Author Archives

Liz Goldsmith

Intelligent build solutions are key to the success of future network deployments

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We currently find ourselves in a period of unprecedented demand for network infrastructure. The rapid adoption of digital technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), predictive analytics and the internet of things (IoT), have further heightened this trend. As the digitization and virtualization of business and society continues, more and more demands are placed on the data center because of the immense amount of potential it holds. For data center companies to realize this potential, they must operate more efficiently. To operate more efficiently, the industry must undergo a transformation—a digital transformation, that is.
No longer is funding the main constraint to deploying digital infrastructure. A constrained labor market, challenges in the supply chain, lack of real-time visibility into project execution, difficulty in auditing daily project results, lack of data integrity and more are all roadblocks to digitizing a network as each results in network inefficiencies and costs.

The Case for Broadband Access as a Human Right

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The pandemic’s massive, unplanned experiment proved that only those with high-speed internet could really participate in our society as it works today. It’s as critical as electricity.
The 80% of Americans who don’t have access to fiber broadband got left behind. It’s not OK to let that digital divide persist, to accept having a “less than” population.

Bridging the digital divide faces a workforce challenge

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Despite demand and funding, the industry faces a lack of skilled labor that threatens to slow rollouts and adversely impact fiber network performance and reliability. While states can use BEAD funds for training and workforce development, more than half of available funds will go to cover make-ready costs—surveys, planning, permits, approvals, utility pole upgrades and expansion, and other processes necessary to prepare for deployment. With the bulk of the remaining monies for deployment and promoting user adoption, very little (if any) will be allocated for upfront training, creating a cyclical problem of needing trained, skilled workers to later fix improperly installed networks. But there is more to the challenge that demands attention.

Cabling quiz: Standards and codes

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Standards and codes are the bedrock upon which many cabling projects are built. Professionals in the ICT industry must be familiar with specifications from BICSI, the Telecommunications Industry Association, and the NFPA’s National Electrical Code in order to remain in compliance with many project requirements. So how familiar are you? Here’s a short 4-question quiz about which documents cover which topics. Get three out of four correct and you pass. Good luck!

Smart Buildings Market size to grow by USD 46,123.2 million from 2022 to 2027; the growing need for building automation to enhance business outcomes drives market growth

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The smart buildings market size is estimated to increase by USD 46,123.2 million from 2022 to 2027. The market’s growth momentum will progress at a CAGR of 9.73% during the forecast period. The growing need for building automation to enhance business outcomes is a major factor driving the smart buildings market growth. 

Six Network Management Lessons That Apply To Smart Grids

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The energy industry is undergoing a large-scale transformation that will fundamentally reinvent the grid in the next decade. The good news is that the smart grid will not only leverage the existing internet infrastructure, but it can also benefit from the technology and best practices developed for the internet to build tomorrow’s electrons super highways. Smart grids already rely on the internet infrastructure for their control backplane, whether it’s leveraging wireless networks or using fiber optics.