Guidelines For Fiber Optic Project Planners
New projects are getting
started every day around the world, so FOA thought it would be
good to provide some guidelines for projects getting started that can
save time, money and lots of grief. One thing you should remember -
every fiber optic project is unique - success depends on continual
planning, monitoring, assessment and corrections.
Plan now for a "terabit future"
Middle mile networks today are probably aimed at 100G
speeds or above. Terabit speeds on coherent networks are not far in the
future. Ensure your network is ready with the right fiber and lots of
fibers. Fiber is cheap - fiber optic cable is only 5-15% of the cost of a
project and construction is around 50%, so a couple of percent extra
cable cost for extra fibers today can save a lot of money in the future.
FTTH PONs are generally thought of as gigabit networks, but 10G is
getting cheap and faster networks are in development. Likewise,
splitters should be installed with spare ports for future growth.
Read More: Building a Terabit City
Plan now to just "Dig Once"
We started promoting this concept in the early days
of fiber optics when we watched company after company dig up the same
roads to install more fiber. Dig once - if you open the ground to bury
conduit or ducts, bury lots of spare ducts for future cables. Remember
construction is 50% of the cost and duct is only ~1% percent of the cost
so burying spares now will save lots of future costs for expansion.
Dig Once has been Federal Policy Since 2013
Plan now to protect your current infrastructure
Fiber optic construction is infamous for damaging
underground infrastructure when trenching or directional boring, even
when using an auger to bore holes for setting new poles for aerial cable
plant. Use the "Call/Click Before You Dig" services, of course, but
discuss this with the contractors you interview to hire for the job. Are
they familiar with Call/Click Before You Dig? Do they have experience
locating underground utilities? Do they have a history of problems?
Here is the "Call Before You Dig" Website
Plan now for disasters
Look around you - hurricanes,
tornadoes, ice storms, floods, wildfires, earthquakes, even volcanoes
erupting in some areas - disasters can be devastating to communications
networks and cable plants. Aerial cable plants are especially
vulnerable so installing the cable plant underground may be more
expensive now but could save a lot of repair costs in the future. Backup
power should also be part of your plans. Besides, going underground
avoids the "pole wars" for permits and perils of "one-touch make ready"
installations.
Read More: FOA Newsletter August 2023 and September 2023
Evaluate contractors thoroughly and carefully
There is a shortage of fiber optic
contractors and installers. Trainers like the FOA's network of approved
schools are turning out new certified techs (CFOTs) at a fast pace but
many contractors will hire anybody and let them learn by OJT. Even
worse, many contractors will hire subcontractors )and sometimes THEY
hire subcontractors)
so you have little control of who is installing your network. The BEAD
program specifies trained and certified techs but controlling
subcontractors is difficult. FOA recommends putting in the project
documentation that all installers working on the project must be
certified by an industry recognized certifying body like FOA. Needless
to say, all contractors bidding on the project should be investigated
thoroughly, including interviewing previous customers, asking about the
quality of their work, completion on time and within budget. And their
financial condition.
FOA Guide To Choosing Contractors
Be wary of the "lowest bid"
You know that's good advice on any
project, but a fiber project has some possible loopholes. One
contractor subcontracted a landscaping company to dig trenches - they
cut several fiber optic cables connecting buildings. Another
subcontractor laid a fiber optic cable on the ground in high grass in a
remote area of a city park - found when the city cut the grass. A
contractor hired to also procure the cable he was to install bought
miles of cable from a distributor selling imported no-brand cable, only
to find the cables were breaking fibers when pulled into ducts. A
government agency trying to connect their equipment found their
contractor did not properly terminate the fibers. Details are important
and often are missed on the lowest bid.
Be wary of the "highest bid" (and consultants)
FOA
has seen many projects that cost way more than they should because the
customer thought the consultant knew best. One consultant designed a
FTTH system for a rich development that cost the about 5 times more than
it should. Another took on a project to design a network, but at the
end of a year told the customer they could not do the design, but they
kept the fee for the consulting.. A engineering firm created a FTTH
design for a small town that could have been cheaply built using the
available utility poles, but their design used directional boring at
many times the cost. Evaluate consultants just as carefully as
contractors - experience, successful projects and happy customers are
what you want to look for.
Plan for budget issues
Sure,
some projects get built to budget, some even come in under budget, but a
lot more have cost overruns. In recent history, inflation has been a
factor in some projects because they take time to complete. Once you get
started, there are few options to cut costs, so having the ability to
be flexible on costs can make it much less stressful.
Plan on being patient
Rome was not built in a day;
neither was any fiber optic network. A typical FTTH or metro project
takes years from concept to completion. Refining the concept, arranging
budgets, doing a preliminary design and creating a SOW, sending
out RFP and/or RFQ, evaluating bids, completing project management
schedules and finalizing documentation - and that's all before you
"break ground"! Then procuring components hits snags in the supply
chain, construction takes time, encounters obstacles and delays, you get
the idea.
Read the "Fiber Optic Project Timeline" in the FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optic Projects
Plan for secure storage
Any major fiber optic project uses a lot of bulky components like spools
of fiber duct and cable or boxes of splice closures, pedestals, and
other hardware. And it is very valuable. Loss of these components could
delay a project for many months. It should be in protected storage,
preferably in a warehouse where it can be protected from the elements
and guarded to prevent theft. Fiber optic cable is sometimes stolen by
thieves thinking it is copper wire and valuable as scrap. Do not store
fiber duct outdoors under a freeway like Atlanta did - it burned and
destroyed the freeway.
Read about the Atlanta freeway fire in the FOA Newsletter December 2019
Inspect during installation and before you accept
Fiber optic networks are expensive and should meet the specifications of
the installation contract. The project manager should inspect the
installation often, looking for the installed cable plant following the
documentation and exhibiting proper installation with good workmanship.
When it's finished, before you sign off on
the installation, take the steps to ensure you get what you asked for
and will be paying for. Is it properly installed along the route
specified? Has every bit of it been inspected visually for proper
installation and workmanship? Does it meet its design specifications?
Was every fiber tested? Has the documentation been updated to as
delivered and does it represent what the original design called for?
FOA Guidelines For Installation Deliverables
Save leftovers for future restoration
Every project ends up with leftovers - extra cable and hardware -
because you have to plan for variations between design lengths and
actual lengths, service loops at splices, etc. After the project is
finished, plan on taking some extra cable and a few splice closures and
storing it with a copy of the documentation in a special place - label
it "Restoration" - where you can find it when you need it. This simple
step will make restoration much easier and faster when you have
problems.
FOA Guidelines For Restoration
All managers should learn enough fiber optics to understand and manage the project
(We weren't sure if this should be first or last!)
Designing and building a fiber
optic communications system involves quite a bit of unique knowledge,
Managers need to know enough to communicate with the specialized fiber
optic techs who do the actual design and installation to properly
evaluate the progress of the installation. That means understanding how
the network works, what proper installation and workmanship looks like,
even how to evaluate test results submitted at the completion of the
cable plant. And they need to be able to understand the documentation on
the network to ensure it's done correctly at the beginning, followed
properly during installation and 100% completed when the project is
finished. Managers should gain that knowledge before starting the project.
Take a free basic fiber optic course online at FOA's Fiber U
More Links
The FOA Guide - almost 1,000 files of technical information including sections on Fiber Optic Network Design and Installation
The FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optic Projects
Installation Checklist
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