; central- fiber assets by enabling selection of the new use cases and more effective use of ized remote management; and self-heal- most appropriate modulation scheme client ports across wavelengths that can ing/self-optimization capabilities are all for the desired reach, capacity, appli- carry 100G to 600G in 50G granularity on examples of cutting-edge developments cations, and performance. At Layer 1 a network port. Without such connectiv-
34 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ ity, although line-side ports can already ment and control at both the transpon- live network monitoring and scaling provide flexible rates, it is necessary to der and, using SDN concepts, at the net- based on events, policies, or the addition compromise on space or spectral effi- work level. Examples include operations- of new services and links. Changes in ciency. related essentials like simplifying NE error rates, network failures, congestion configuration – to untangle the plethora and quality degradation will all become Important developments in DCI will of interdependent configuration options faster and simpler to manage as net- include increasingly sophisticated capa- and building blocks for optical links and works increasingly monitor and evalu- bilities for coordinated and automated/ automatically determine the optimal set- ate their own performance metrics—and assisted discovery and configuration, in tings. react or adjust automatically. addition to optical networks that are more self-aware and intelligent. This Automation thus offers immense poten- A Future Taking Shape means it is necessary to harness and tial and enhanced zero-touch provision- The next generation of DCI is still taking simplify the additional flexibility and rich ing applications are pointing the way to shape, and the industry will continue to feature set that come with new transport the next level, where for example, tran- refine it as the various enabling tech- technologies. sponders can readjust their own capacity nologies line up. However, it is certain by changing parameters automatically that DCI applications will become more Applications (such as the modulation or error correc- conscious, flexible and programmable Conscious network applications will be tion scheme) based on policy or system both from software and hardware per- utilized at every point in the network profile. spective. In turn, DCI applications will operations cycle, from design through continue to increase spectral efficiency of test and startup to runtime; these appli- Conscious, automated networking and fibers and lower cost per bit. cations will enable intelligent manage- cross-layer optimization will also enable 100 Gigabit Ethernet—Fundamentals, Trends, and Measurement Requirements By Peter Winterling Senior Technologist and Application Specialist Viavi Solutions
Nearly every two years, a new hierarchy that transmissions in existing transmis- Test requirements for CFP modules for level is announced for telecommunica- sion infrastructure are possible only with 100 Gbps More than ever, the introduc- tions. The introduction of the 40 Gbps substantial modifications to the optically tion of 100 GigE requires a measurement technology has dominated telecommu- transmitted signal and path. Now, all technology that has been customized nications for the last two years and now possibilities must be exhausted for the appropriately in order to accompany the everyone is talking about 100 Gbps as transmission of 100 GigE (OTU4) in Wide stage-by-stage introduction. the next generation. On the surface, Area Networks (WANs). everything looks simply like a change of Manufacturers of components and sys- generations is taking place and 40 Gbps Standardization for 100 Gigabit Ethernet tems require measurement engineering seems to be outdated already. However, Three organizations are involved in the for 100 Gbps. For testing the CFP mod- the introduction of 100 Gbps technology standardization for 100 Gigabit Ethernet. ules used in the transmission systems, a is quite different from the introduction of IEEE’s Higher Speed Study Group (HSSG) 100 GigE signal must be produced with previous generations. defines the Ethernet specifications under ten parallel electrical connections that the term 802.3ba. At ITU-T, the SG15 are coded as 20 virtual channels. The If we look at this more closely, the terms standardization group deals with the Ethernet signal coming from the MAC 40 Gbps and 100 Gbps are general terms integration of the 100 GigE and 40 GigE layer is not firmly allocated to the virtual for comprehensive technological changes signals within the OTN framework. At OIF channels. In accordance with the specifi- in transmission technology. Particularly (Optical Internetworking Forum), the PLL cation, the virtual channels on the trans- during this phase of implementing new (physical and link layer) work group is mitting end can be shifted as desired technology, measurement technology working on the integration of these sig- at the entry of the multiplexer. They plays an extraordinarily important role. nals in DWDM technology for Metro Area are being sorted as per the so-called Networks (MANs) and WANs. roundrobin principle. The receiver must The transition from Gigabit Ethernet synchronize itself automatically. It must (GigE) to 10 GigE brought Ethernet tech- The initial position for the standardiza- be possible to set any configuration at nology to transport networks and, from tion of 100 GigE specified retaining the the time of the test. the aspect of the transmission protocol, past frame sizes and frame formats of this represented a more important mile- the IEEE 802.3 standard. For the MAC (This article is an abbreviated version of stone than the introduction of the 100 layer, the target was a transmission qual- a Viavi Solutions white paper, available GigE technology. The standardization is ity with a bit error rate of less than BER = at http://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/ still not finalized; however, no significant 10-12. Efforts would be made to use the literature/100-gigabit-ethernet-funda- changes relative to 10 GigE technologies OTN technology as a transport medium mentals-trends-and-measurement- are expected. Anything revolutionary will and to support it with corresponding requirements-white-paper-en.pdf.) be determined by physical parameters. specifications. It was clear with the 40 Gbps technology
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 35 A-CAM/CAF: Special Report
Infrastructure Investment. It's not just a catch phrase: it's imperative to keeping America competitive.
January 2017 heralded the long-anticipated FCC roll out of the Connect America Funds (CAF) and Alternative Connect America Cost Model (A-CAM) funding. Walker is partnering with carriers to help build the networks that will provide advanced services to the underserved communities CAF Programs target.
CAF has been a long and deliberate process. For the last 20 declined a total of $175 million annually. years, the U.S. has endeavored to ensure its residents are con- nected to essential telecommunications. We saw the roots of With new initiatives well underway, Walker is excited and look- the investment take place in The Telecommunications Act of ing forward to partnering with carriers to help build these 1996, which states that "advanced services" should be acces- networks providing advanced services to the underserved sible to all Americans. communities the CAF Programs target. With nearly 50 years of experience in building and expanding US telecommunication The goals of Universal Service, as mandated by the 1996 Act, networks, Walker and Associates will be a fundamental core were to: partner assisting carriers as they implement the CAF goals and meet the CAF and A-CAM commitments. • Promote the availability of quality services at just, reason- able and affordable rates for all consumers Walker’s experienced extended logistics services team and • Increase nationwide access to advanced telecommunica- CAMP Program will be fundamental in ensuring service rollouts tions services timetables are met. Their experienced EFI&T team is ready to • Advance the availability of such services to all consumers, fit; test and burn in cabinets and configurations, and qualified including those in low income, rural, insular, and high cost installation teams are prepared to field these solutions during areas at rates that are reasonably comparable to those all phases of CAF deployment. charged in urban areas • Increase access to telecommunications and advanced Walker is ReadyNow for A-CAM/CAF projects. Carriers across services in schools, libraries and rural health care facilities the country are already engaged in projects designed to deliver • Provide equitable and nondiscriminatory contributions enhanced communications services to their communities. from all providers of telecommunications services to the Walker’s resources are providing solid solutions as these proj- fund supporting universal service programs ects advance to completion. Contact us to learn more at info@ walkerfirst.com. Connect America Fund Phase II commitments represent the largest single federal effort to expand broadband infrastruc- ture in history. Targeted areas were identified by using data gathered through Connected Nation’s State Broadband ini- tiative in states where it has had active State Broadband Initiatives. Over the next six years, companies such as AT&T, CenturyLink, Consolidated Communications, Cincinnati Bell, FairPoint, Frontier, and Windstream will now be able to build out fixed voice and broadband networks offering speeds of 10 Mbps download/1 Mbps upload to designated locations in these identified areas, using approximately $1.5 billion in annual subsidies. Of the total subsidies offered, carriers only
36 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ A-CAM/CAF: Special Report
online. from serving his customers, maintaining NTCA Testimony the store’s Facebook page, and growing NTCA–The Rural Broadband Association is the his business. on Improving premier association representing nearly 850 independent, community-based telecommunica- But this week’s road trip has left me invig- tions companies that are leading innovation in Broadband orated, not discouraged. That’s because I rural and small-town America. NTCA advocates on behalf of its members in the legislative and also saw firsthand the opportunities that Deployment: regulatory arenas, and it provides training and are unlocked when next-generation net- development; publications and industry events; works connect rural communities. Solutions for Rural and an array of employee benefit programs. In an era of exploding technology, deregulation and For instance, in Wardensville, West America marketplace competition, NTCA’s members are Virginia, I heard how broadband has leading the IP evolution for rural consumers, deliv- enabled a transcription company that ering technologies that make rural communities For Immediate Release requires massive video downloads to vibrant places in which to live and do business. Contact:Kelly Wismer, (703) 351-2015, thrive (it’s hired 28 full-time employees [email protected] Because of their efforts, rural America is fertile ground for innovation in economic development and plans to expand to two additional and commerce, education, health care, govern- buildings in the near future). And in Arlington, Va. (June 22, 2017)—Michael ment services, security and smart energy use. Visit Staunton, Virginia, I learned how a region- Romano, senior vice president of us at www.ntca.org. al hospital has used connectivity and industry affairs and business develop- technology to stabilize stroke patients ment for NTCA–The Rural Broadband more quickly and cut the mortality rate Association, testified today before the Bridging the from sepsis by 34%. And in Hagerstown, House Committee on Small Business Maryland, I learned how the Washington Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy, Digital Divide County school system is incorporating and Trade during the hearing, "Improving broadband to help children learn, and Broadband Deployment: Solutions for July 13, 2017 - 2:25 pm how the On-Track program (motto: “from Rural America." The following is excerpt- By Ajit Pai | FCC Chairman cradle to career”) aims to use technology ed from Romano’s written testimony: Last month, I logged a five-state, 18-stop, to prepare county residents to enter the 1,672-mile road trip from Wisconsin to digital economy workforce. “Providing robust, scalable, and sustain- Wyoming to learn firsthand about the able broadband in rural areas is not the connectivity challenges in that part of the With this week’s trip fresh on my mind, kind of endeavor that tends to attract sub- country. And this week, I took a three- I’m pleased to announce that August will stantial capital from multiple private lend- state, 8-stop, 800-mile drive through rural be Rural Broadband Month at the FCC. ing sources or tends to excite Wall Street. West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland that Our agenda for the open meeting on For small carriers like those in NTCA’s highlights how the digital divide is hardly August 3 will feature several items that membership, there are very few lenders confined to the middle of our nation, but will help bridge the digital divide. that even look to work in this space— is a real and pressing challenge just a the Rural Utilities Service under the U.S. short drive from our nation’s capital. Leading off will be a Public Notice to Department of Agriculture, CoBank, and initiate the pre-auction process for the the Rural Telecommunications Finance Consider this fact: more than 70% of the Connect America Fund Phase II auction. Cooperative represent the primary lend- world’s Internet traffic runs through data This auction will award up to $2 billion ers to whom such small rural network centers in Northern Virginia, but you over the next decade to broadband pro- operators might look in borrowing invest- can’t even get 4G LTE wireless service on viders that commit to offer voice and ment capital. more than 7,700 road miles in rural parts broadband services to fixed locations in of the same state. And this is unfortu- unserved high-cost areas in our country. “Moreover, even where capital may be nately common nationwide. If you live in To maximize the value the American available, it can be difficult, if not impos- rural America, there’s a better than 1-in-4 people receive for the universal service sible, to justify loans for investment in chance that you lack access to fixed high- dollars we spend, this will be the first rural areas without a better business speed broadband at home, compared to auction to award ongoing high-cost uni- case than the rural area provides on its a 1-in-50 probability in our cities. versal service support through competi- own. The costs of deploying networks tive bidding in a multiple-round, reverse and maintaining the service are consider- I saw the cost of lack of access at almost auction. With this Public Notice, we are able, and the few customers gained (typi- every stop during this week’s travels. seeking comment on the procedures to cally less than seven per mile, and often In Hampshire County, West Virginia, I be used during this auction. Moving for- less than one per mile) cannot afford heard how a resort in the town of Capon ward now will put us on track to conduct to pay hundreds of dollars a month for Springs that doesn’t have broadband has the auction in 2018. broadband to cover those costs. Direct had trouble attracting guests who prize support from the federal USF High Cost connectivity. On that same stop, I spoke The FCC will also consider taking the program is therefore essential to make with the owner of a chocolate store from next step in implementing Phase II of the business case for rural broadband.” nearby Kirby who told me that poor or another key universal service program, The full text of the testimony is available nonexistent Internet access prevents him the Mobility Fund. In February, the Continued on Page 39 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 37 A-CAM/CAF: Special Report
CAF SOLUTIONS Broadband Services for Rural and Remote Areas By ADTRAN
OVERVIEW ers should consider and expect from providers face when scaling residential The Federal Communications partners. These consist of a flexible and services for CAF requirements is the time Commission’s (FCC) strategic initiatives, cost-competitive approach to broadband and resources associated with planning, such as the Connect America Fund (CAF) service delivery as well as a range of pre-provisioning and deploying access and Alternative Connect America Cost turnkey solutions including full lifecycle equipment. Service providers should Model (A-CAM) funding, present a signifi- professional services, a complete port- expect to rely on a vendor partner deep- cant opportunity for service providers to folio of SD-Access technologies, and an ly rooted in the requisite services for expand broadband coverage in rural and entire ecosystem of partners to acceler- these types of network deployments. remote areas and help bridge the digital ate services rollout. Successfully operationalizing broadband divide that still remains in the nation, all access projects in multi-vendor networks while gaining market share. However, DELIVERING COMPETITIVE demands that professional services pro- delivering profitable broadband services BROADBAND: A TOOLKIT APPROACH grams focus on the following: to this underserved segment presents Delivering fiber all the way to the cus- • Designing objectives around each major challenges due to low population tomer device (e.g., FTTH) can be both customer’s specific needs—from density, varied and difficult terrain and cost-prohibitive and time-consuming. A programs that augment existing long loop lengths. In addition, service more practical and actionable approach network build-outs to complete providers are challenged to deploy ser- offers a comprehensive Fiber-to-the-x turnkey implementations vices within the FCC service obligation (FTTx) toolkit that enables service provid- • Prioritizing and accelerating new timeframes, while at the same time man- ers and technology partners to utilize technology for network rollouts that aging the on-going operations of their existing copper assets and deploy an enable the operator to monetize existing network, all with limited IT staff. optimal mix of access technologies that their network investments quickly match Capital Expenditure (CAPEX), and and profitably For service providers looking to rollout Return-on-Equity (RoE) and competitive • Ensuring reliable, predictable costs broadband services in these underserved needs. The following matrix shows a areas, it is critical to work with technol- comparison of these technologies, archi- NETWORK INTEGRATION MADE EASY ogy partners that possess the level of tectures and costs (see table below). A successful network deployment of this experience and comprehensive exper- complexity requires that technology part- tise necessary to successfully execute COMPREHENSIVE PROFESSIONAL ners offer service providers a compre- such projects. The overview below high- SERVICES hensive range of network integration lights the key capabilities service provid- One of the biggest challenges service services. Such services must enable oper-
Fixed Bonded VDSL2 17a G.fast FTTH Wireless VDSL2 17a (Vectoring) (212 MHz) (GPON) (RF)
Deployment FTTN / FTTB FTTN / FTTB FTTB/FTTdp FTTB/H Fiber-to-Tower Model
Phys ical Medium Copper Copper Copper / Coa x Fiber Air
CAF2 and Beyond (downstream 25 Mbps* 100 Mbps* Up to 1.5 Gbps** 1 Gbps 100 Mbps rates)
Ideal Range <18 kft*** <3 kft <1.5 kft <25 miles <1 mile (5.5 km) (900 m) (450 m) (40 km) (1.3 km)
Deployment $ $ $$ $$$ $$ Cos ts
* To achieve typical rate at maximum range requires 2-pair bonding ** To achieve “up to” rate requires <100m loop lengths with no *** Leverages a DMT mid-node X-Talk
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automation with service providers has proven extremely positive, with opera- tors realizing substantial Operational Expense (OPEX) and time savings within both the customer’s home and busi- ness services, as well as the back office, resulting in faster time to revenue and improved customer experience.
A COMPLETE ECOSYSTEM Building out a broadband access net- work in a challenging environment is a complex task and involves multiple third-party vendors to ensure a success- ators to accelerate broadband network With any new rollout of broadband tech- ful rollout. Service providers should fully implementations, rollout new services to nologies and new customer applications, expect their partners in access technol- gain market share, and, at the same time, today’s evolving advances in network ogy, services, and telecommunications increase customer satisfaction. Network architecture demand that operators logistics to help lead the way in overcom- integration services should be expected enlist partners that can apply best-of- ing any barriers that arise. ADTRAN has to cover complete turnkey system inte- breed software defined networking (SDN) a deep understanding of the complete gration–planning, engineering, network expertise to their operations. ADTRAN’s ecosystem of products required to build build-out, product, material, labor, and unique service orchestration and auto- a broadband network and an equally project management for inside plant mation solution is enabled by combin- long history of enabling service provid- (ISP) and outside plant (OSP) projects. ing modern software defined access ers to deliver the transformative effects (SD-Access) techniques with our vast of broadband to the communities they MODERNIZING SERVICE TURN UP AND domain knowledge. Our implementation serve. BACK-OFFICE OPERATIONS of orchestration and service activation
Continued from page 37 Commission adopted a Mobility Fund with that dictum, I’m proposing that we obligations for carriers that are seeking framework to allocate up to $4.53 bil- improve the data we collect about broad- to renew wireless licenses so that more lion over the next decade to advance band service in America. Specifically, of rural America can receive service. 4G LTE service, primarily in rural areas we will consider changes to the FCC’s that would not be served in the absence Form 477 to improve the value of the Bridging the digital divide and expand- of government support. The proposed data we collect, while also identifying ing access to wired and wireless net- Order on the August agenda would estab- and eliminating unnecessary or overly- works will be the central theme of our lish a “challenge process”—that is, a pro- burdensome filing requirements. August meeting, but it won’t be the only cess for resolving disputes over whether focus. We’ll also vote on providing a areas should be eligible for Mobility Fund Increasingly, meeting the connectivity waiver for a carrier identification require- subsidies. This measure will allow us to needs of all Americans—no matter where ment for satellite news trucks, and other proceed to a reverse auction as soon as you live—means freeing up spectrum to temporary-fixed satellite earth stations possible. meet the growing demand for wireless transmitting digital video in order to broadband. That’s why, in three weeks, alleviate the unforeseen, burdensome It is critical that we use accurate data to the FCC will vote on starting to explore costs of compliance with respect to old determine which areas will be included opportunities for next-generation ser- equipment that cannot easily be upgrad- in that reverse auction. Many have com- vices—particularly for wireless broad- ed. The agenda also includes a Hearing plained to the FCC that the data that we band—in the mid-band spectrum range Designation Order and an enforcement currently collect through our Form 477 (3.7 GHz to 24 GHz). item, each of which must remain confi- isn’t good enough to serve as the basis dential until the meeting. for that decision. I agree. Therefore, I Sticking with wireless, at the August am proposing to collect new and more meeting we will also vote on whether to In my first remarks to FCC staff as granular data that will serve as the start- replace a patchwork of service-specific Chairman on January 24, I declared that ing point in deciding which areas will be renewal rules for wireless licensees with my highest priority would be making included in the Mobility Fund Phase II a consistent set of rules. Uniformity sure every American who wants Internet auction. provides certainty and promotes invest- access can get it. During the almost six ment. And it’ll help ensure timely con- months since, we have repeatedly and Separately, we need to do a better job struction of wireless networks and inten- consistently taken steps in service of this collecting data through the FCC’s Form sive, continuous use of spectrum in all goal. I’m pleased that our August agenda 477. It’s often said that you can’t man- areas of the country. We will also tee up includes yet more measures that will age what you can’t measure. Consistent whether we should increase build-out help us bridge the digital divide.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 39 A-CAM/CAF: Special Report
By Robert Worden Executive Engagement Leader, Smart Cities & IoT Fujitsu Network Communications
Disruptive technology is nothing new. the traffic lights green in its path to expe- works – those that exist within a building In 1793, the introduction of inventor Eli dite arrival. or company, for example – as “safe,” and Whitney’s cotton gin began a revolution in many traditional settings, they are. that would quickly automate many tasks All of this would be done by a widespread But the concept of “internal networks” that had previously been done by hand, system of sensors and data collection really doesn’t apply to smart cities, as the changing forever the face of modern devices distributed around the city in model is made up of a number of sepa- manufacturing. In the 1950s, the prolif- order to perform specific functions. As rate systems, all linked together, and all eration of the television set in American integral as they are to the operation of open to outside access. They’re also all homes created new ways for us to relate the smart city, however, these sensors integrated, so the loss of function in one to each other and to the world. And in are vulnerable to intrusion and hacking, part of the network can have a cascade the 1960s, the introduction of communi- which makes cybersecurity not just an effect throughout the system. Imagine, cation satellites linked the far corners of important issue, but a critical one, when for example, that the electricity grid is the world together for the very first time, hackers can gain entry and feed errone- taken down. Without power, subways ushering in a truly global era in which all ous data into the system. Each connec- won’t run, preventing people from get- people, wherever they might be, were tion enlarges the “attack surface” of the ting to work. Critical hospital systems will connected. system, increasing the vulnerability of be shut down, necessitating alternative the overall network. In light of the new – and possibly unavailable – care meth- But the disruptive technology developing hyperconnected networks appearing ods for patients. Traffic lights will not today – hyperconnected societies, the around the globe, it is becoming appar- function, snarling traffic, and much more. Internet of Things (IoT), and smart cities ent that traditional protection schemes, Thus, the interconnectivity that is at the – has the potential to be even more of those successfully used to defend prior heart of the smart cities concept can be a game-changer than anything that has networks, may not be enough. its biggest potential liability. preceded it. Of course, with this potential for societal advancement come definite Dallas, Texas recently experienced an So what can be done about this problem, risks, risks that must be considered and attack on their connected infrastructure in that the very thing that makes smart conquered before moving forward into when hackers gained access to the emer- cities work – the increased access and a new age of human integration with gency system. Late one night, they were connectivity – is also its greatest weak- technology. One of the foremost risks able to activate the warning sirens – ness? Part of the solution lies in mak- that comes hand-in-hand with hypercon- more than 150 throughout the county – ing cybersecurity a key component of a nectivity is the increased potential for sounding them for more than 90 minutes smart city’s design from the very begin- cybersecurity threats. before city personnel were able to shut ning, complying with major cybersecurity them all down. While no real harm was standards and regulatory requirements, The current explosion of hyperconnec- done in this attack, it makes clear the rather than trying to cobble something tivity will lead (and is leading) inevitably ability of hackers to penetrate essential together later in the process. In the rush to the creation of “smart cities,” largely municipal systems from outside. Had to join the IoT revolution, the focus is defined as those that seamlessly inte- they instead attacked city traffic lights, often on bleeding-edge technology, with grate information and communications water management systems, or the elec- security left as an afterthought, if it is technology with existing infrastructure trical power grid, the results could have considered at all, leading to inadequate in order to improve the quality of life of been devastating. or entirely absent safety systems. As its citizens in a sustainable manner. This well, both hardware and software to be might result in smart utilities that would Critical, then, as cybersecurity might be utilized should have security built into be able to monitor and analyze resource to the operations and safety of smart cit- them, and must be tested rigorously usage, and adjust water flow accordingly ies, many experts say that it is not being to ensure compatibility with the overall to accommodate peak demand times. Or given nearly enough attention by those infrastructure design. Finally, cyberse- it might be a smart traffic system, that building and installing the infrastructure. curity training at every level must be knows when an emergency vehicle is on One problem is that many cybersecu- established and maintained, and every- its way to an accident site, safely turning rity experts tend to think of internal net- one involved at any level tasked with
40 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ A-CAM/CAF: Special Report
“ . . . the interconnectivity that is at the heart of the smart cities concept can be its biggest potential liability.” learning and applying best practices in tack. A vulnerability assessment should situational awareness. Above all, those be performed in order to detect poten- seeking to design a smart city need to tial weak points, security holes, improp- pay much more attention to their overall er configurations, and any other likely cybersecurity programs, and ensure suf- access point for malicious activity. These ficient funding – with board approval – to assessments should be done at regu- integrate the needed security measures lar intervals, with all threat databases from conception to the delivery of the kept meticulously up-to-date. Finally, finished product. next-generation security devices such as Firewall, IDS, IPS, etc., should be installed, But there are many smart city systems in ones capable of safeguarding and detect- place today that are far past their initial ing internal networks and systems from design stage, and desperately need a hostile activity. Although it is impossible cybersecurity assessment that examines to entirely “attack-proof” a system, taking the networks, storage, servers, software, these steps will ensure the highest pos- mobile devices, the IoT, and cloud, as sible level of protection against outside well as the user population. In addition, intrusion. it is important to call on both IT and OT experts to detect, define, and analyze The promises and benefits of smart cit- potential threats from both physical and ies are very real, and can provide a virtual sources, as these two formerly great boon to communities around the separate areas are coming together to world. But the inherent threats that they a greater degree than ever before, each bring with them are real as well, and will now largely dependent on the other. This require vigilance, forethought, and dedi- holistic view will allow the development cation to overcome and resolve. Now is of an optimal security plan for tomor- the time to install, update, or manage row’s hyperconnected infrastructure. cybersecurity systems and protocols to ensure that smart cities, and the people In addition, network architecture should that live in them, are kept safe and pro- be reviewed, as it is often the first line tected from malicious attacks. of defense, the “perimeter,” in a cyberat- FCC ANNOUNCES TENTATIVE AGENDA FOR AUGUST OPEN MEETING
WASHINGTON, July 13, 2017 – Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the following items are tentatively on the agenda for the August Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, August 3, 2017:
Connect America Fund Phase II Auction (Auction 903) – The Commission will consider a Public Notice to initiate the pre-auction process for the Connect America Fund Phase II auction which will award up to $198 million annually for 10 years to service pro- viders that commit to offer voice and broadband services to fixed locations in unserved high-cost areas. (AU Docket No. 17-182)
Mobility Fund Phase II Challenge Process – The Commission will consider an Order on Reconsideration and Second Report and Order that lays out a robust challenge process that will enable the Commission to direct Mobility Fund Phase II support to primar- ily rural areas that lack unsubsidized 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) service. (WC Docket No. 10-90; WT Docket No. 10-208)
The full press release is available at https://www.fcc.gov/document/fcc-announces-tentative-agenda-august-open-meeting-3.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 41 ENABLING COMMUNITIES CONNECTING LIVES
ADTRAN is partnering with service providers to rapidly deploy ultra broadband services into underserved and remote locations as part of the Connect America Fund (CAF) initiative. Our turnkey solutions include a complete portfolio of SD-Access technologies, full lifecycle professional services and an entire ecosystem of partners to accelerate services rollout.
To learn more, visit adtran.com/CAF
42 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ The Road to Autonomous Networks, Continued from page 7 improving the capabilities of existing ser- network infrastructure. While he once vices and applications, and allowing his dreamed of a network that would deliver Walker team of DevOps superheroes to create new services quickly and efficiently, he or rapidly deploy new applications that has gained the ability to explore and seek further enhance network operations. out new market opportunities, designed Recognized to grow his business, now and for the Please understand—our hero’s journey foreseeable future. And his network will isn’t meant to be definitive, nor will it pro- increasingly rely on machine learning, in BBC Top vide all answers for everyone. Instead, or artificial intelligence, to maintain per- this tale is intended to provide an exam- formance levels that support primary 100 List ple of a single network operator’s jour- customer needs, autonomously. ney to autonomous networking. The goal The Broadband Communities annu- here is to help give others a glimpse of al list of Top 100 Fiber-to-the-Home the potential benefits and opportunities Companies and Organizations cele- to be gained by moving toward a more brates organizations for their contri- automated service delivery engine. butions to “Building a Fiber-Connected World.” For the eighth consecutive year, In the future, our hero’s journey will Walker and Associates is included the indeed lead to a fully autonomous list for 2017. A variety of businesses among a broad cross section of telecom markets know Walker as a reliable part- Finding the Path to Profitability, Continued from page 33 ner for their fiber projects. The only way to reconcile minimal oper- account for all the necessary aspects The selection was based how important ating costs with the demand for fast, of security—authenticating endpoints, the organizations are to advancing true highly scalable provisioning is with auto- preventing hacks, and maintaining the broadband rather than how important mation. In communications networks, communications link integrity—in their broadband is to them. this translates to a software-defined net- software. work (SDN) architecture with Network Customers recognize Walker by their Functions Virtualization (NFV). The situation suggests a potential extensive manufacturer relationships, requirement for a trusted security bro- strong commitment to value, high stan- SDN and NFV represent the path to quick ker to handle IoT security processing in dards of customer service, and innova- service provisioning and transformation the network or cloud. MNOs are strong tive services that reflect a genuine inter- for all networks, but none more so than candidates for this role. These carriers est in customer success. For nearly 50 IoT. An operator cannot run an IoT net- already have several communication and years Walker has built and maintained work successfully, let alone profitably, security systems in place for mobile data a reputation for excellence, resulting without significant use of automation traffic that would port over to IoT. in high levels of customer commitment and virtualization. and confidence. Awards and recogni- The world already trusts mobile service tions such as this one confirm customer Network operators need an easy, cost- providers with managing phones and satisfaction ratings that indicate trust effective way to harness NFV to deliver subscribers and securing connections. and brand loyalty. new services for users. One such way is This basic trust model could extend to to build a parallel IoT network using a vir- IoT, with operators providing secure IoT Walker joins other industry leaders in tual Evolved Packet Core (vEPC), dramati- life-cycle management and shielding the 2017 Top 100 list, such as Walker cally changing network economics by enterprises and IoT application develop- manufacturing partners ADTRAN, using automation and intelligence for the ers from the complexities and risks of CommScope, Corning, Fujitsu, and highly efficient delivery of new services. the IoT threat surface. At the same time, Telect. The list also includes customers it would fortify MNOs with an additional of Walker whose successful FTTH proj- Security as a Competitive Advantage revenue stream. ects reach across North America. Walker As previously mentioned, service pro- is pleased to join these companies in viders will need to address IoT-specific IoT-Ready Network Infrastructure accepting a place in this year’s Top 100 security concerns. But rather than rep- At Juniper, we look forward to helping list. resenting only an obstacle and expense, MNOs navigate their way to IoT mon- the new IoT security landscape could also etization. That means implementing end- For more information, about FTTH ser- offer a moneymaking opportunity. to-end solutions tailored for particular vices and solutions from Walker and verticals, and monetizing data, analytics, Associates visit their website at visit The situation suggests a potential security, and SLAs. Success lies in the www.walkerfirst.com. requirement for a trusted security bro- ability to build an open platform for eco- ker to handle IoT security processing in system innovation, and to forge strategic, the network or cloud. MNOs are strong complementary partnerships. candidates for this role. While many describe IoT as “the wild, How? The Public Key Infrastructure used wild west,” as we see it, seldom does by traditional VPNs consumes too much such a rich opportunity present itself. processing power for the battery-run Its rewards will go to those who step devices that largely comprise IoT. And IoT forward to redefine the market through application developers generally don’t innovation.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 43 Jeff Brown joins respect I had grown to expect from my Walker and Associates vendors. By working together, we can as a Regional Account help your company achieve even greater Manager, responsible for results for your bottom line and for the customer accounts in the customers you serve.” states of PA, NJ, WV, OH, DW, MD as well as NYC. Rob can be reached by email at rob.kah- Jeff is an accomplished [email protected], or by phone at sales executive with over 30 years of 336-731-5256. experience in the Telecommunications/ Broadband industry, including more than Rick Poston has joined 23 years in various sales, sales manage- Walker and Associates ment and business development roles. as its Software Network His professional sales experience consists Engineer, manag- of sales and support of a variety of end ing Walker’s recently to end networking infrastructure solu- announced software net- tions including inside and outside plant working lab. Rick has over fiber optic & copper management plat- 25 years of Enterprise IT forms, IP and TDM based wireline and experience and has deep technical under- wireless networking technologies, optical standing of many Operating Systems, transport solutions, microwave network- Virtualization Platforms, Networking, ing solutions and professional services. Security and Storage infrastructures. In Jeff’s primary role has been a direct con- previous roles Rick led the virtualization tributor working with Tier I, II & III IOC’s, of 98% of the compute infrastructure MSO’s, Wireless Service Providers, Utility for a leading litigation company, ripped Companies and Fiber Optic Network and replaced ATM/Ethernet cores and Service Providers. Firewall platforms, deployed IDS/IPS, and developed a web frontend for campus Jeff can be reached by email at jeff. network management. Rick also led a [email protected], or by phone at Cloud Services DevOps team migrating 336-731-5367. services into AWS and building a success- ful cost competitive fully automated inter- Rob Kahrmann recent- nal cloud platform. In the role of Software ly joined Walker and Networking Engineer, Rick is responsible Associates as Regional for building Walker’s Next Generation Account Manager cov- Networking Lab where Walker is building ering Alaska, Idaho, SDN/NFV platforms to assist our custom- Montana, Oregon, and ers with validation and integration testing Washington. of the next generation of software net- work platforms. Rob joins the Walker team with over 30 years experience in the telecommunica- Rick comments “I am excited to be work- tions industry. For the past 17 years, ing on these next generation software he worked for Electric Lightwave (ELI) in defined network platforms with Walker. Vancouver, Washington. ELI was recently The IoT explosion with everything in the acquired by Zayo Networks. At ELI, he home connected, the proliferation of cell was Director of Engineering for some phones, video and streaming TV have time and most recently was the Director pushed traditional static network archi- of Vendor Management, Contracts, and tectures to their limits. Dynamic, scalable Procurement. Rick has worked extensively and automated SDN/NFV technologies with telecom distributors over the years running on standard COTS platforms pro- and has built strong relationships with vide the next generation network plat- carriers, independents, and other people forms that break away from the tradition- within the industry. al vendor appliance lock-in, will scale to 10 of billions of connected devices, provide He assures his new customers that “I have the 5G foundation while offering our cus- spent many years being a customer, and tomers the ability and agility to provide I will provide you the level of service and more services and capture more revenue”
44 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ nized by Walker’s manufacturer com- Rick can be reached by email at rick. Jim states “I am excited to be a part of munity for her outstanding sales per- [email protected], or by phone at the Walker team and look forward to formance. Most recently. Trudy received 336.731.5277. meeting customers in upcoming weeks the Inside Salesperson of the Year Award and months. By working together, we can from Walker. Customers and colleagues Rick Walker, Director help your agency achieve mission suc- alike praised Trudy for her commitment of Walker Services cess by compressing your deployment to exceptional service and her leader- Development, recently life cycle. ship. announced his retire- ment from Walker. Rick, Jim can be reached by email at jim. She looks forward to spending more time elder son of company [email protected], or by phone with her family, pursuing some hobbies, co-founders Chris and at 336-731-5267. and travel. Congratulations Trudy - you Virginia Walker, has are missed! worked in some capacity for the fam- Joey Manno joins ily business since 1992. Through the Walker as an Inside Sales Congratulations to Chris years he has taken on challenging roles Executive for Federal Lasley on her recent that connected him with customers and Customers. Joey, Marine retirement from Walker industry leaders. He is admired for his Corps Veteran and UNC- and Associates follow- commitment to quality, his natural lead- CH Alum, began his ing her 25 year career in ership style, and his focus on exceptional career at Walker and the telecommunications customer outcomes. Associates as an ISE in industry. Chris joined 1998, then moved into the structured Walker in 2009 as part Rick commented to associates at Walker cabling industry as a Manufacturer’s of Walker’s Windstream Supply assets that “Services are vital to Walker’s contin- Outside Sales Rep for Data Connect from acquisition. Chris reports she is excited ual evolution as a value added distributor 2001-2013. Manno spent the past three to spend time with her first grandbaby capable of handling larger, more complex years as Branch Manager of a datacom and family later this year. In addition to network design/builds going forward. I and security distribution supplier and is her family, Chris will be using her avail- am of the age and have a passion to pur- excited at returning to Walker and serv- able time to focus on her church family sue more time with family, hobbies, and ing as an ISE role in the Federal group. and those in need of her spiritual guid- other interests on my bucket list. Some Outside of his career, Joey enjoys spend- ance. of you have managed me, and mentored ing his time with his wife, Sherri and their me and I cannot thank you enough for four children. Chris’s customers and the Walker fam- your professionalism, patience, and kind- ily will miss her passion and dedication ness. All of you are who Walker is, our Joey can be reached by email at joey. along with her strong work ethic. Best face to the industry, and through your [email protected], or by phone at wishes go to her as she steps away from commitment and loyalty we have built 336.731.5315. her career to serve family, friends and a very special company second to none her community. in our industry. It is a blessing to know Trudy Nance retired you and work with you all these years. from Walker and Because of you Walker has a very bright Associates following 15 future!” years with the compa- ny, where she worked Rick will remain an active member of the in Inside Sales. Over the Board of Directors, staying informed of years Trudy was recog- company performance and market direc- tions. Even in retirement Walker expects his influence will be felt in numbers of ways. Congratulations Rick, and thanks for all the opportunities you’ve created during your storied role in telecommu- nications.
Jim Houhoulis has joined Walker as Department of Defense (DoD) Client Director, covering DISA, WHCA, EOP and STRATCOM.
He joins Walker with over 30 years of experience in the tele- communications/IT industry, with the last 11-year tenure being with Juniper Networks. His expertise and primary focus is in support of the above accounts, delivering Cyber Security, IP Networking, and Optical solutions.
Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 45 AUGUST 2017 Tri-State Telecom Annual Conference Park City, Utah NCEC/NCAEC Technology Conference Myrtle Beach, SC TTA Convention & Product Showcase Horseshoe Bay, TX TechNet Augusta Augusta, GA Tinker AFB - AFCEA Technology Day Oklahoma City, OK SEPTEMBER 2017 ITA Vendors’ Showcase East Peoria, IL * ISE Expo Orlando, FL * UTC Region 1 & 2 Combined Meeting Galloway, NJ As an active member of multiple state, regional and national industry associations, Walker OTA CO-IT Seminar Newport, OR and Associates is strategically engaged with TAM Convention Rockport, ME organizations supporting telecommunications markets. We demonstrate our commitment Modern Day Marine Quantico, VA through event sponsorships, exhibiting * Light Reading Carrier NFV & SDN Denver, CO at conferences and expos, and directory advertising. OCTOBER 2017 Scottsdale/Fountain ANMTA Fall Conference Look for us at the events listed here, and refer Hills, AZ to the Upcoming Events section of our website, Northeast Telecommunications Showcase Binghamton, NY www.walkerfirst.com, for additional details. * UTC 2017 Region 3 Fall Meeting Myrtle Beach, SC We look forward to seeing you at these events! TELSE Annual Convention Point Clear, AL WSTA Fall Conference & Exhibits Wisconsin Dells, WI Proud Member of: TSTCI Annual Membership Meeting Austin, TX MATSS Kansas City, MO TANE Annual Meeting and Convention Whitefield, NH KTA-TTA Fall Conference Bowling Green, KY Great Lakes Technology Showcase Ft. Wayne, IN ATA Showcase Anchorage, AK .org Berkeley Labs Labtech Berkeley, CA www. The HOW TO Association for NASA Kennedy Space Center Cape Canaveral, FL CLECs & Service Providers TechNet AsiaPacific Honolulu, HI NOVEMBER 2017 SCTBA Fall Conference & Showcase Columbia, SC MTA 36th Annual Showcase Billings, MT C-CAP Ridgecrest, CA DECEMBER 2017 SDTA Fall Plant & Tech Workshop Mitchell, SD
* - Indicates Walker and Associates is an event sponsor
46 Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ You didn’t set out to build a network. You set out to build a trendsetting, leave-the- competition-in-the-dust enterprise of amazing.
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Skinny Wire | Summer 2017 | http://www.walkerfirst.com/literature/skinny-wire/ 47 New world. New rules. New optical. Liquid Spectrum™—Optical reimagined for an on-demand world THE 2017
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