Issue: October 2009
By: Frank Bisbee

BISBEE’S BUZZ

The intelligent, smart, converged, automated, sustainable, efficient building …

MYTH or REALITY = YES?

We have come a long way in the past three decades.  We now have new technology, new practices, and new realities. The modern building structure has five basic component sections to the infrastructure:

POWER 

CONTROL

COMMUNICATIONS

SECURITY

LIFE SAFETY

NOTE: ALL SECTIONS LISTED ABOVE CAN & SHOULD BE COORDINATED BY THE ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR. The Electrical Contractor’s services have evolved into a pivotal role for converging these technologies.

Many building owners ignored the big changes in the telecommunications industry and left those issues to the tenants to wrestle.  In 2002, the new provisions in the National Electrical Code - NEC-2002 - required the removal of abandoned communications cable. Building owners and managers were suddenly forced to deal with hundreds of millions of feet of abandoned cable left behind by a long line of former tenants.  With this came the potential for unexpected major costs. Whether they wanted it or not, the world of Commercial Real Estate in the USA was now in the Communications industry. Lease language had to be revised to tenants to address their new responsibility of dealing with cabling in accordance with the new code.

However, we still see a reluctance of the building industry to address COMMUNICATIONS in their programs to educate their industry.

Below is an advertisement* from Building Operating Management Magazine, the leading publication for the world of Commercial Real Estate in the USA. Their program is awesome and an important educational opportunity. However, there is still more to the story… ADD Communications to bring all the building’s systems together in a truly CONVERGED building.

…………………………………..

*The building Envelope and the bottom-line

Saving Energy and boosting sustainability… Great goals

With energy costs undergoing extreme volatility and environmental awareness coming into the mainstream, the need to operate your facility efficiently and in a sustainable fashion is more critical than ever.

Thanks to a better understanding of how commercial facilities use energy and the role of the building envelope in generating cost savings, there are many new, effective ways to create a greener, more efficient approach to building operations. Learn all about them when you attend the FREE Webcast "The Building Envelope and the Bottom Line: Saving Energy, Boosting Sustainability"

Attendance will give you a thorough understanding of energy-saving opportunities, from renewable energies to LEED certification to energy data benchmarking and analysis. In addition, this Webcast will detail the energy-saving, green aspects of high-performance roofs and walls, and their role in creating a sustainable facility that provides significant ROI.

Trade Press Media Group is authorized by IACET to offer 0.1 CEUs for this program.

Sign up right now.  Attendance is free, but space is limited.

The webinar is hosted and moderated by:

Building Operating Management Magazine – Greg Zimmerman, Editor
2100 W. Florist Ave., Milwaukee, WI 53209

Managing Buildings - Building Automation - Building Types

ADA

Data Centers

Design & Construction

Emergency Preparedness

Energy Efficiency

Facilities Management

Green

Outsourcing

Grounds Management

IAQ

Maintenance & Operations

Material Handling

Ceilings, Furniture & Walls

Doors & Hardware

Elevators

Equipment Rental & Tools

Fire Safety

Flooring

HVAC

http://www.facilitiesnet.com/webinar/foam_1009/default.asp

………………………..

Think of the impact on sustainability, if we reuse the tenants’ communications infrastructure for the next tenant whenever feasible. It certainly will reduce the waste stream and costs. Perhaps lease language can be modified to treat structured cabling as a quasi-transferable asset with the building owner as the broker. This concept potentially gives a major competitive advantage to the building owner in dealing with new tenants.  Do the math = $$$$$$

Only the future will give us the answer, but things are looking up and fiber optic cabling is getting closer to the desktop every year. The cost is nearly in parity with copper when all the costs are considered.

But that’s just my opinion,

REMEMBER:    SAFETY IS TOO IMPORTANT TO IGNORE. 

NEVER DRIVE AND TEXT.

Frank Bisbee
"Heard On The Street" Monthly Column
www.wireville.com
4949 Sunbeam Rd, Suite 16
Jacksonville, FL 32257
(904) 645-9077 office
(904) 645-9058 fax
904-237-0365 cell
frank@wireville.com

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NOBEL PRIZE to Grandfather of Fiber Optics

Charles Kao, who is often referred as father of fiber-optic communications for his work in the 1960s fiber optics has won a share of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physics. Kao’s discovered in 1966…  How to transmit light over long distances using ultrapure optical glass fibers, which enabled such transmissions to reach 62 miles vs. the mere 65 under the previous technologies hampered by impurities. The first ultrapure fiber was produced in 1970.

Kao, was formally honored by the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication. Kao shares the award with Willard Boyle and George Smith, who invented imaging technology using a digital sensor dubbed a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device). The good old boys from Bell Labs brought us many breakthroughs, like the transistor, the laser, and more.

Coppers Last Stand?

The CCD is the basis for the technology in digital photography. Digital cameras have crushed the film based photography business. Many experts predict that the fiber-optic cabling is already on the way to delivering the same devastating fate for copper-based communications cabling.

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Megladon® Manufacturing Group, Ltd Announces the Addition of Southern Sales Group, Inc to Their Sales Force

Megladon Manufacturing Group, Ltd., a leader in passive fiber optic products, announced the appointment of Southern Sales Group, Inc to Megladon’s field sales force covering primarily the Southern and Southeastern states. The relationship specifically covers the penetration of major MSOs with megladon’s WDM and coupler/splitter products. Southern Sales Group is a recognized leader in the CATV industry with existing sales relationships that include large MSOs and cable operators.

“This is a strategic relationship for Megladon”, stated John M Culbert, President of Megladon. “We recognize the existing relationships between Southern Sales Group and large CATV companies. In order to penetrate these customers, there is no reason to reinvent the wheel. We also realize the level of customer support and expertise that Southern Sales Group is known for. Megladon needed a way to market our WDM products into major MSOs and obtain qualification and believe wholeheartedly that we found the secret.”

About Southern Sales Group

Southern Sales Group is a Sales and Marketing organization representing large manufacturers in the Southern and Southeastern United States. Their focus is in the CATV market segment and have a specialty in fiber optic products.

About Megladon

Megladon Manufacturing Group Ltd., a subsidiary of TyRex Group Ltd.®, is recognized as a leader in the fiber optic marketplace. Founded in 1997, Megladon made it their mission to provide customers with fiber optic products that far exceed industry standards. As technology innovators, Megladon created the HLC (Hardened Lens Contact) termination, which has changed the market and taken it to the next level. For additional information on Megladon and their patented processes please visit the company’s website at www.megladonmfg.com.

For additional sales information, Southern Sales Group can be contacted as follows:

Southern Sales Group, Inc

Office  803-641-0032

Fax      803-641-6673

sales@southernsalesgroup.com

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Alarming Data from Concert Technologies Exposes Nationwide Technology Rollout Companies in the Leading Information Transport Systems (ITS) Association Newsletter

“Nationwide Technology Rollout Companies” Article Published in BICSI News

DULLES, VA, SEPTEMBER 22, 2009 –  Concert Technologies today announced the publication of its Nationwide Technology Rollout Companies article in the September/October edition of BICSI News. This industry-first article provides valuable survey data and explains how to avoid the risks of working with nationwide technology rollout companies used to employ field technicians at multi-site locations for technology deployments.

The article incorporates alarming data based on a 2009 Q1 survey conducted by Concert Technologies of 345 nationwide Information Transport Systems (ITS) firms. Results from the survey include:

42% of the ITS firms were not paid for services performed for a technology rollout company

80% of the nationwide ITS firms were solicited by the technology rollout company

62% performed work for 3 or more nationwide technology rollout companies in the past year

The potential for a long-term relationship was the primary deciding factor for an ITS firm to work for a technology rollout company

“With the advent of IP technology, it is making it easier – when managed properly – to install equipment at the site level,” said Dennis Mazaris, author of the article and Concert Technologies President. “Based on our survey results, this has caused more companies to embark into a market offering multiple services on a nationwide basis in order to expand their capabilities and footprint. However, they do so without proven processes and methodologies in place to successfully complete the project and pay their contractors.”

Benefits to the Industry

This article brings to light the core fundamentals of the Technology Rollout System of methodologies and how it helps to ensure that all nationwide projects are as successful and cost-efficient as possible. The benefits to the industry include:

Evaluation criteria for engaging a technology rollout company

What local technology contractors should avoid to mitigate potential risks and problems inherent in a nationwide technology rollout

Ability to minimize site revisits through an accountable, organized Process Structure

Accelerated project completion times through the most efficient Deployment Method

Site risk mitigation through a managed Technician Communication Channel

“I am pleased that a global organization such as BICSI sees the value that this information has for solution providers, end users and contractors alike,” said Mazaris. The article titled “Nationwide Technology Rollout Companies” is available online in the current edition of BICSI News.

About BICSI

BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry. ITS covers the spectrum of voice, data, electronic safety & security, and audio & video technologies. BICSI provides information, education and knowledge assessment for individuals and companies in the ITS industry, serving more than 23,000 ITS professionals, including designers, installers and technicians. BICSI Web Site

About Concert Technologies

Concert Technologies, founded in 1995, is a privately-held technology service company based in Dulles, VA. It is the leader in the accelerated delivery of nationwide rollouts and global technology deployments for government, commercial and international organizations. Utilizing the Maestro Technology Rollout System of methodologies, it quickly implements, installs and manages multi-site, multi-service, multi-technology infrastructure projects. Visit Concert Technologies online: www.concerttech.com

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Technology Rollout Services are vital

What Type of Technician Communication Channel Will Increase Transparency and Mitigate Security Risks of My Technology Rollout?

The Technician Communication Channel is part of the partnerships within the Technology Rollout System.

While the partnerships define the relationship between the technology rollout company and its field force, the Technician Communication Channel determines the actual interaction between the technology rollout company and its field technicians.

Understanding the Technician Communication Channel
There are 4 primary Technician Communication Channels used in the deployment of technology solutions. By identifying and understanding each one, you will be better equipped to ensure that you select the most efficient option for your technology rollout.

Direct Tech Communication Channel (see diagram)
The Technology Rollout Company engages the local partner company but directly manages the field technicians or supervisor at each site location.

Indirect Tech Communication Channel (see diagram)
The Technology Rollout Company allows the local partner company to communicate directly with each field technician. The local partner company communicates with the Technology Rollout Company upon site completion and/or for support.

Single Tech Communication Channel (see diagram)
The Technology Rollout Company does not use companies as partners and instead opts to partner with each technician directly.

Hybrid Tech Communication Channels (see diagram)
A combination of the Technician Communication Channels may exist with associated advantages and disadvantages.

Comparing the Technician Communication Channels
To view the comparative pros and cons of each of the Technician Communication Channels detailed above, read our fourth and final paper in our white paper series.
Read Now or download the PDF Version

Evaluating the Technician Communication Channel
In order to fully evaluate a technology rollout company, you must understand their Technician Communication Channel as part of the overall partnership structure as this determines the individuals who enter and perform work at each site location. The following questions will help in determining the level of management and quality of the technology rollout company's partnerships: 

What is the quality assurance policy of the technology rollout company’s partnerships and their onsite technicians?

What are the measures in place for technician redundancy?

Who is responsible for the technicians at each site?

By understanding the key aspects of the partner relationship and the Technician Communication Channel, you will be better ensured that you are getting the most effective deployment for your technology project.

Concert Technologies Services
Concert Technologies has a wide range of services designed to complete your technology rollout as quickly and efficiently as possible. With over 140,000 projects completed and almost 15 years of industry experience, we have the System of methodologies in place to provide you with the technology rollout services needed to achieve your business goals.

Learn more about our services

Concert Technologies, founded in 1995, is a privately-held technology service company based in Dulles, VA. It is the leader in the rapid delivery of nationwide rollouts and global technology deployments for government, commercial and international organizations. Utilizing the Maestro Technology Rollout System®, it quickly implements, installs and manages multi-site, multi-service, multi-technology infrastructure projects. Visit Concert Technologies online: www.concerttech.com

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Concert Technologies Announces Headquarters Move And Two Divisions Consolidating In One Location

DULLES, VA, AUGUST 26, 2009 – Concert Technologies today announced its move to its new Dulles facility. Previously, the Concert Technologies Headquarters was located on Falcon Place in Dulles whereas the Sales Department was in Lansdowne. This move consolidates the two divisions into one location in the Dulles area.

“This move allows our nearby resources to operate in a single place,” said Dennis Mazaris, Concert Technologies President and Founder. “We've found that this creates a more dynamic team environment that allows us to operate at a higher efficiency.”

Concert Technologies’ Headquarters is now located on Trade Center Place in the Dulles Trade Center business park. The company’s Operations Department remains located in West Virginia.

About Concert Technologies
Concert Technologies, founded in 1995, is a privately-held technology service company based in Dulles, VA. It is the leader in the rapid delivery of nationwide rollouts and global technology deployments for government, commercial and international organizations. Utilizing the Maestro Technology Rollout System®, it quickly implements, installs and manages multi-site, multi-service, multi-technology infrastructure projects.

Visit Concert Technologies online: www.concerttech.com

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Factoid - Recession Is Over

80% of Economists Say Recession Is Over

More than 80 percent of economists believe the U.S. recession is over and an expansion has begun, but they expect the recovery will be very slow.

October 14^th, 2009 the Dow closed over 10,000. Don’t go crazy, we still got a long climb back up to the former levels of prosperity.

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Megladon Announces New Product Release of Full CWDM, DWDM and Splitter Line with Angle Polished HLC® ScratchGuard™ Connections

Austin, Texas, October 2, 2009 – Megladon Manufacturing Group adds to their durable fiber optic product line for the CATV and video transmission market.  Megladon now offers CWDM, DWDM, coupler and splitter products terminated with angle polished HLC connections. This completes a suite of products that includes all passive fiber optic products from the Node Tail, WDM or coupler inside the node to the WDM , coupler, patchcords, trunk cables and patch panels in the head end. The end to end solution allows customers to mate matched connectors and achieve the highest possible performance.

With the growing video on demand and streaming video content on the web, a need arises for high quality fiber optic products capable of withstanding this trend. Industry leaders and providers are having to transition into a more competent network infrastructure to conform to the now industry standard of high performance fiber optic networks.

The SCRATCHGUARD™ Fiber Optic DWDM, CWDM, coupler and splitter (by Megladon Manufacturing Group) is a critical step forward in quality. The fiber optic connector is a crucial component and the “gateway to the fiber optic cabling network”. Damage to the connector due to repeated use has been the biggest problem for network managers, until now. The patented SCRATCHGUARD™ Fiber Optic terminations have virtually eliminated the problem.

Megladon’s SM APC HLC SCRATCHGUARD terminations are ideally equipped for network installers that are utilizing high speed video networks. The HLC technology provides mating surface durability and low loss; paired with an Angle Polish Connector we now have a product that significantly reduces reflection, cutting down on interruptions in any given network.

The CWDM and DWDM products are manufactured in a variety of standard and custom configurations including hybrids for the more complex CATV networks. Standard lead times are 2-3 weeks and most customers experience a 20% - 30% cost reduction. The value proposition includes both front end savings and back end reliability making the switch to Megladon products and easy decision.

“We have successfully married the HLC technology with high end passive products to protect the integrity and performance of these devices,” said John Culbert, President of Megladon. “These are business critical parts of a fiber optic network. Why wouldn’t you want to maximize their lifespan and reliability? The value proposition we offer saves our customers a fortune from implementation to long term maintenance”.

About Megladon

Megladon® Manufacturing Group Ltd., a subsidiary of TyRex Group Ltd.®, is recognized as a leader in the fiber optic marketplace. Founded in 1997, Megladon made it their mission to provide customers with fiber optic products that far exceed industry standards. As technology innovators, Megladon created the HLC® (Hardened Lens Contact) termination, which has changed the market and taken it to the next level. For additional information on Megladon and their patented processes please visit the company’s website at www.megladonmfg.com.

For additional information regarding Megladon’s variety of fiber optic products please contact John Culbert at 512.615.4687 or by email at scratchguard@megladonmfg.com.

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The Economy & Category 6A - Commentary by Paul Barker

Editor's Desk By Paul Barker

There was encouraging news in a report issued in late September by RBC Economics on the state of the Canadian economy. While the economy did contract by 3.4% in the second quarter, Craig Wright, senior vice president and chief economist with the bank is predicting a return to positive growth by this quarter.

Improved financial markets, low borrowing rates and fiscal stimulus have moved the economy forward, he said, adding that he expects this current recession to turn out to be the least severe of the past three, even after the consecutive hefty drops in GDP output from late 2008 and early 2009.

The report projects growth of 2.6% next year, which should be enough to kick-start the IT sector as a whole, particularly in the data centre space.

There are positive rumblings on that front as well. Research firm IDC recently polled 300 data centre managers and reported that almost one-half of respondents indicated they plan to increase annual spending on mainframe hardware and software.

It will not stop there. Take storage as an example. "As more people access these systems, investments in capacity must me be made to accommodate increased usage of existing applications," said Laura DuBois, program director, Storage Software, at IDC.

The ripple effect will grow, as long as IT managers and CEOs see the need to improve their network infrastructure and increase bandwidth through a structured cabling upgrade. An example of what is possible occurred earlier this month at the 40th WorldSkills Competition in Calgary (see p. 12).

A fact sheet from organizers of the event revealed that 8 terabytes of memory were installed, equivalent to 8,000 trucks full of books, 98 fiber locations with media cross throughout Stampede Park as well as "160 kilometres of fiber trenched throughout a 275,000 square metre area to connect close to 50 sites in real time over a Cisco backbone."

Network equipment included 1,100 monitors, 900 desktops, 200 personal printers, 100 laptops and 105 46-inch LCD displays.

Draka International supplied over 43 kilometres of Category 6 cable. Category 6A will have to wait until the next competition in London, England in two years time.

Meanwhile, the seeming reluctance of Canadian organizations to adopt to the new standard is puzzling to many vendors and industry watchers alike including Carl Siemon. During a recent interview with the president and CEO of The Siemon Company (see story p. 6) I suggested that this country appears mired in Category 5E and 6 and asked him what is it going to take organizations to upgrade?

"I have been asking myself the same question," he replied. "If it was two years ago, I would have said, well, the 6A standard hasn't been ratified yet and maybe that's the reason there is a conservatism here that needs to have that formalization first.

"Judging by our product mix on the copper media side, Category 6A and higher is only about 5%. That compares to the U.S. where it's 25-26%. The trajectories are fairly steep. The key is education and we need to be more proactive in the market."

The Internet traffic, he said, is not slowing down, nor is Moore's Law -- backbone speeds have become work area speeds consistently over time. It does not make a lot of sense to invest in Category 6 and below."

As Lynx Networks, a U.K. network services firm, notes on its Web site, the "role of Cat 6A in our lives is to support 10GbE. That is its only advantage over Cat 5e and Cat 6, but a 10-fold improvement in bandwidth is pretty impressive."

Reprinted with permission from Cabling Networking Systems - CNS Magazine www.cnsmagazine.com

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Mike Holt Enterprises = a great way to keep up with safety issues, product issues and industry issues

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Back-up Power Systems

Stray Voltage Article

Arc Flash Investigations

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Belden Adds 2000 Volt Variable Frequency Drive Cables to Existing Line of Classic and Symmetrical VFD Cable Designs

Belden a leader in the development of signal transmission products for the industrial, enterprise, building management, broadcast, and security markets, announces the addition of new 2000 Volt VFD cable designs to its existing line of Variable Frequency AC motor drive cables. Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs) regulate the speed of a 3-phase AC electric motor by controlling the frequency and voltage of the power they deliver to the motor. These drives are becoming prevalent in a wide range of industrial applications since they offer multiple benefits, including the ability to save substantial amounts of energy during motor operation, making them an attractive and economical "green" solution.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090127/CG63239LOGO)

The new 2000V VFD Cable designs added to Belden's line include:

Classic Design VFD Cables, 14 to 2 AWG, with Beldfoil® plus TC Braid Shield. Similar to Belden's other classic VFD cables, this series of seven cables features oversized XLPE insulation to provide the lowest capacitance available in a VFD cable. Highly effective dual shielding provides the lowest resistance to ground path, which improves common mode current containment. The 85 percent braid coverage offers optimum EMI low frequency noise protection, while the 100 percent aluminum/Mylar tape shield offers RFI high frequency noise protection. Also included in the smooth, round cables are full-size, insulated green ground wires with a yellow stripe and drain wires for ease of installation and termination.

Symmetrical Design, Large AWG (1 to 4/0), with Spiral Copper Tape Shield. Similar to Belden's other Symmetrical cables, this series of five cables combines the benefits of Belden's classic VFD cables with additional features for use on larger, more powerful AC motor drives. Highly effective shielding provides a low resistance ground path, which improves common mode current containment. Spirally applied dual copper tape shields provide 100 percent coverage, coupled with improved flexibility and EMI/RFI noise protection. Three symmetrical bare ground wires provide a balanced ground system to reduce the likelihood of premature motor bearing or motor insulation failure.

All of Belden's new 2000V UL 1277 Type TC-ER cables are UL rated for direct burial, feature black sunlight- and oil-resistant PVC jackets, and meet all applicable industry standards and specifications for VFD cables.

Belden Industrial Solutions

Belden also offers a comprehensive line of industrial solutions consisting of Hirschmann(TM) switches and active networking devices, Lumberg Automation(TM) connectivity, and Belden cables - all manufactured to provide 99.999% reliability for your standard industrial, extreme environment or mission-critical applications.

Belden is the only company to offer a Complete Industrial Solution for Ethernet applications. This matched end-to-end system offers its users maximum uptime and complete peace of mind -- no matter the environment.

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Belden Introduces Hirschmann(TM) Media Line: Rugged Industrial Ethernet Cordsets/Patch Cords With Bonded-Pair Technology

Belden, extends its industrial product offering with the addition of a rugged new line of Hirschmann Industrial Ethernet Cordsets and Patch Cords. When this new connectivity is used in conjunction with Belden's diverse line of Hirschmann Industrial Ethernet Switches and Belden's Industrial Ethernet Cable, a Complete (end-to-end) Industrial Solution is realized.

To ensure reliable performance in extreme or mission-critical environments, Hirschmann Industrial Ethernet Cordsets and Patch Cords are manufactured using Belden's patented Bonded-Pair technology. Bonded-Pair cables have the individual insulated conductors bonded together along their longitudinal axis to assure uniform conductor-to-conductor spacing for maximum electrical integrity. These cables are also chemical- and temperature-resistant and incorporate rugged RJ45 or over molded M12 (IP67 rated) industrial connectors to ensure reliable performance in extreme or mission-critical environments.

Cordset and Patch Cord Configurations:

RJ45 to RJ45 Patch Cords

M12 (male) to RJ45

M12 (male) to M12 (male)

RJ45 to M12 (female) Panel-mount Receptacle

Cable Options:

Ultra-rugged Teal TPE jacket, CAT 5e, 2- and 4-pairs with 24 AWG stranded conductors, unshielded Bonded-Pairs

Ultra-rugged Teal TPE jacket, CAT 5e High Flex, 2- and 4-pairs with 24 AWG stranded conductors, unshielded Bonded-Pairs

PVC jacket, CAT 5e, 2- and 4-pairs with 24 AWG stranded conductors, unshielded Bonded-Pairs

Belden Industrial Solutions

Belden offers a comprehensive line of industrial solutions consisting of Hirschmann switches and active networking devices, Lumberg Automation(TM) connectivity, and Belden cables - all manufactured to provide 99.999% reliability for your standard industrial, extreme environment or mission-critical applications.

Belden is the only company to offer a Complete Industrial Solution for Ethernet applications. This matched end-to-end system offers its users maximum uptime and complete peace of mind -- no matter the environment. www.belden.com/industrial.

www.belden.com

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CABA NewsBrief - CABA's 20th Anniversary

For a detailed listing of industry conferences and events go to: www.caba.org/events.

CABA's 20th Anniversary

The Continental Automated Buildings Association was founded twenty years ago as
a venue to facilitate networking and collaboration between industry stakeholders, 
educational institutions and organizations in order to further the development
of a mass market in home and building automation.

Over the past twenty years, more than 400 companies have interacted with CABA
to access cutting-edge research, trends and analysis and to attend highly-focused
industry seminars, workshops and conferences.

CABA's 20th anniversary is an opportune time to reflect on how joint industry efforts can
strengthen the goal of mass market developments.  Our anniversary also provides an
opportunity for the organization to show its appreciation to industry by way of providing
special offers and incentives to new members.

 Large Building Automation

Study: More businesses make sustainability a priority
A recent study found that 76% of U.S. corporations are taking steps to adopt green practices that exceed legal requirements. The Siemens Building Technologies and McGraw-Hill Construction study found that more companies see sustainability as "a core part of business performance." More than 20% of the companies responding to the survey said at least 60% of their buildings are green. GreenerBuildings (9/17)

Countries to unite on September 23 for first World Green Building Day
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 marks the first World Green Building Day, a series of synchronized global events taking place to raise awareness of the important role sustainable buildings have in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The inaugural day was established by the World Green Building Council (WorldGBC) which represents a coalition of fourteen established green building councils, eight emerging councils and over thirty applicant councils developing around the world. MarketWatch (9/22)

US to spend $100 million on making grid workforce smart
US Energy Secretary Steven Chu has furthered the nation’s plans to move toward a smart grid with the announcement of $100 million to retrain the electric power workforce to be ready for the smart grid. The funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will support the development of training programmes at utilities, colleges, universities and other organisations and the rollout to electric utility workers and electrical equipment manufacturers. Energy Efficiency News (9/22)

Eco-friendly buildings gaining new ground in India
India's expanding real estate sector is posing a major threat to the environment. But there is hope as more and more people are becoming aware of the need to design eco-friendly buildings. Channelnewsasia.com (9/22)

BSRIA calls Herman Miller UK HQ a "model project"
Furniture firm Herman Miller is well known for creating innovative office equipment. So when the US company built its international headquarters in 2006, the building had to be something a little special. BSRIA (9/22)

USGBC announces green building education winners
The U.S. Green Building Council, home of the LEED rating systems, has announced the winners of the 2009 Excellence in Green Building Curriculum Recognition Awards and Incentive Grants. Several schools across the country, from pre-K to universities, have received recognition for their green building education endeavors. Mother Nature Network (9/21)

Motion sensors reduce lighting retrofit payback time significantly
"Motion sensors are the key to the success of a lighting retrofit,” says Inderjeet Bedi, Environment, Health and Safety Leader at SABIC Innovative Plastics Canada Incorporated, a CIPEC Leader in the Plastics Sector. With projected annual savings of about $50,000 or 2200 gigajoules (GJ) of electricity, the sensors reduced the payback of the project to 1.72 years from about four years had the company replaced the lighting without motion sensors. NRCan (9/22)

Silver Spring Networks acquires Greenbox Technology Inc.
Silver Spring Networks, a leading provider of Smart Grid solutions, announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire Greenbox Technology, an innovative provider of web-based energy management software. The Greenbox interactive energy management web portal, built by the creators of Flash™, delivers on a key benefit of the Smart Grid - enabling consumers to track, understand and manage their energy usage more efficiently. Sliver Spring Networks (9/22)

Intertek launches lighting compliance solutions to meet California requirements
Intertek, a leading provider of quality and safety services to a wide range of industries globally, launched services to help businesses understand and comply with the new California Lighting Efficiency and Toxics Reduction Act also referred to as California Assembly Bill Number 1109 (AB1109). The bill is intended to increase consumer purchase of energy efficient lighting and reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission. Canada Newswire (9/22)

Technology controls elevator usage
Elevator technology has also become a little bit more advanced—tracking usage patterns, assigning specific destinations, and adapting to tenant routines. Constructech (9/22)

EnOcean HVAC controls neutralize highest electricity rate in the United States
The EnOcean Alliance and two of its 120 members, Echoflex Solutions and Illumra, combined to take on high energy prices in Hawaii. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the base cost of electricity in Hawaii weighs in at a staggering $0.30/kWh rate (nearly 3x the national average). The high cost is attributed to the fact that in Hawaii, power is produced by burning imported fuel. Business Wire (9/16)

Why a limited R&D budget is better
Companies with limited research and development resources can use those constraints to spur innovation, Dan Harden writes. When a company can afford to fund only a small number of simple, inexpensive ideas, those constraints can focus their creativity, he argues. "One needs to focus more on the essential user needs and less on the endless feature possibilities or extraneous embellishments," he writes. Fast Company (9/11)

IT goes green
Energy efficiency has caught the attention of the construction industry, prompting many to use technology to go green—and not just in the data center. It might be hard to believe but “green building” has been going on for almost 20 years now. Even so, the demand for green building techniques seems to be skyrocketing as of late. According to industry data, green building will be a $60 billion industry for new construction by the end of 2010. Renovations are projected to be three to four times that volume. Constructech (9/22)

Cisco creates smart grid ecosystem, adds security
Cisco Systems recently announced the formation of the Cisco Smart Grid Ecosystem and Smart Grid Technical Advisory Board (TAB). Cisco also recently announced grid security services aimed at delivering a unified approach to help ensure physical security, cyber security and reliability of the electric system – a key concern for smart grid deployments. TelephonyOnline (9/17)

Frost & Sullivan launches green building technologies market tracking service
Frost & Sullivan has launched the first ever ongoing study of building specifiers and facility managers in the commercial sector about their awareness, adoption, plans and spending on green building technologies. The programme will cover five main European countries: the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain on an ongoing basis. PRNewswire (9/23)

ABB and Trilliant announce interoperable advanced smart grid solutions
ABB, a leading power and automation technology company, and Trilliant Incorporated, a leader in delivering Smart Grid solutions that enhance energy efficiency, utility operations, and renewable resource integration, announced successful interoperability of Trilliant's SecureMesh communications network with ABB's Station Automation and Protection products, enabling utilities to choose best-of-breed technologies for their Smart Grid rollouts. This announcement was made as part of activities at GridWeek 2009, held in Washington, DC. PRWeb (9/22)

For better green buildings, U.S. can learn from EU, Aussies
The United States can reduce its energy consumption and create more “green” jobs by adopting some of the strategies used by the European Union (EU) and Australia to rate and disclose the performance of commercial and government-owned buildings, according to a study from RAND, a nonprofit research organization. Environmental Leader (9/22)

ASHRAE vending machine standard provides guidance for DOE ruling
Savings over the next 30 years from a proposed federal standard for vending machines could equal that of the energy consumed by more than 830,000 American households in a single year. ASHRAE (9/23)

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Class Action Suit Filed Against Anixter International Inc.

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP Files Class Action Suit against Anixter International Inc.

Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP (“Coughlin Stoia”) (http://www.csgrr.com/cases/anixter/) today announced that a class action has been commenced on behalf of an institutional investor in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois on behalf of purchasers of the common stock of Anixter International Inc. (“Anixter” or the “Company”) (NYSE: AXE - News) between January 29, 2008 and October 20, 2008, inclusive (the “Class Period”), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than 60 days from today.

If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff’s counsel, Samuel H. Rudman or David A. Rosenfeld of Coughlin Stoia at 800/449-4900 or 619/231-1058, or via e-mail at djr@csgrr.com. If you are a member of this Class, you can view a copy of the complaint as filed or join this class action online at http://www.csgrr.com/cases/anixter/. Any member of the putative class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.

The complaint charges Anixter and certain of its executives with violations of the Exchange Act. Anixter, together with its subsidiaries, distributes communications products, specialty wire and cable products, fasteners, and small parts. The Company is a global supplier of communications products used to connect voice, video, data and security systems. It provides electrical and electronic wire and cable, fasteners, and other small components to build, repair and maintain a variety of systems and equipment.

The complaint alleges that, throughout the Class Period, defendants made numerous positive statements regarding the Company's financial condition, business and prospects. The complaint further alleges that these statements were materially false and misleading because defendants failed to disclose the following adverse facts, among others: (i) that the Company was in a pricing dispute with one of its Original Equipment Manufacturer (“OEM”) customers, which would cost the Company approximately $3 million; (ii) that the Company was experiencing a decrease in sales in the European and Asian markets due to decreased demand for the Company’s products; (iii) that the Company was experiencing operating margin pressure due to slower sales in its OEM supply business, which traditionally produce higher operating margins; and (iv) as a result of the foregoing, defendants lacked a reasonable basis for their positive statements about the Company and its prospects.

On October 21, 2008, Anixter announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2008, the period ending September 26, 2008. For the quarter, the Company reported sales of $1.59 billion and net income of $61.7 million, or $1.58 per diluted share. In response to this announcement, the price of Anixter common stock fell $18.76 per share, or approximately 40%, over the next five trading days, to close at $29.06 per share, on October 27, 2008, on heavy trading volume.

Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all purchasers of Anixter common stock during the Class Period (the “Class”). The plaintiff is represented by Coughlin Stoia, which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.

Coughlin Stoia, a 190-lawyer firm with offices in San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boca Raton, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Atlanta, is active in major litigations pending in federal and state courts throughout the United States and has taken a leading role in many important actions on behalf of defrauded investors, consumers, and companies, as well as victims of human rights violations. The Coughlin Stoia Web site (http://www.csgrr.com) has more information about the firm.

Contact: Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP
Samuel H. Rudman, 800-449-4900
David A. Rosenfeld
djr@csgrr.com

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CSC at ASIS conference - Anaheim, CA – September 22, 2009 – Amazing New Offering

Communications Supply Corporation puts sparkle in the premiere national security event – the ASIS Conference. CSC launches unique Faster Than Light™ Server and Storage Solutions.

CSC will actually “show” customers their server and storage solution is

100% optimized before they buy it.

Communications Supply Corporation (CSC), a subsidiary of WESCO International, Inc., announced the availability of its all-new exclusive line of Faster Than Light (FTL) Server and Storage Solutions.

Frank Bisbee, editor of the monthly e-zine “HOTS - Heard On The Street” commented, “We think this revolutionary server and storage technology will literally change the way security professionals and integrators design and build IP security systems. No need to fear failure with this kind of resource. VERY IMPRESSIVE.”

The FTL Server and Storage Solutions are fully customized and optimized for a customer’s unique environment using CSC’s IP Optimization Portal™ (www.cscoptimizationportal.com). This incredible and exclusive configuration and optimization portal leverages complex algorithms that analyze software and hardware configurations, camera system load, storage requirements, system resources, and other technology to determine if an FTL Server and Storage solution has been fully optimized.

The portal then uses CSC’s exclusive Surveillance Performance Index™ (SPI)* to calculate the server and storage optimization level based on its current configuration. SPI is the only true performance index that assesses and analyzes the entire chain of surveillance technology to ensure a surveillance system is 100% optimized before the customer buys it.

CSC’s IP Optimization Portal also “future proofs” the FTL Server and Storage Solution by showing the customer the current camera system load, remaining storage, and system resources that are available as additional surveillance equipment is added over time.

“Many contractors have been frustrated for years with the deployment process and fluctuating performance levels of IP video surveillance solutions, added Frank Bisbee. “ Now we can get answers easily and quickly. CSC is solving the surveillance performance problem by fundamentally changing the way security professionals and integrators configure the entire chain of technology in a surveillance system.”

The Faster Than Light (FTL) Server and Storage Solutions combine the reliability of Dell™ hardware with optimized computing technology from Iomnis. These fully customized sever and storage solutions are available exclusively through CSC and are specifically optimized for video surveillance recording and monitoring. All hardware and software has been configured to maximize performance by using a complex “pixel seconds per frame” methodology and storage solutions range from 3TB to 334TB for a single system. The FTL Server and Storage Solutions have been customized for use with solutions from Milestone, OnSSI, IPConfigure, Strand USA, Aralia Systems, and other leading security technology companies.

Another big benefit is a rock-solid warranty. Every FTL Server and Storage Solution comes with a 3 year Manufacturer Warranty and next business day on-site hardware replacement services. Bundled FTL Server and Storage Solutions are also available and can include Video Management Software, cameras, switches, patch cords, cabinets, monitors, keyboards, UPS, and more.

Communications Supply Corporation (CSC), a subsidiary of WESCO International, Inc. (NYSE: WCC) distributes a full range of IP infrastructure products and solutions. Together, CSC and WESCO form the largest electrical and data communications network in North America, with 400 full service branches, a full-suite of global distribution capabilities and annual sales of over $6 billion. With vast resources at their fingertips, the CSC sales team does more than just provide product. Their nation-wide team has been intensively training to help each customer and contractor add successful security solutions to their quiver of capabilities. www.gocsc.com.

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Drivers Who Are Texting Are 20 Times More Likely To Have An Accident

Experts Want Texting While Driving Ban

Speakers In Washington D.C. Host Distracted Driving Summit

Drivers who are texting are 20 times more likely to have an accident.

To say cell phones are popular would be an understatement. Everybody has one, and most people use them even when they're behind the wheel of a car.

Whether you talk or text, safety experts say it's dangerous, even deadly.

On Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., those same experts hosted a distracted driving summit.

"Driving distractions are a risk," one expert said.

Some of the speakers are pushing for a national ban on texting while behind the wheel.

The problem with texting is that you're not only taking your eyes off the road, you're also taking your hands off the steering wheel, and that's twice as dangerous.

"You need both hands on the steering wheel in case something happens you can react and take some evasive action," said Lt. Bill Leeper, of the Florida Highway Patrol.

Not too long ago, Anthony Merrett lost his leg in an accident.

He was trimming trees along the side of the road in Ortega when police said a teen driver glanced at her cell phone and plowed into him.

"She was moving so quick and it happened so fast, I actually didn't see her," Merrett said at the time. "I felt the impact and heard the impact, and my leg was gone."

"Driving is one of the most dangerous things people do," Leeper said. "When you take your focus away, you may have a crash you wouldn't normally have."

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New York City is rated No. 1 for gross metropolitan product (GMP)

New York City is America’s only metropolitan area with a trillion-dollar economy, according to a new report from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.

The New York City area, which sprawls across four states, generated a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of $1.264 trillion last year, outpacing all other metros by far.

GMP measures the total output of goods and services within a given area in a given year. It is a small-scale equivalent of gross domestic product, the national measure of economic prowess.

Los Angeles ($717.9 billion) and Chicago ($520.7 billion) were the only other metros whose GMPs surpassed half a trillion dollars in 2008

The typical U.S. metro expanded its economy by 0.8 percent between 2007 and 2008.

The following are the 100 metros with the largest gross metropolitan products in 2008:

1. New York City, $1.264 trillion

2. Los Angeles, $717.9 billion

3. Chicago, $520.7 billion

4. Houston, $403.2 billion

5. Washington, $395.7 billion

6. Dallas-Fort Worth, $379.9 billion

7. Philadelphia, $331.9 billion

8. San Francisco-Oakland, $310.8 billion

9. Boston, $299.6 billion

10. Atlanta, $269.8 billion

11. Miami-Fort Lauderdale, $261.3 billion

12. Seattle, $218.8 billion

13. Detroit, $200.9 billion

14. Minneapolis-St. Paul, $193.9 billion

15. Phoenix, $187.4 billion

16. San Diego, $169.3 billion

17. Denver, $150.8 billion

18. San Jose, $146.7 billion

19. Baltimore, $133.0 billion

20. St. Louis, $128.5 billion

21. Charlotte, $118.4 billion

22. Pittsburgh, $114.7 billion

23. Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., $113.1 billion

24. Portland, Ore., $112.4 billion

25. Tampa-St. Petersburg, $110.5 billion

26. Cleveland, $104.4 billion

27. Orlando, $104.0 billion

28. Kansas City, $101.0 billion

29. Cincinnati, $98.8 billion

30. Las Vegas, $97.1 billion

31. Indianapolis, $96.4 billion

32. Sacramento, $93.7 billion

33. Columbus, $89.8 billion

34. Milwaukee, $82.7 billion

35. Bridgeport-Stamford, Conn., $81.4 billion

36. San Antonio, $80.9 billion

37. Austin, $80.1 billion

38. Nashville, $78.9 billion

39. Virginia Beach-Norfolk, $77.1 billion

40. Hartford, $74.5 billion

41. New Orleans, $72.4 billion

42. Providence, $65.2 billion

43. Memphis, $63.8 billion

44. Salt Lake City, $62.5 billion

45. Richmond, $61.4 billion

46. Jacksonville, $59.7 billion

47. Oklahoma City, $57.1 billion

48. Louisville, $56.3 billion

49. Birmingham, $54.3 billion

50. Raleigh, $53.5 billion

51. Honolulu, $48.1 billion

52. Rochester, N.Y., $45.4 billion

53. Tulsa, $45.2 billion

54. Omaha, $44.9 billion

55. Buffalo, $44.0 billion

56. Albany, $39.3 billion

57. Baton Rouge, La., $39.2 billion

58. New Haven, Conn., $37.6 billion

59. Oxnard-Thousand Oaks, Calif., $35.1 billion

60. Albuquerque, $34.9 billion

61. Des Moines, Iowa, $34.3 billion

62. Dayton, $33.8 billion

63. Greensboro, $33.2 billion

64. Grand Rapids, $33.1 billion

65. Madison, Wis., $33.0 billion

66. Durham, N.C., $32.3 billion

67. Tucson, $31.8 billion

68. Little Rock, Ark., $31.0 billion

69. Columbia, S.C., $30.1 billion

70. Allentown-Bethlehem, Pa., $29.7 billion

71. Knoxville, Tenn., $29.6 billion

72. Fresno, Calif., $28.9 billion

73. Wichita, Kans., $28.5 billion

74. Worcester, Mass., $28.4 billion

75. Akron, Ohio, $28.1 billion

76. Harrisburg, Pa., $27.9 billion

77. Bakersfield, Calif., $27.8 billion

78. Syracuse, N.Y., $26.9 billion

79. El Paso, Texas, $26.4 billion

80. Charleston, S.C., $26.3 billion

81. Anchorage, $26.3 billion

82. Toledo, Ohio, $26.1 billion

83. Portland, Maine, $24.8 billion

84. Greenville, S.C., $24.8 billion

85. Trenton, N.J., $24.5 billion

86. Colorado Springs, $24.1 billion

87. Boise, Idaho, $24.0 billion

88. Bradenton-Sarasota, Fla., $23.8 billion

89. Jackson, Miss., $23.1 billion

90. Lexington, Ky., $22.7 billion

91. Shreveport, La., $22.4 billion

92. Springfield, Mass., $22.3 billion

93. Winston-Salem, N.C., $21.9 billion

94. Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Fla., $21.1 billion

95. Poughkeepsie, N.Y., $21.0 billion

96. Manchester, N.H., $20.8 billion

97. Chattanooga, Tenn., $20.8 billion

98. Reno, Nev., $20.6 billion

99. Santa Rosa, Calif., $20.2 billion

100. Santa Barbara, Calif., $19.6 billion

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ACUTA Seminar Helps Campuses Manage the Present and Plan for the Future October 25-28

What is Stanford’s new business model for converged communications? What strategies have allowed the University of Pennsylvania to successfully address today’s funding challenges? Why did LSU select 802.11n for their residence halls, and what challenges did they face in the implementation of their large scale wireless network?

At ACUTA’s Fall Seminar in Portland, presenters from college and university campuses will answer these questions as they discuss their responses to two of the biggest challenges IT/telecom folks have seen in the recent past.  

Track one, Managing and Financing the Converged Environment, will focus on ways that the current economy has everyone struggling to provide high-quality services when the budget has been reduced. Presenters in this track will come from Stanford, Columbia, Penn State, Florida State, University of Pennsylvania, LSU, the University of Southern California, Slippery Rock and Sewanee, The University of the South. They will share best practices in project management, financial analysis, billing, leadership, strategic planning, organizational effectiveness, and staff management. Attendees will have access to high quality information from the people who led the way through successful projects and are willing to share their stories.

Track two, Mobility and Wireless—Where Are We Going?, will look at the status of next-generation wireless and the trend toward more mobile and converged devices and applications. Case-study examples from Loyola Chicago, California State University System), Penn State, Florida State, LSU, and Texas A&M will provide an informative backdrop for the valuable exchange of ideas and information among attendees, all of whom face similar challenges.

Anyone responsible for voice, data or video services on campus will benefit from attending this event in Portland, Oregon, October 25-28. As Dave O’Neill, CIO from Boise State, said, “Right now I’m planning how I’ll spend money when it’s available again. Both topics at the Fall Seminar have direct application to planning for the good times that will surely come again—and can also help me meet the current challenges more effectively.”

We hope to see you in Portland October 25-28 and encourage you to visit our website at www.acuta.org for more details about this event or to register.

ACUTA
152 W. Zandale, Suite 200
Lexington, KY  40503-2486

Don’t miss ACUTA's Fall Seminar

Track 1. Managing and Financing the Converged Environment

Track 2. Mobility & Wireless--Where Are We Going?

October 25-28, 2009

Portland, Oregon

Marriott Downtown Waterfront

www.acuta.org

Follow ACUTA on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acuta

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4G WORLD: THE GIGABYTE GENERATION IS HERE – PART I

“If you are still talking about less than gigabit speeds to end users for any networks that have yet to be implemented, you are way behind the times,” comments James Carlini.

After attending 4G WORLD at McCormick Place this week and listening to those in strategic positions talking about WiMAX and the future of mobility-based devices supported by wireless broadband connectivity, it is very tempting to say, “I told you so.”

WIRELESS NETWORKS TAKE BROAD(BAND) LEAP

WiMAX which is a wireless network with a licensed part of the spectrum that has been deployed in many other countries is starting to be deployed here in the United States.  As was said in one presentation, “This is the network for the gigabyte generation.”  (Those that download so much, their traffic is measured in gigabytes of storage monthly, not megabytes.  See Chart 1.)

In another presentation, Clearwire’s CEO, Bill Morrow, pointed out that with the demand of users downloading from sites like Facebook (#4 most-accessed site) and YouTube (the #2 most-accessed site), the reality of having gigabit networks to the average user is on many vendors drawing boards as well as design standards.  Download demand is moving quickly to 10, 20 and even 30 Gigabytes of information a month.  Huge demand driving bandwidth access is not because of texting or long voice calls.  It is there because of demand for video-based content.

Depending on what you use, it can really affect how fast you are going to get something downloaded to you.  Here is a speedchart (http://www.carliniscomments.com/archives/73-NETWORK-SPEED-CHART.html )  that provides an everyday example of the differences in utilizing different transmission media.

As more people are looking at video-based applications and buying smartphones, bandwidth speeds need to grow exponentially.  Back in January 2008 (http://wistechnology.com/articles/4496 ), I said that a gigabit per second access to a user will be the baseline:

“Do not quote a megabit rate, when discussing network infrastructure after 2008.”  This should be adopted by anyone who professes to know what the typical metropolitan network infrastructure should evolve to.  States as well as metropolitan areas should be looking at this for economic growth and regional sustainability.

Anyone with less than a gigabit as a goal for network infrastructures must be uninformed or trying to protect an obsolete product or service.

There are still some skeptics and pseudo-experts, who can’t find themselves using a network that is so fast.  To them, I will say it again:

“You cannot be planning any networks at this point unless you are talking gigabit speeds at a minimum and incorporating the long-term ability to migrate to terabit speeds.  This is where REAL broadband is at and where it is going.”

CHART 1:  TERMINOLOGY  (get it right)

Source:    JAMES CARLINI        * Also see more at cellphones.ABOUT.COM

DSL IS NOT BROADBAND……

And, anyone talking about “moving up” from it to a 10Mbps or even 100Mbps access does not understand where the industry was, is or where it is going.  Maybe they are listening to marketing efforts that are telling them the next generation is 10Mbps to 30Mbps.

Stop buying off on marketing hype that tells you that putting DSL on copper is great.  Putting DSL on copper is like putting on a vinyl top on a stagecoach in the era of the space shuttle.  It’s still horse-and-buggy technology and we are looking at a whole new era of cloud computing mobility.

Clearwire’s Morrow also observed that broadband is starting to be viewed as a necessity, not a luxury.  This affirms my mantra that says, “Economic development equals broadband connectivity and broadband connectivity equals jobs.”

Morrow has thirty-plus years in the industry.  In my thirty years in the industry, I have always seen that the big barrier to new applications has been the lack of bandwidth.  Many ideas were squelched because the answer to all the “what if” questions was “Not enough bandwidth in the network.” 

What if bandwidth was no longer an issue?  What if there was an abundance of bandwidth where video-based applications would not get bogged down?  What new applications could you bring in that are not even in existence today?  I been posing these questions for years and believe they will be answered by this new collaborative push for a REAL broadband platform.

Others I spoke to from Clearwire, CISCO, EXALT, and even a new company called PUSH, understood the impact of the legacy networks out there on current applications and the need to augment them quickly in order to create a network infrastructure to deliver 21st century applications.

Understanding this is important as the amount of devices that can use the internet grow.  On another video, the chairman of SONY, Sir Howard Stringer, projects that by 2011, 90% of SONY products will be connected to the internet in some fashion.  WiMAX can support many devices, not just smartphones.

CHICAGO 2016 OLYMPICS NEEDS THIS INFRASTRUCTURE

There is a lot of talk about planning the Chicago 2016 Olympics, but there has not been much action as to upgrading the network infrastructure to provide a true platform for 21st century communications.

Clearwire is announcing a major project in Chicago that should be a huge news story.  They will be building a WiMAX network.  This is a good step in building a new network infrastructure to provide the ability to deliver applications that before would have been considered impossible because of a lack of bandwidth.

Those in planning commissions better understand the correlation of having a great network infrastructure and a great venue for the Olympics.

CARLINI-ISM :  The economy does not stand still and neither do the people and their communications that shape it.

Carlini will be contributing a white paper on Intelligent Infrastructure: Insuring Security for Regional Sustainability in the upcoming proceedings of the Department of Homeland Security’s Workshop for Aging Infrastructures.

Follow daily Carlini-isms at www.TWITTER.com/JAMESCARLINI

Copyright 2009 – James Carlini

Check out www.carliniscomments.com JAMES CARLINI’s BLOG

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4G WORLD: THE GIGABYTE GENERATION IS HERE – PART II

“If you are still talking about less than a gigabit of speed to end users for any networks that have yet to be implemented, you are way behind the times,” comments James Carlini.

PART II - After attending 4G WORLD at McCormick Place last week and listening to those in strategic positions talking about WiMAX and the future of mobility-based devices supported by wireless broadband connectivity, it is safe to say, “People who do not understand the new applications are the same ones who think having less than a gigabit speed of access.”

3G NETWORKS?  SLOW.  4G NETWORKS.  FAST!

In the presentation of Clearwire’s CEO, Morrow, he showed a short video clip with a side-by-side comparison of an iPhone utilizing a 3G network for access and another iPhone using a 4G network.  The results were very visual and irrefutable.  The 3G networks just do not transfer the information fast enough.

Part of the video also showed a measuring device measuring the speed of download on each network and the comparison for where the video was shot was

1.1Mbps for the 3G network

4.4Mbps for the 4G network

Bottom line:  If you have not gotten a smart phone yet and your friends have, just wait till you can get a smart phone on a 4G network.  It will scream past your friends’ phones when it comes to downloading pictures and videos.  A 3G network?  That’s so last year.

What I liked about the 4G World tradeshow was that I got to talk with a lot of people from various companies that really understood where we came from, where we are today and where we have to be tomorrow with network infrastructure.

Many enterprise decision-makers do not go to trade shows due to various reasons:

No budget,

Cannot take time off of work, or

Too immersed in a current project.

It is too bad because they do not keep up with what is going on and it is easy to see that within their organizations.

HORSE-AND-BUGGY NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE: YOURS?

The old way of doing a single connection to a building or campus is definitely not what you want to do for any planned and new facilities.  Tying into one central office with all the connections going on one route to it is not only obsolete, it is dangerous if you count on connectivity to your business.  Multiple routing and the use of several different carriers is the only way to go if you look at your communications network as mission critical to your enterprise.

How many buildings and campuses are still designed to the old standard?  Too many.

CARLINI-ISM :  WiMAX capabilities will push new applications that were not feasible with slower last-generation network speeds.

Carlini will be contributing a white paper on Intelligent Infrastructure: Insuring Security for Regional Sustainability in the upcoming proceedings of the Department of Homeland Security’s Workshop for Aging Infrastructures.

Follow daily Carlini-isms at www.TWITTER.com/JAMESCARLINI

Copyright 2009 – James Carlini

Check out www.carliniscomments.com JAMES CARLINI’s B

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CASH FOR CLUNKERS MORPHED INTO BUCKS FOR TRUCKS

“We bailed out the auto industry and then created Cash for Clunkers, but what did many people really go out and buy?” questions James Carlini.

From the feedback on my recent article, “Cash for Clunkers Success? Too Early to Tell”, many people thought I was right on with the question as to what are we really going to get out of that popular program? 

The promoted logic of buying a new car to save money on fuel was also pretty lame.  As my article pointed out:

Old car equals more cash for gas, but no monthly car note payment, and less premium for older car insurance.

New car equals less money for gas, but MORE money for new monthly car payment, plus bank interest if no zero percent financing and oh, higher insurance because it's a new vehicle.  As they say on TV, “Do the math.”

Hopefully, it does not turn out like the sub-prime mortgage market with people defaulting on auto loans in twelve to eighteen months.  This was a comment from several readers before and after the article.

If you are truly environment conscious, what car makes the most sense as to saving energy?  (Watch for type of gas used – regular or premium which would affect fuel costs)

A new 2010 Toyota Prius (Hybrid engine. Regular gas.  51/48 City/Highway mileage )

A used 1998 Bentley (6.75 Liter.  Big V8.  Premium gas.  10/15 City/Highway mileage.  6,200 pound vehicle.).

A new 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid (Hybrid engine.  Regular gas. 41/36 City/Highway mileage )

A new 2010 Smart Car (1 Liter.  3 cylinder engine.  Premium gas.  33/41 City/Highway mileage. Seats two)

A new 2010 Chevy Cobalt (2.2 Liter engine. 4 cylinder. Regular gas.  24/33 City/Highway mileage.)

Answer at the end of the article.

THE RESULTS ARE IN – OR ARE THEY?

Did we really save some car dealer and auto industry jobs?  Last time I looked, the vast majority of vehicles reportedly being turned in were American and the vast majority of cars being bought were Japanese and Korean with only the Ford Focus being American nameplates in the Top Five.  Many media outlets reported it that way in early August.

Now, the latest numbers say it’s the Ford Escape SUV, the Ford Focus, Jeep Patriot, Dodge Caliber and even the Ford F150 truck in the Top Five.

What happened to the claim that people bought a lot of highly efficient subcompacts?  They actually bought new trucks/SUVs instead of full-efficient cars.

What numbers do we believe, the Department of Transportation or Edmund’s?  The chart below shows the differences:

Source: http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/edmunds-dots-cash-for-clunkers-top-ten-list-gets-it-wrong

There were a total number of 690,114 vehicles that were purchased under the program.  According to Kelley Blue Book (http://www.kbb.com/kbb/LatestNews/Story.aspx?StoryUniqueName=KBBWebContent-2000004408  ) :

Vehicles Purchased by Category

Passenger Cars: 404,046
SUVs, Minivans, Pickups (excl. full-size): 231,651
Full-size Pickups and Vans: 46,836
Work Trucks: 2,408

Vehicle Trade-in by Category

Passenger Cars: 109,380
SUVs, Minivans, Pickups (excl. full-size): 450,778
Full-size Pickups and Vans: 116,909
Work Trucks: 8,134

Depending on where you read about the Cash for Clunkers program, you might get different results.

TRADING PIGS FOR HOGS

When it comes to getting a new vehicle, people tended to go with what they had.  Not many were turning in a Ford Explorer and driving off in a hybrid or subcompact.

What was bought, according to Edmund’s, was more American brands like the Jeep Patriot, Dodge Caliber, Ford F-150 truck and the Chevrolet Silverado truck.

Hmmm… how come everyone did not run out and by a hybrid?  The intent was to get less fuel efficient vehicles off the road and have people buy more fuel efficient ones.  A Chevy Silverado and a Ford F150 are not really subcompacts but I guess they get a couple more miles than the trucks that were turned in for them. 

Many media outlets got it wrong as far as the Top Ten vehicles that were bought and I wonder if they will all go back and correct their articles.  I doubt it.

The bottom line is that some want people to buy off on the whole idea of buying some alternative energy car when in reality, the market bought vehicles that they wanted which were closer to the ones they traded in.

ANSWER:         B. 1998 Bentley  (It’s already built.  The energy it takes to build a car is more than the energy used to run it.  B is also the answer to the question of what vehicle you want to be in, in a serious accident where the law of physics takes over.  And here you thought you knew everything about the environment and energy.)

CARLINI-ISM :  Real energy savings can be obtained if you buy a used car and not a new one.  It takes more energy to build a car than it does to run one that already exists.

Carlini will be contributing an article on Intelligent Infrastructure in the upcoming edition of "The CIP Report" at George Mason University School of Law’s.   An index to prior editions can be found at: http://cip.gmu.edu/report/cip_reportarch.php.

Follow daily Carlini-isms at www.TWITTER.com/JAMESCARLINI

Copyright 2009 – James Carlini

Check out www.carliniscomments.com JAMES CARLINI’s BLOG

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Belden and Byres Security Inc. Join Forces to Develop Rugged Industrial Network Security Products

Belden and Byres Security Inc. (BSI) have announced that they have signed a technology cooperation agreement to jointly launch new products later this year in the area of industrial network security. Utilizing BSI's expertise in providing practical solutions to protect industry from network and cyber threats, and Belden's leadership position in the automation market which features the Hirschmann(TM) line of active devices, the two companies look forward to delivering Complete Industrial Security Solutions for customers.

"As a global leader, Belden provides effective signal transmission solutions that include network devices designed for safety-critical applications for SCADA and industrial automation," remarked Mark Cooksley, Product Manager for Network Security at Belden. "We are pleased to partner with BSI. Their deep expertise in the area of industrial security and their proven ability to deliver pragmatic solutions will add value to our Hirschmann range of automation and networking systems."

Eric Byres, Chief Technology Officer of BSI, notes "Industry has become very reliant on the quality and consistency of its data streams, particularly for SCADA and automation. Systems and solutions need to be rugged - and it is for this reason that we are delighted to be working with Belden, a world leader in reliable industrial network products, to deliver simple and dependable security solutions for the Hirschmann range of products." www.belden.com

About Byres Security Inc.

Byres Security Inc. (BSI) is a world leader in the field of industrial cyber security for critical infrastructure companies, including the oil and gas, power, chemical, and manufacturing sectors.

Its flagship product, the Tofino(TM) Industrial Security Solution, is a unique hardware and software security system that provides Zone Level Security(TM) (ZLS(TM)) - tailored, protection for zones of control devices. Tofino is simple to implement, does not require downtime, and takes care of security while focus is maintained on keeping processes running safely and efficiently. For more information about BSI, please visit www.tofinosecurity.com.

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BURNDY® TO FEATURE GROUNDING PRODUCTS AND SMART CART® AT ACE HARDWARE 2009

BURNDY®, a leading manufacturer and provider of connector solutions to the industrial, energy, and application tooling industries, will showcase its grounding products and Smart Cart® wire management system in booth #2965 at the ACE Hardware Fall 2009 Convention and Exposition from October 22 - 25 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

The company’s mechanical grounding and power connectors, ideal for direct burial applications in earth or embedment in concrete, are made of high copper content alloys and use a nut and bolt design to provide the means for connecting copper cable.  To ensure maximum performance under the most extreme environmental conditions, BURNDY uses only the finest high copper alloys.  All BURNDY’s mechanical grounding connectors are designed for easy installation and outstanding durability.

Also on display will be BURNDY’s Smart Cart ®, the wire management system that allows electricians to inventory, transport and pull wire on spool carriers with a unique caddie design. The Smart Cart is also designed to carry virtually everything an electrician needs to perform his job. It features two locations specifically designed for holding conduit benders, and has a built-in tray between the wheels for storage of fish tape and wire lube. With its pre-punched base plate, The Smart Caddy allows for easy mounting of an extension base plate to accommodate additional storage which doubles as a wire guide for pulling wire.

About BURNDY®

Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire and with over 85 years of dedicated customer support in both service and product. BURNDY® is the only manufacturer to have the BURNDY® Engineered System of coordinating dies, connectors and tools. The three elements have been specifically designed to work together and engineered to meet stringent, accepted quality standards – allowing the user complete confidence in the integrity of the connection.

For additional information, 47 E. Industrial Park Drive, Manchester, New Hampshire, 03109, call Customer Service at 1-800-346-4175, or visit our website at www.BURNDY.com.

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HENDRIX WIRE & CABLE COMPLETES CLARK ENERGY STANTON PROJECT

Milford, N.H. - Hendrix Wire & Cable, a premier provider of high quality overhead and underground power distribution products, announces the completion of a project for Clark Energy Cooperative, a non-profit electric utility headquartered in Winchester, Kentucky. 

Clark Energy needed to add a circuit to an existing Double Circuit bare wire system out of a substation in Stanton, Kentucky.  The project spanned 4,416 circuit feet and was originally conceived to be a conventional Triple bare wire Circuit.  Hendrix worked with Clark Energy and designed a Spacer Cable System that could be built under the existing double circuit bare wire system. After detailed engineering analysis Clark elected to go with the Spacer Cable Alternative.   

Todd Peyton, Manager of Engineering at Clark Energy commented that the “Stanton Project’s actual cost, including make ready – which involves moving transformers, installing anchors, etc. was $19.58/ft.  This is less than 30% the cost I estimated to rebuild the existing Double Circuit with conventional Triple Circuit wire.”

Spacer Cable has been used by utilities for many years to improve the reliability and power quality of primary distribution systems while making them more resistant to storm damage.  The cable design, system strength, and compact configuration can also serve to address other concerns that can crop up on a utilities distribution system.  The compact configuration and reduced clearance requirements allow for multiple circuits to be installed on a single pole, and thus combating right of way problems and saving money by reducing the number of poles required. Over or under building Spacer Cable Systems in substation exits, alleyways, and feeder circuits can greatly reduce the cost of adding capacity. 

To learn more about the superior power quality offered by Hendrix Wire & Cable Spacer Cable systems, please visit www.hendrix-wc.com.

About Hendrix Aerial Cable & Systems

Aerial Cable & Systems is one of four operating divisions of Hendrix Wire & Cable, a provider of high-quality overhead and underground power distribution products located in Milford, NH.  The division's benchmark product, Spacer Cable, formed the foundation of the company in 1951, solving local utilities' reliability problems, reducing weather-related outages, and providing options for areas difficult to engineer with standard bare wire systems.  Today, Hendrix Spacer Cable is available at 15kV through 69 kV.  

ISO 9001-certified Hendrix Wire & Cable, Inc. is a member company of The Marmon Group, an international association of more than 125 business units that operate independently within diverse business sectors. Member companies have collective revenues of $7 billion. The Marmon Group is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Inc. www.hendrix-wc.com

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IDEAL 2010 Collectables Promotion Celebrates the Classic International 4400 Straight Truck

SYCAMORE, IL, September 29, 2009 -- Now arriving on the loading docks of electrical distributors across the country are the showpieces of the IDEAL 2010 "Collectables" promotion: a fleet of classic International® 4400 straight trucks meticulously crafted down to the smallest detail. The only feature that makes these otherwise realistic trucks different is their 1/34" scale.
 
"The International 4400 is a staple in the electrical industry, both for contractors and distributors, so it made sense for 2010 that we put the spotlight on this hardworking truck," noted Tim Beed, Product Manager for IDEAL. "Each year our die-cast collectables promotion gets more popular with greater numbers of distributors participating." -- Limited quantities available for qualified purchases  --
 
Like the celebrated IDEAL collectables of years past, the 2010 truck replica is decked out with authentic details such as a working rear overhead door and a removable pallet of IDEAL boxes. Richly painted in IDEAL brand colors, these die-cast trucks are imprinted with several of the company's products and logos to make them truly standout. 
 
Electrical and DataComm installers can drive away with their own 4400 replicas by purchasing the IDEAL electrical and datacomm products they already use, know and trust. This year's collectable quantities are limited, so stop by your local IDEAL distributor to find out how you can get one today.
 
For information on IDEAL collectables, contact IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC., Becker Place, Sycamore, Illinois 60178. Or phone 1-800-947-3614, Fax: 1-800-533-4483. On the web, www.idealindustries.com.

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New Digital Light Meter from IDEAL Industries, Inc. Combines Accuracy with Value

SYCAMORE, IL, October 5, 2009 -- The new IDEAL Digital Light Meter (61-686) precisely measures incandescent, fluorescent, metal halide, high-pressure sodium and halogen lamp output, yet carries an MSRP of only $139 (U.S.), or about 25% less than competitive light meters with similar feature-sets.
 
The meter is extremely easy to use. Simply place its remote sensor in the area to be measured, press the "on" button and the light level will appear on the LCD read-out. Values can be saved on the LCD by pressing the Data Hold button or the Max Hold button to capture the maximum value.

Hard-to-reach areas are no problem thanks to the meter's remote sensor with 1.5 meter cable. When finished, the compact meter easily slips into a pocket or the provided tool tote.  The meter is shipped with a standard 9V battery.

About Ideal Industries, Inc.
IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. has been serving the electrical industry since 1916. IDEAL is one of the world's leading manufacturers of professional quality tools and supplies serving installation professionals in the construction, maintenance, data communications and original equipment manufacturing industries.

For more information, contact IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC., Becker Place, Sycamore, Illinois 60178. Or phone 1-800-435-0705, Fax: 1-800-533-4483. On the web, www.idealindustries.com.

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LEGRAND LAUNCHES STRATEGIC BRANDING INITIATIVE

End Customer Focus To Increase Demand And Benefit Legrand Partners

WEST HARTFORD, Conn. (September 9, 2009) –Legrand, the world specialist in products and systems for electrical installations and information networks, is launching a strategic branding initiative in the North American marketplace. Legrand will establish its trusted global brand on behalf of all current brands and partners to build awareness of what’s possible in this category, and generate increased interest and demand from end customers. Current North American product lines, Cablofil, On-Q, Ortronics, Pass & Seymour and Wiremold, are recognized products that our professional customers connect with everyday. They will play a pivotal role in strengthening the Legrand brand over the coming years.

“Our current customers will benefit from the increased visibility of Legrand as a trusted end-user brand through greater product demand and a focus on value-added products,” said John Selldorff, President and CEO, Legrand North America. “Time and time again, Legrand has proven throughout the world that it is possible to generate awareness for this category, to raise the value of what is being sold through innovation and to generate end customer demand for its products.”

The new branding initiative will include new corporate literature, advertising campaigns, in-store merchandising, signage and web presence investments that are already in motion and will occur at varying paces beginning as early as the 4th quarter of 2009. 

“While these changes are taking place, we will continue to deliver outstanding customer support, develop innovative products and maintain the highest service levels” said Stephen Schoffstall, Vice President of Marketing, Legrand North America. “We will continue to work collaboratively with our partners to support this new end customer demand from which everyone will benefit and grow.”

Renowned for its inventive, dependable and stylish products, the Legrand brand is present in more than 180 countries and has a workforce of over 30,000 people. With a clear focus on electrical and information networks and applications, Legrand is passionate about improving the lives where people live and work. Legrand products and technology can be found in every building type from homes, to schools, to commercial buildings, to government facilities.

About The Legrand Group

Legrand is the global leader in products and systems for electrical installations and information networks where people live and work. Employing over 30,000 people worldwide, Legrand reported net sales exceeding $5.8 billion in 2008. The company holds over 5,000 active patents, with nearly 170,000 catalog items divided into 95 product families. Legrand has a strong presence in the North American market, with a portfolio of products that includes Cablofil, On-Q, Ortronics, Pass & Seymour, Vantage, Watt Stopper and Wiremold. The company is actively expanding its market divisions that include Electrical Wiring Systems, Home Systems, Lighting Controls and Commercial Datacom. Committed to providing a steady flow of innovative new products with high added value, Legrand invests 4-5% of sales in R&D. Its comprehensive offering of solutions for use in commercial, industrial and residential markets makes it a benchmark for suppliers worldwide. Innovation for a steady flow of new products with high added value is a prime vector for growth.  Legrand is listed on Euronext Paris and is a component stock of indexes including the SBF120, FTSE4Good and MSCI World (ISIN code FR0010307819). www.legrandna.com

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Light Brigade announces 2010 dates for Fundamentals of Fiber Optics

The Light Brigade announces upcoming 2010 course locations for its new two-day technical training course, Fundamentals of Fiber Optics. This entry-level course is intended for installation contractors and end users involved with building and maintaining local area networks (LANs), municipal networks, and private networks. The course includes extensive hands-on exposure to optical fiber termination, system testing and troubleshooting, and fusion splicing.

Minneapolis, MN

January 6–7, 2010

New York, NY

February 17–18, 2010

Seattle, WA

March 30–31, 2010

Spartanburg, SC

March 30–31, 2010

Redding, CA

April 13–14, 2010

Seattle, WA

June 2–3, 2010

Spartanburg, SC

June 2–3, 2010

Portland, OR

July 7–8, 2010

Raleigh, NC

July 7–8, 2010

Seattle, WA

September 8–9, 2010

Spartanburg, SC

September 8–9, 2010

Seattle, WA

November 22–23, 2010

Spartanburg, SC

November 22–23, 2010

Seattle, WA

December 20–21, 2010

Spartanburg, SC

December 20–21, 2010

Fundamentals of Fiber Optics is eligible for Certified Fiber Optic Technician (CFOT) and Advanced Fiber Optic Technician (AFOT) certifications through the Fiber Optic Association, and is approved for Continuing Education Credits from BICSI.

About The Light Brigade
The Light Brigade, a division of AFL Telecommunications LLC, is the world’s leading fiber optic training company having trained over 35,000 students in its public and customized classes. The curriculum covers the entire spectrum of fiber optics from basic theory and design to maintenance and testing, through advanced topics such as FTTx, DWDM, SONET, PMD/CD, and fiber-optic video transmission. The Light Brigade also produces professional-quality educational DVDs and CDs, a self-paced computerized training module, and self-study courses. For more information on The Light Brigade’s educational programs, visit http://www.lightbrigade.com/.

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“Business is lousy … let’s cut the advertising budget” - COMMENTARY

We hear a lot of that talk lately. Surprise, surprise and surprise. Electrical industry ad pages are down substantially from recent “boom times.” Several publications have gone under or are up for sale. At ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR MAGAZINE & WEBSITE, we have experienced reduced or cancelled ad schedules. “Cutting the ad budget” syndrome has had its effect. Question to you, our valued customer, is that policy really good for your bottom line?

Thirty-five years in this business has taught me to enjoy the booms and weather the recessions. They’re called “normal business cycles.” They have been accepted realities since the late 1700s (the first recorded recession). This recession is longer than some and more severe than many. However, the existence of business cycles is not surprising.

What continues to surprise me after all these years, through boom or tough times, is what too many of us do when a downturn hits. Unfortunately, we seem to do exactly what we did the last time business tanked (remember, it is cyclical): we reduce/eliminate our ad budget (its easy), and as a result, in essence, we declare “business is bad, so we had better save some money and stop talking to our customers!”

We hardly ever actually say we’ve stopped talking—or talk less—to our customers, but that’s the net result. Just when our customers most need to know more about how our products can best help them become more productive and profitable, we stop talking to them (remember, they’re suffering too).

It doesn’t make sense.

Here are a few observations about advertising in both good and bad times—all proven and well documented over many cycles since the 1950s—to ponder when the subject of advertising cuts arise:

Boom times don’t last forever and neither do the “busts.” Numerous studies (since the 1950s) prove that those companies who maintain or increase their ad budgets during downturns come out of them faster, with measurably greater share and profits than those who don’t. Why stop talking to your customers?

Even in the worst of times (business off 25–30 percent), 70–75 percent of business is still there. Maybe that 75 percent would like to hear about you and your products. It’s a great time to talk. They’re listening.

Gaining “Share of voice” will never be cheaper than in a downturn. Competitor cutbacks reduce “volume.” You win by spending no more.

Dollar for dollar, good advertising is your most cost efficient sales tool, especially in a market downturn. Your customers continue to read their preferred magazines (ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR is preferred 3:1). Question for us all: Are we doing now those things that will ensure that when it turns, our customers are fully aware of what we have to offer because we continued to talk with them when they needed it most.

As always, I thank you for your business and appreciate your comments.

John Maisel, Publisher

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTOR MAGAZINE www.ecmag.com Many new improvements to the magazine and website are showing up. We estimate that this magazine is reaching over 750,000 industry professionals each month. Wow. That is staggering in a period of rebuilding and technology advances. Frank Bisbee, Editor of HOTS on wireville.com.

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Siemon® Announces New RouteIT™ Cable Pathway Solution

Innovative wire mesh cable tray and mounting accessories developed to efficiently manage and route network cabling channels in overhead, underfloor or wall-mount configurations

September 21, 2009, Watertown, CT.  Siemon is proud to announce their new RouteIT cable tray system including a comprehensive offering of wire mesh cable trays and mounting accessories. The RouteIT cable tray system delivers flexible and easily deployed pathways for overhead, under-floor and wall-mount applications in the data center and throughout the entire network infrastructure. 

Siemon’s RouteIT cable tray system is offered in an exclusive elliptical wire construction that increases the surface area of the tray cross-members by 400%, decreasing cable strain and deformation that can negatively impact cabling and overall network performance.   Also available in standard round wire design, the trays feature a robust, all-steel welded construction for reliable support of maximum cable capacities.  Both oval and round wire designs have rounded edges at all critical points and snag-proof “t-welded” top wire construction to prevent cable damage.

The wire mesh cable tray is supported by an extensive line of user-friendly RouteIT accessories.  Multiple accessories maintain cable geometries and minimum bend radius requirements around corners and as cables enter or exit the pathways.. This line includes a Siemon-exclusive “vertical up” accessory that maintains proper bend radius as cables are routed upwards from under-floor pathways, protecting channel performance in mission critical data center applications.

Under-floor tray supports come in various configurations, including mounting pedestals, brackets for multi-level pathways and vertical supports designed to mount tray independently of raised floor assemblies. Also included is an exclusive seismic-rated under-floor mounting bracket that integrates both vertical pedestals and horizontal tray support into a single, easy to install unit.

Overhead mounting accessories enable center-mount hanging support for all tray sizes and side-mount trapeze-style clips, which can be individually removed and reinstalled to allow side-loading of cable.  Triangular wall-mount brackets are also available for all tray sizes. 

RouteIT cable trays are available in an array of sizes and configurations to support nearly any data center and network pathway configuration.   Offered in convenient 9.8 ft (3 meter) sections, options include 2 in. (52mm), 4 in. (102mm) and 6 in. (152mm) tray depths and widths ranging from 4 in. (103mm) to 24 in (610mm).  Standard tray finishes are pre-galvanized silver and black powder coat. Additional finishes are available upon request.

The RouteIT cable tray system was designed to integrate seamlessly with Siemon’s VersaPOD™ data center cabinet and RS series racks.  Combined with Siemon’s high performance, end-to-end copper and fiber network cabling systems, this feature rich physical layer pathway creates a total data center infrastructure solution. 

For more information on Siemon’s new RouteIT cable tray system, visit: http://www.siemon.com/go/routeit

About Siemon

Established in 1903, Siemon is an industry leader specializing in the manufacture and innovation of high quality, high-performance network cabling solutions. Headquartered in Connecticut, USA, with global offices, manufacturing and service partners throughout the world, Siemon offers the most comprehensive suite of copper (unshielded and shielded twisted-pair) category 5e, category 6 (Class E), category 6A (Class EA) and category 7/7A (Class F/FA), and multimode and singlemode optical fiber cabling systems available. With over 400 active patents specific to structured cabling, from patch cords to patch panels, Siemon Labs invests heavily in R&D and development of industry standards, underlining the company's long-term commitment to its customers and the industry.

Siemon

101 Siemon Company Drive

Watertown, CT 06795

www.siemon.com

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New Siemon Video Demonstrates Innovative Solutions for Data Center Infrastructure

Online video highlights the VersaPOD data center cabinet’s ultra high-density Zero-U vertical patching capability.

September 10, 2009. Watertown, CT.  Network infrastructure expert Siemon has launched an online video demonstrating how the company’s VersaPOD data center cabinet solution addresses critical requirements in today’s data centers:  achieving greater density, improving thermal efficiency and providing greater equipment accessibility.

“With data center real estate at a premium and energy consumption on the rise, pressure on IT infrastructure and cabling has increased,” explains Graeme Stoker, Marketing Manager at Siemon EMEA.  “This video illustrates how the VersaPOD cabinet can deliver real improvements in energy efficiency, floor space utilization and improved data center workability.”

The brief video demonstrates how the VersaPOD’s exclusive Zero U patching capability leverages the vertical space between bayed cabinets for patching and cable management.  This Zero-U vertical patching configuration  can support up to 1152 ports of copper or 5184 fibers between every set of VersaPODs, freeing up critical horizontal rack space for active equipment - achieving optimum density in the minimum floor space.

The VersaPOD video goes on to show how network equipment in the cabinet can easily be accessed via unique dual hinged, wardrobe and quad hinged style doors which offer maximum thermal efficiency through 71 per cent perforation.  Typical VersaPOD applications are also highlighted, including network server and storage topologies and their related patching and cable routing options.

In addition to the live-action video, an interactive 3d demonstration and animated video walk-through are also available.

The video and other VersaPOD resources can be accessed via the Siemon website at http://www.siemon.com/us/versapod/

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BICSI FALL CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION SERVES 3,500 ITS PROFESSIONALS

Las Vegas, Nev., September 24, 2009—BICSI, the association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry with information, education and knowledge assessment, closed its 2009 Fall Conference and Exhibition today. The event marked the release of the Telecommunications Distribution Methods Manual (TDMM), 12th edition, the Electronic Safety and Security Specialist Program. A total of 34 individuals passed the design exams—including the Electronic Safety and Security (ESS) credential by BICSI President, Edward J. Donelan, RCDD, ESS, NTS, TLT.

“This conference has been enlightening. The information I picked up on security surveillance and building automation integration will be put to good use by me in the near future,” said Ted Sievert, Allstate Insurance Co., Northbrook, Ill.

More than 30 educational and motivational sessions took place throughout the week. Pre-Conference seminars were sold out and rooms were “standing room only” in concurrent breakout sessions on Wednesday. The Exhibit Hall was bustling while the thousands of attendees and visitors walked the hall. 

“Despite the economic downturn the BICSI Fall Conference in Las Vegas continued to provide a high level of qualified leads from industry-leading companies. Our company was very happy that we decided to participate in this event, and we will definitely continue to come in future years,” said Mark Buck, Smart Pathways, LLC, Tampa, Fla.

The conference closing activities included a panel presentation on the trends of the ITS industry, moderated by Robert Faber, RCDD, NTS, Siemon, Watertown, Connecticut. Randall R. Nason, PE, CPP, CH Guernsey & Company; Jonathon Jew, J&M Consultants, Inc.; and Tony Whaley, RCDD, NTS, WD, RTKL Associates Inc. shared information on the current trends in the key ITS areas of outside plant, networks, grounding and bonding, wireless and electronic safety and security.

In addition, the Closing Keynote Speaker was Rick Searfoss, one of less than 100 people who have ever commanded a human space mission. In his presentation, Searfoss shared fundamental ideas for teamwork and success in business that translated well from space to the work of information transport systems professionals responsible for laying out the infrastructure for the future.

“The Fall Conference concludes with a major opportunity,” said Donelan. “Never before have we in the ITS industry been afforded an opportunity to engage with IP convergence, integration and commissioning of technology-based IP systems. Education, training and knowledge assessment is paramount to continued career advancement. BICSI leads the way as the trusted resource in this regard. On a personal note, my newly acquired ESS credential will help my company engage the new business opportunity with confidence and a high degree of competence for our new customer base.”

BICSI is a professional association supporting the information transport systems (ITS) industry.  ITS covers the spectrum of voice, data, electronic safety & security, and audio & video technologies.  It encompasses the design, integration and installation of pathways, spaces, fiber- and copper-based distribution systems, wireless-based systems and infrastructure that supports the transportation of information and associated signaling between and among communications and information gathering devices.

BICSI provides information, education and knowledge assessment for individuals and companies in the ITS industry. We serve more than 23,000 ITS professionals, including designers, installers and technicians. These individuals provide the fundamental infrastructure for telecommunications, audio/video, life safety and automation systems. Through courses, conferences, publications and professional registration programs, BICSI staff and volunteers assist ITS professionals in delivering critical products and services, and offer opportunities for continual improvement and enhanced professional stature.

Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, USA, BICSI membership spans nearly 90 countries. For more information, visit www.bicsi.org.

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Hitachi Cable Manchester Adds to Engineering

Manchester, NH, September 17, 2009 – Hitachi Cable Manchester (HCM) continues to be a leader in the manufacture of high-performance copper and fiber optic communication cables. 

Recently, HCM added to its engineering staff by bringing onboard Olindo Savi as its Signal Integrity Engineer.  Olindo, formerly of Siemon, will represent HCM on technical advisory boards, industry trade associations, and standards-making bodies as the lead engineer for transmission performance of existing and future HCM products.  Olindo will also be the primary liaison with customers relating to transmission performance and specification development. 

About HCM

HCM, located in Manchester, NH manufacturers a complete line of copper and fiber optic cables for the communication industry.  Over 3,300 different cable products are manufactured at this facility.  In addition to Category 6A cables, products include Category 6 and 5e cables, outdoor Category 5e and 6 cables, indoor and outdoor fiber optic cables, armored fiber optic cables as well as plenum-rated indoor/outdoor fiber optic cables.

To learn more about HCM products and where you can purchase them, please contact HCM toll free at 800-772-0116 or visit the HCM website at www.hcm.hitachi.com. 

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NEW Phoenix Surveillance Video Manager – Security with a big memory

 You may wish to add Phoenix to Complete Your Forensic Video Surveillance Solution

• Enable easy end-user video manipulation.

• Provide fully managed tiered storage.

• Support full digital asset management

• Provide unlimited retention.

capabilities.

• Automatically create low-res proxies of

• Utilize megapixel cameras without video assets sacrificing storage capacity.

• Retain hi-res originals fully intact.  Enable offline media to be fully searchable

• Enable extensive search and retrieval and viewable via extensible metadata.

• Support extremely scalable solutions

• Support powerful and intuitive search /

• Easily scale to new hardware and View / Clip / Export Functionality technologies.

• Enable the end-user to quickly and easily find specific “events of interest.”

• Find and select clips easily with the built in Phoenix Video Viewer.

• Manipulate automatically created low-resolution proxy files.

Scan through the entire video file.

• Search for specific “events of interest” with integrated analytical metadata.

• Rewind, play, and fast forward with adjustable viewing speeds.

• Create ‘start’ and ‘stop’ points in order to create segment “clips” for exporting.

• Export marked segment to Export Queue.

• Create as many segment clips from the same video as you want.

“Phoenix is game changing technology,” says Michael Peterson, President of Strategic Research Corporation. “The market is rewarding the value of virtualized servers and enterprise storage. Everyone has bought into virtualization. But, until now no one has addressed virtualizing and federating the rest of the storage tier. And, by combining all the key services that customers need

for a reliable, trustworthy, cost-effective, and efficient long-term information repository, SoleraTec has pioneered what will be a transformation in how storage is managed for the long term.”

About SoleraTec

SoleraTec is a leading developer of archive, storage, and digital asset management software for corporate customers. SoleraTec leverages a

heritage of nearly a decade and a half to deliver a level of quality, sophistication, and technological advancement that has established it as one of

the premier data protection solution providers in the industry. SoleraTec works through OEM relationships with hardware, software, and technology integrators to deliver complete data protection solutions.  The company was established in 1997 by a team of industry veterans with experience deploying data protection, HSM, and storage management solutions to some of the largest companies around the world.

www.SoleraTec.com  • Tel: (760) 743-7200 • Email: Info@SoleraTec.com

SoleraTec Headquarters: 2430 Auto Park Way, Suite 205, Escondido, CA  92029

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Cam-Tek Systems, Inc. Introduces SNOUP Video Surveillance Solution for Covert Operations

Pronounced “SNOOP,” this covert video surveillance system brings together ease of installation, integration, and use in a ruggedized small form factor ready for rapid deployment.

Anaheim, CA. – September 21, 2009 – During the ASIS 2009 conference, here, Cam-Tek Systems, Inc., announced the introduction and availability of the Surveillance Network On Utility Poles or SNOUP™ (pronounced “Snoop”) covert video surveillance solution.

SNOUP is a modular, self-contained, ruggedized, video surveillance system designed to mount atop utility poles for wide area public video surveillance. This comprehensive solution utilizes wired, wireless, and cellular network connectivity. This solution is intended primarily for police departments, drug enforcement agencies, homeland security agencies, and other investigative agencies such as states’ attorneys general offices.

Law enforcement agencies understand that crime moves around quickly, and they need a video surveillance solution that can be installed outdoors, used for a limited number of days, and then moved somewhere else, rapidly. The SNOUP solution utilizes SoleraTec Phoenix™ digital video asset management software for IP-camera feed recording from video cameras, the long-term retention of the video feeds, as well as the overall storage resource management of the solution. Phoenix enables recorded video feeds to be stored in the unit as it is mounted on the utility pole and then for that video data to be migrated to a longer-term storage resource, be it by wired, wireless, or cellular connectivity.

Police cars equipped with a secure Phoenix installation client could pull along side the utility pole and begin to download the captured video streams in the event that there is no other wired or cellular connectivity. The SNOUP solution continuously records surveillance video internally and the overall solution enables numerous cameras to monitor a city neighborhood. With constant near-camera digital recording of various resolutions, frame-rates, and data rates for every camera, SNOUP is able to provide realtime video surveillance in a covert, unobtrusive, manner.

The modular base-system has one built-in Panasonic NS202a pan-tilt-zoom camera with exceptional low light capabilities, ideally suited for dimly lit areas. With an optical zoom rate of 22X, it enables the user to get right in on the action or zoom out for wider observation. Standard camera settings, such as frame rate, resolution, and compression, are easily selectable. Multiple methods of connectivity, such as cable, DSL, wireless, or cellular, enable network connectivity regardless of your deployment location.

Phoenix software manages live and recorded video feeds. Live images are immediately available for viewing and/or recording. Video is simultaneously stored locally on a solid state storage unit in case connectivity is lost. This provides redundancy, ensures that video evidence is never lost, and therefore, provides peace of mind. All video management is intuitive and seamless, due to the autonomous nature of Phoenix software.

SNOUP's intelligent power management module monitors every internal component to ensure uptime. If a technical issue should arise, SNOUP can email/SMS a notification and/or take corrective action itself by power cycling individual components per preprogrammed specifications. A web interface also allows manual power cycling as well.

All these features, built with ruggedness in mind, combine to create a robust and rugged IP-camera based video Surveillance Network On Utility Poles.

Advancements in video surveillance technologies make cutting edge products like SNOUP possible. Law enforcement agencies need the ability to have wireless access without the need to station an officer near each temporary installation. Manned surveillance is not only resource intensive, but it can also be a danger to law enforcement personnel. Being able to view live or previously recorded video feeds from a safe location is a tremendous value to these agencies. Even interruptions in connectivity are overcome by recording locally at the camera on the utility pole. Once connectivity is restored, access to all missed video can be transmitted and reviewed. SNOUP is the type of advanced surveillance product that is needed to fight today's increase in terrorism and criminal activity.

“We are proud to be working with such a forward thinking integrator as Cam-Tek Systems, Inc. and the SNOUP solution. With its rapid deployment capabilities, video feed download connectivity methods, continuous internal recording, storage management, and small form-factor, we see this as a valuable resource in law enforcement,” stated Mark Armstrong, CEO of SoleraTec LLC, developers of the Phoenix™ digital video asset management software.

“We saw our law enforcement agencies struggling to build similar products for this application. We decided to use our experience with these products and 'build the better mouse trap,' so to speak,” stated Kortney Dunkle President of Cam-Tek Systems, Inc. “The SNOUP solution’s rapid deployment ability, with long-term video retention and multiple connectivity methods, provides today’s law enforcement agencies a new and advanced tool in their efforts to improve crime prevention, detection, and investigation requirements,” continued Dunkle.

Pricing and Availability

Pricing for SNOUP is based on its modularity and starts at $9,995 and varies by configuration. For information or pricing, please call Cam-Tek Systems, Inc. at 800-831- 8638 or visit http://cam-tek.com. For product photos, contact Cam-Tek Systems, Inc.

About Cam-Tek Systems, Inc.

Specializing in small and medium businesses, Cam-Tek System’s full video surveillance and security product line is packaged in tiers to allow better tailoring to each customer's security, location, and budget needs. Choose essential, expanded, sophisticated or comprehensive feature sets for the right solution. From legacy CCTV systems to technical on-site service, Cam-Tek Systems, Inc. has the years of experience you need for peace of mind. Cam-Tek Systems, Inc. also has the experience in the new digital IPbased video surveillance systems with competent technicians at servicing and installing.

They are equipped with all the tools necessary to install, repair, and upgrade any video surveillance system, regardless of size or type. For more information, please visit http://cam-tek.com/.

About SoleraTec

SoleraTec is a leading developer of archive, storage, and digital asset management software for business customers. SoleraTec leverages a heritage of nearly a decade and a half to deliver a level of quality, sophistication, and technological advancement that has established it as one of the premier data protection solution providers in the industry.

SoleraTec works through OEM relationships with hardware, software, and technology integrators to deliver complete data protection solutions and also provides its technology on a private labeled basis. The company was established in 1997 by a team of industry veterans with experience deploying data protection, HSM, and storage management solutions to some of the largest companies around the world. The company is privately held and headquartered in San Diego County, California. www.SoleraTec.com .

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Top 5 Ways BOMA's Gross Area Standard Helps Property Professionals

BOMA International Brings Comprehensive and Uniform Methodology to Measuring a Building's Gross Area

(WASHINGTON—September 24, 2009) From the first skyscrapers to the latest mixed-use marvels, the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International has been defining the way commercial real estate professionals measure their properties for nearly 95 years. In 2009, BOMA grew its family of standards with the release of The Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement (GRAMS) to provide a uniform basis from which to compute, communicate and compare the measurement of buildings by gross areas.

“BOMA standards have been the authority in building measurement for nearly a century,” commented BOMA International Chair and Chief Elected Officer James A. Peck, RPA, FMA, senior director of asset services, CB Richard Ellis. “GRAMS presents a concise, easy-to-use method for measuring the gross area of a building, which ultimately helps property professionals do their jobs better.”

Here are five ways GRAMS helps commercial real estate professionals:

Get on the same page. GRAMS uniform methodology helps a cross section of industry professionals—architects, appraisers, general contractors, owners, and the list goes on—do their jobs better because it provides a tangible, valuable and actionable document for practitioners to measure gross area. GRAMS is the only methodology that crosses disciplines.

Get interactive. The interactive downloadable format of GRAMS features 37 illustrations and 19 definitions of measurement terms.

Get comprehensive. GRAMS applies to all buildings – office, retail, industrial, single and multi-unit residential, hospitality, entertainment, and public and private institutional buildings. Plus, GRAMS applies to both new and existing buildings containing single or multiple stories that are either owner occupied or leased to one or more tenants.

Get a “twofer.” GRAMS provides a uniform basis for measuring both the construction gross area and the exterior gross area of a building.

Get dependability. GRAMS meets an important and growing industry demand as more and more professionals have questions and demands for gross area methodologies. GRAMS provides a true methodology for measuring gross area.

For more information about The Gross Areas of a Building: Methods of Measurement, visit www.boma.org.

About BOMA International

The Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International is an international federation of more than 100 local associations and affiliated organizations. Founded in 1907, its 18,000-plus members own or manage more than 9 billion square feet of commercial properties. BOMA International’s mission is to enhance the human, intellectual and physical assets of the commercial real estate industry through advocacy, education, research, standards and information. www.boma.org.

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Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) Salutes 2009 Nobel Prize Winner Charles K. Kao for His Groundbreaking Work in Fiber Optics Communications

TIA Congratulates Kao, Along with Physics Award Co-Winners Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Labs, Inventors of the Imaging Semiconductor Circuit

Washington, D.C. – The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) salutes Nobel Prize winner Charles K. Kao on his award "for groundbreaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication."

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences gave half of the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physics to Kao of the United Kingdom's Standard Telecommunication Laboratories and Chinese University of Hong Kong.

The Academy awarded the other half of this year's prize to two more "Masters of Light," Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Laboratories, for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit – the CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) sensor."

The 2009 Nobel Prize winners' scientific achievements "helped to shape the foundations of today's networked societies," said the Academy. "They have created many practical innovations for everyday life and provided new tools for scientific exploration."

"TIA wishes to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of the scientists who won awards this year," said TIA President Grant Seiffert. "Their achievements changed the world, enabling the global communications of today and tomorrow, and highlight the need for continued basic and applied research and development to continue their work. TIA extends its congratulations and deepest appreciation for their lifetime contributions."

In 1966, Kao made a discovery that led to a breakthrough in fiber optics. He carefully calculated how to transmit light over long distances via optical glass fibers. With a fiber of purest glass it would be possible to transmit light signals over 100 kilometers, compared to only 20 meters for the fibers available in the 1960s. Kao's enthusiasm inspired other researchers to share his vision of the future potential of fiber optics. The first ultrapure fiber was successfully fabricated just four years later, in 1970.

Today, optical fibers make up a huge part of the circulatory system that nourishes our communication society, facilitating global broadband communication such as the Internet. Light flows in thin threads of glass, and it carries almost all of the telephony and data traffic in each and every direction. Text, music, images and video can be transferred around the globe in a split second.

If we were to unravel all of the glass fibers that wind around the globe, we would get a single thread over one billion kilometers long – enough to encircle the globe more than 25,000 times – and is increasing by thousands of kilometers every hour.

In 1969, Boyle and Smith invented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor, a Charge-Coupled Device. The CCD is the digital camera's electronic eye. It revolutionized photography, as light could now be captured electronically instead of on film. The digital form facilitates the processing and distribution of these images. CCD technology is also used in many medical applications such as imaging the inside of the human body, both for diagnostics and for microsurgery, and has become an irreplaceable tool in many fields of research.

About TIA
The Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, tradeshows, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory analysis. With roots dating back to 1924, TIA co-owns the SUPERCOMM® tradeshow  and is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit tiaonline.org.

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Dupont Predicts A Continued “Losing Streak

DuPont predicts a continued “losing streak” for about two-and-a-half to three years.

DuPont says it does not expect to match last year's profit levels until at least 2012, according to a filing with U.S. regulators on October 7, 2009.

Executive Vice President Mark P. Vergnano told investors on Tuesday that he doesn't expect the company to return to 2008 profit levels for about two-and-a-half to three years.

DuPont is the largest supplier of Teflon® FEP in the world. FEP is used (in the USA) in CMP rated plenum cable insulation. The use of this cable material is not permitted in the EU regulations because of toxic hazards.

http://www.wireville.com/news/Datacom%20Cabling%20Safety%202004.pdf

http://tuberose.com/Teflon.html  www.dupont.com

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INTERVIEW With Charles Kao, The Father Of Fiber-Optic Communications, By Larry Johnson, President Of Light Brigade

Charles Kao, the father of fiber-optic communications, was awarded a share of the Nobel prize for his work in physics. On October 16th, 2001, I had the opportunity to film an interview with Dr. Kao at the Stanford Park Hotel in Palo Alto, California. I enjoyed our lunch and interview together that day immensely, and I am glad to see Charlie's efforts recognized and rewarded. Our interview is intended to be released in the near future as part of the History of Fiber Optics compilation. The following is excerpted from that interview:

Johnson: When did the attention [at STL] turn to the possibility of using optical fibers as a potential medium?

Dr. Kao: I really joined when STL (Standard Telecommunications Lab) was already thinking about optical communications, because the laser was invented and everybody got excited. But at STL, Alec Reeves recognized that optical frequency as a carrier wave should be exploited as early as possible and they were already doing experiments for optical communications. So when I joined, the work was started but I was not directly involved, only peripherally involved because the two labs were working very closely. By 1963, Karbowiak decided that besides the millimetric waveguide project, which was ongoing, STL should start looking at alternatives to free space propagation as well as real guided propagation using dielectric material.

Johnson: Can you tell us how the research on fiber evolved?

Kao: Well, that’s a long story. First of all, we had to make some computations to understand what it takes to guide electromagnetic wave at optical frequencies, and there are many ways of guiding it. So the starting point was, “Let’s just shoot the beam in free space without guiding it since the lens can focus the beam almost parallel and it should shoot over distances of many meters.” To our surprise, we found that when you shoot a beam over nearly a kilometer distance, the beam is very unstable because it travels through the atmosphere and the atmosphere is not uniform in density and that gave us a first warning that free space is not a very friendly place. It’s not free because it’s really filled with air, which happens to be changing in density and shifting the beam.

Johnson: Dr. Kao, can you tell us the challenges first encountered and how you addressed them as far as the use of glass as a conceptual transmission medium?

Kao:. Well, we first had to make sure that transmission could not take place in free space or in any form of guidance that involves too much of free space. First, we had to see whether one could guide it by using lenses, and that generated this so-called confocal lens guide. It turned out that the free space still had a great deal of trouble for the beam to stay within the access that it’s supposed to be flowing, so we decided that maybe we should look at a true waveguide. A true waveguide had one major problem: we didn’t know what material was transparent. There were two types of materials that we could choose from. One is a low temperature dielectric material like Perspex, or Plexiglas as some people know it. This is low temperature glass and the transparency is pretty good. The other is the normal glass that we associate with glass being transparent. So we had to tackle and understand it by measuring it to see what sort of losses these transparent materials were, and whether we could do any improvement on them.

So that’s when we started looking, first of all, at a waveguide which is designed such that the light does not couple very strongly to the waveguide but travels with only 10% of the light inside the dielectric and 90% of it outside the dielectric. This way we said, “Well, this will make sure that only 10% of the loss of the guiding material will be imparted into the light, thereby reducing the transparency.”

Johnson: So you must have had to develop specialized test equipment or measurement equipment because you were breaking barriers.

Kao: That’s right. Everything was nonexistent. We didn’t have any test equipment. We didn’t have any clue of any of the fundamentals of these things, so we had to answer those questions first. So we built our test equipment. We were trying to measure things like 1 mm distance, and we had only a ruler, which has calibrations in inches. So we had a very difficult time of trying to make sure that our measurements were right to determine a sample of glass or other material which has losses that are pretty low.

Johnson: Now at this point, when you were looking at the use of optical fibers-pulling this technology together, performing your measurements, and defining the characteristics-was this looking at a single-mode concept or a multi-mode concept?

Kao: Well, at the beginning, we obtained a sample of a fiber, which was made by an American optical company to demonstrate that the optical wave is like an electromagnetic wave and that you can get different modes in a fiber. Sowe obtained samples and did some of the mode work to show that you can excite different modes by changing the excitation conditions using [a] helium-neon laser as a light source. Once that is demonstrated, you know that given the right condition, you can get single-mode to multi-mode fiber, and then we had to look at what we really needed. The theoretical calculation that we did at that time convinced us that we really should go for a single-mode fiber, and the single-mode fiber should be designed such that that’s the only mode that it can propagate on it and that it should have a fairly substantial cladding in order that outside interference by touching it or something would not disturb the propagation. So we defined the geometry and also defined the type of refractive index difference and so on and showed that that’s what the guiding medium should look like.

The next one is we had to look for more material to see whether indeed we could get the loss of the transparent material to come down. That meant that we needed to know what causes losses, so we did some very fundamental work to look at the basic scattering loss due to small particle scattering in the glass as well as absorption due to impurity ions. This information in gross orders were in existence to people that were making colored glass. They said, “Oh, if we put few percent of ion into glass, you will get a colored piece of glass. If you put some copper in it, you will get another color and so on.” So I had to answer the question to what extent we must remove this material before the transparency can be improved. So the paper calculation showed that we must reduce the impurity ions to less than one part per million for some materials and one part per billion in other types of materials, and these materials that we don’t want are the transitional elements of the periodic table such as copper, manganese ion, and so on. So that gave us the theoretical basis to know what we must get in order to get the transparency and that took two to three years-two years or so-to get an essential confirmation. It was a very difficult confirmation because it was very difficult to find the material.

Johnson: It has been said that others looked for the best glass available where you looked at the theoretical limits on what was possible.

Kao: That is true. That is precisely the question that I answered ourselves. We said, “In order to correct this problem, we have to understand what these problems are, and how do we overcome these problems?” So we tackled the most fundamental problem, first of all. If we made a fiber, and if the tolerance limit of say 5% variation might make the guide not work, then it would be futile for us to try to make it. That’s why we did the microwave experiments-to show the work that George Hockham did, which was to try to see what are the radiation losses that can be caused by essentially dimensional intolerance-the dimension of variations. We tackled that both theoretically on the electromagnetic theory as well as experiments to verify that indeed if you put periodic variations, you can get very strong radiation coming from it. George Hockham was so fascinated by that experiment that later on in his life he concentrated on those radiative elements as his career, which is very interesting.

Johnson: Can you tell us about how you calculated the allowable loss for optical fiber for using a transmission system?

Kao: This is not calculated at all. In fact, this is a figure that we say if we can achieve 20 dB/km, then it becomes practically useful. If we cannot achieve that, then there will be too many repeaters from point A to B that it makes the system very awkward and not really practical for real use. So we set this limit that we must reach before we would say this is something that is practical and will do something for us. 20 dB happens to be the last that can span the repeater spacing at 1 km interval, which was the repeater spacing of coaxial line systems at that time.

Johnson: Okay. So in November of 1965, George Hockham and you released a paper to The Proceedings of the Institution of Electrical Engineers titled “Dielectric-fibre surface waveguides for optical frequencies.” This paper, even today, addresses the issues that are viable. The six main topics address the dielectric fiber waveguide material, electromagnetic and physical aspects of the fibers, and review the experiments and results. The conclusions themselves open the door of the visionary that you must have been as well. Can you expand on the paper and the vision beyond the paper?

Kao: Well, at that time when optical communication was regarded as a possibility, all the people in the transmission business said, “This is something that’s going to change the communication world very significantly.” So we were all very excited that we could put so much more information onto the transmission medium and so on and so forth. So the excitement was there. When this paper was written, we saw that it really could meet all the requirements. I was really very excited about that and that’s why in the publicity that occurred afterwards we were saying, “Hey, this thing will allow us to do all sorts of things,” that were at that time very brave to be stated by the PR people-like it might go across the ocean and send very many messages simultaneously across great distances. That was our speculation at that time. However, based on the paper, you can see that should be a reality. Interestingly, the paper’s accuracy was very, very high. In fact, the only thing that we did not cover in the preliminary sense is the problem of hydrogen penetration into the core of the fiber.

Johnson: After the paper was released, you came to travel quite extensively, meeting with different organizations and traveling around the world. Can you tell us about how that evolved?

Kao: Well, I think one of the things is this optical fiber work was originated at our lab, and I felt that we had to tell everybody that this was forthcoming and could be very exciting. I wanted to essentially wet the appetite of people so that there would be more people interested in working. I did not have any concept that this was releasing information to enable other people to become competitors of ours. In fact, my thoughts were the more people that work on it, the earlier we might be able to make this thing a practical reality. Later on, I felt that this was absolutely the right move.

Johnson: So in 1966, you traveled extensively in North America, Japan, and Europe to talk, discuss, and promote your findings. I find it unique that STL would invite potential competitors about your findings. Can you expand a little more on STL’s philosophies and objectives?

Kao: Well, as soon as we started to really look into this project, we needed people to pour more money into it. At that time, the first supporter was the British Post Office, and they asked us at STL to expand the project. So by the time I went over to the United States as well as Asia, particularly Japan, there were several centers that were already working on preliminary work in this direction. I was very happy because as soon as I wanted people to make fiber, I had to approach the glass people, and glass people think very differently. So there were lots of different ideas. It would be very, very useful, as far as I was concerned, for lots of people to try lots of different techniques to really make fiber that would perform with a specification like what we were looking for. So we went to companies like Pilkington in the UK, Bausch and Lomb, the American Optical Company in the United States, and some companies in Europe, as well as Japan. Japan Tohoku University is looking at different ways of making fibers, and they were the ones later on who invented the concept of the graded index fiber. I took the opportunity to tell NTT about it, so that’s why in some ways Japan felt that I was letting them know early enough, and they were very pleased about that. Anyway, my intention was to promote this project since I knew that we were going to have to do a very, very large amount of work before this thing would become a real, practical system.

Johnson: How did the paper and the following press release affect your work and role at STL?

Kao: Well, first of all, there was a very significant amount of work that had to be done, so we were trying to put many experiments into a mode of operation that includes making a fiber. Making a fiber was quite unpredictable, so we were testing very many different ways of making fiber from either molten glass or with rods of glass that are surrounded by other rods and try to pull it into fiber. There were lots of experiments going on. In fact, everything was new. Nobody knew any of the things, and the suppliers didn’t have any of the right low-loss glass, so we were experimenting-essentially looking at the techniques. We were discovering, to our dismay, that many of the techniques produced fibers that are very high loss indeed because the interface was not very good, meaning the cladding and the core interface are rough. Therefore scattering loss was very high and so on. So it was quite a period in which we anticipated a lot of pioneering work that had to be done at very many places with different techniques. So by 1970 when Corning came up with a result which showed that the 20 dB/km was up, I was very pleased. That announcement essentially indicated the paper’s prediction that such a fiber can be made.

Johnson: Since we mentioned the Corning fiber in 1970, when did you first hear about this breakthrough?

Kao: They wrote me a letter to tell me, as well as the fact that at the long-haul waveguide symposium when we presented our papers including this paper and then the variant. Corning took the opportunity of that conference NIEE in the UK to announce that they got this result, which I’m sure later on-- It was revealed that it was actually a very, very experimental fiber that they produced. Nevertheless, it was a demonstration of the possibility of achieving that result.

Johnson: How does it feel now to look back at all the changes and achievements that have occurred due to your perseverance and achievements?

Kao: Thinking about it now instead of sort of reflecting on how I envisaged it then, I think perseverance is necessary. However, I was so enthused about it that time seemed to pass by very quickly, and progress seems to be continuously being made, so I had a very satisfying life with respect to my association with the fiber. I regard the fiber success as one of demonstration of really a concerted work from many, many people in many countries. It was very satisfying to see that fiber indeed could live up to its expectations. At one time, the graded index fiber was seemingly taking over as the main fiber transmission system, but fortunately, the single-mode fiber came back very strongly, which was what I wanted that to be. So in the end, I think my interest has shifted back to the entire system and in fact to the networks and this continues to the present day.

Ljohnson@FOHistory.org e-mail address and WWW.FOHistory.org website for history related content and materials

copyright by FiberStory.

FiberStory was founded by Larry Johnson this year, FiberStory is a new company that archives and is involved with the History of the Fiber Optics industry. Ljohnson@FOHistory.org
www.FOHistory.org

Mr. Johnson is also Founder and Director of The Light Brigade, the world’s leading fiber optic training company having trained over 35,000 students in its public and customized classes. The curriculum covers the entire spectrum of fiber optics from basic theory and design to maintenance and testing, through advanced topics such as FTTx, DWDM, SONET, PMD/CD, and fiber-optic video transmission.

The Light Brigade also produces professional-quality educational DVDs and CDs, a self-paced computerized training module, and self-study courses. For more information on The Light Brigade’s educational programs, visit http://www.lightbrigade.com/.

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Environmental Building News (EBN) and BuildingGreen Suite

BuildingGreen publishes information in outlets such as Environmental Building News (EBN) and BuildingGreen Suite that cover the most pressing issues in environmentally sensitive design and construction with a clear approach to all sides of an issue, keeping our readers informed on building for sustainability. This email brings you, as a news editor or website owner interested in sustainable design, links to breaking stories currently posted in the free area of www.BuildingGreen.com.

We encourage you to post these summaries and links on your website. However, please DO NOT post full articles without direct permission from Jim Newman at BuildingGreen, LLC.

These stories are coming from Environmental Building News and that the full article is available at www.BuildingGreen.com. "From Environmental Building News, www.BuildingGreen.com."

BuildingGreen, LLC owns the copyrights to all material contained in this email and to the full written articles. All rights are reserved except those explicitly granted herein. Contact Jim Newman at BuildingGreen, LLC, Jim@BuildingGreen.com with questions or for additional information.

All materials Copyright BuildingGreen, LLC 2009.

Breaking News from BuildingGreen.com:
USGBC Revising Forest Certification Benchmark for LEED
Alex Wilson

A second public comment period for the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) treatment of forest certification in the LEED Rating System is open until October 14, 2009. At issue is a collection of criteria that USGBC will use to evaluate forest certification programs to gain recognition in LEED. The first public comment period (see EBN Sept. 2008) attracted nearly 1,800 comments; guided by that input, the Materials and Resources Technical Advisory Group (chaired until recently by BuildingGreen's Nadav Malin) revised, and the LEED Steering Committee approved, a new approach to the USGBC Forest Certification Benchmark.

Link to the full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/2009/9/25/USGBC-Revising-Forest-Certification-Benchmark-for-LEED/

More information on LEED 2009 is available at www.LEEDuser.com.

Upgrade to LEED 2009?
Backpage Primer from Environmental Building News

In April 2009 as part of its "LEED v3" initiative, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched new versions of its commercial rating systems: New Construction (NC), Schools, Core & Shell (CS), Existing Building Operations & Maintenance (EBOM), and Commercial Interiors (CI). Thousands of LEED-hopeful projects, meanwhile, were previously registered for the earlier version of the applicable rating system-mostly LEED-NC v2.2.

Link to the full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/ID/4307/

Current Stories from Environmental Building News:

Mineral Wool Residential and Commercial Insulation
Product Review

Mineral wool forms naturally when strong winds blow through molten lava to create the thin, gold-colored strands that volcanologists call Pele's hair. Today's mineral wool insulation is made in a less dramatic process using basalt and iron-ore slag that is melted, spun into fibers, and held together with a phenolic resin. Adjusting the density of the fibers and the resin mix produces different residential and commercial insulation products, including batts, blankets, and rigid and semi-rigid boards. All of these products provide excellent sound attenuation and flame resistance along with R-values of about 4 per inch.

Link to the full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/ID/4306/

Changing Practices

Letters from Environmental Building News

I just finished reading your excellent article "Designing for Adaptation" (see EBN Sept. 2009) and I want you to know that I think it is one of the best articles on the rationale for green building practices I have ever read. Thank you for this valuable resource. I have benefited from EBN immensely over the past few years and want you to know that I rely on your analyses, evaluations and recommendations, like last month's article on foam insulation (see EBN Aug. 2009).

Link to the full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/ID/4310/

HBCD Isn't the Only Problem

Letters from Environmental Building News

Thanks for the excellent investigative reporting on the hidden chemical hazards in the life cycle of polystyrene and the persistent halogenated flame retardant HBCD that comes along with it (see EBN Aug. 2009). Just as we ignored carbon dioxide's persistence and accumulation in our atmosphere and caused ourselves major climate change headaches, we ignore the early warnings about persistent bioaccumulative toxicants at our peril.

Link to full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/ID/4308/

Watch for Other Toxics
Letters from Environmental Building News

We were excited to read the piece on HBCD in polystyrene and we thank you for taking a stand against its use in construction (see EBN Aug. 2009). However, we would encourage EBN to take a deeper look at alternative insulation materials, particularly relating to their toxicity and life-cycle impacts.

Link to the full article:
http://www.buildinggreen.com/auth/article.cfm/ID/4294/

BuildingGreen, LLC is publisher of the nation's oldest publication on sustainable design and construction and the leading national directory of green building products. For more information on BuildingGreen and its resources on environmentally responsible design and construction, visit www.BuildingGreen.com, email Info@buildinggreen.com, or call 800-861-0954 (outside the U.S. and Canada, call 802-257-7300). BuildingGreen is a socially responsible company based in Brattleboro, Vermont.

All materials Copyright BuildingGreen, LLC 2009.

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Draka Communications Launches 300 lb Drop Cable with Bend Insensitive Fiber

Draka’s BendBrightTM family of bend insensitive fiber allows for smaller and lighter drop cable helping the market achieve green initiatives in the last mile

Claremont, North Carolina, September 24, 2009 (NYSE EURONEXT: DRAK) – Draka Communications – Americas announces an extension to its line of ezPREP® Central Loose Tube fiber optic drop cables by launching a new 300 lb. tensile rated design with a choice of three different levels of bend insensitive fiber. In September 2009, Draka and Tyco held a joint national webinar through OSP Magazine to educate the market on smaller and lighter outdoor cables and the associated hardware that would soon be available. These products are made possible in large part due to bend insensitive fibers and are an important part of the market’s desire to install environmentally friendly telecommunications networks.

“Draka believes in innovation that creates value for our customers and helps them do more, make more, save more and achieve more.  Our leadership in bend insensitive fiber technology gives us a wide range of opportunity to improve and reinvent the world of fiber optic cable, especially in the last mile.  In this case the customer gets a fantastic new product and one that helps them achieve their green initiatives,” states Greg Williams, Director of Marketing for Draka Communications - Americas.  “Smaller and lighter cables will allow for more fiber capacity inside of existing splice closures, cabinets and pedestals, and the potential is also there for hardware products to become smaller and more aesthetically pleasing.”

Draka’s new 300 lb. drop cable is available from 1 to 12 fibers, gel or dry tube, is round in shape, armored, bends in any direction, and contains a single tube.  The product is multi-purpose and ideal for aerial, duct, or direct buried applications.  In 2005 Draka was the first manufacturer to make bend-insensitive fiber standard in all drop cables.  Now all three bend insensitive fiber options are available, including BendBright, BendBright-XS, and BendBright-Elite.  This product complies with GR-20 and RUS standards, and is available with indoor or outdoor style connectors and with HLC Scratchguard technology.

The HLC Scratchguard process, developed by Megladon and utilized by Draka, is a critical step forward in quality and durability for drop cables.  Through a patented thermal process, the connector end face is hardened which produces a tempered fiber mating surface capable of resisting scratches, repeated plug-ins, and other harsh industrial elements.

About Draka Communications – Americas

Draka, headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a €2.7 billion, publicly listed (Euronext) company with 9,500 employees worldwide.  Draka is divided into three Groups: Energy & Infrastructure, Industry & Specialty and Communications.

Draka Communications is a world leader in the development, production and sale of optical fiber, cable and cable systems.  The Draka fiber advantage is rooted in the superiority of the trench assisted core profile and Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD) process.  This process is inherently more flexible than other processes and, because it is Draka’s standard manufacturing process, it ensures the compatibility of the fiber with existing networks.  Research shows that other bend insensitive fibers with unproven designs may exhibit significant variations in performance and impact their use in the field.

Draka Communications clients in North America are served from Draka's unique site in Claremont, North Carolina which is home to a 125-acre corporate campus & Americas headquarters, over 1 million square feet of manufacturing space and the only integrated optical fiber and cable facility in North America. 

www.drakaamericas.com  or call 1-800-879-9862.

Also visit www.megladonmfg.com  for the most advanced fiber-optic patch cords known to man. Megladon Mfg. Scratchguard™ technology is beyond durable.

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New York Has Everything

By Ralph C Jensen

Oct 09, 2009

Ever been to New York City? They have everything there. It’s a city that never sleeps and, because of that, there are problems 24/7. Never mind all that, New York is an awesome city fighting on the front lines of terrorism.

New York law enforcement and security officials recently broke up an alleged terror plot, and to increase their battle against terrorists, more cameras will be installed in midtown Manhattan. Even better, the city is installing license plate readers and weapons sensors.

City officials received about $24 million in Department of Homeland Security money and are expected to boost similar efforts already underway in lower Manhattan where cameras eyeball the Federal Reserve, New York Stock Exchange and Brooklyn Bridge.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the goal is to detect terrorism threats and deter pre-operational surveillance.

Critics question whether more cameras can deter terrorism, and the sensors are bound to give off “false positives.”

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Civil right groups, we couldn’t live without their input, clamor over another encroachment of civil liberties. New York Civil Liberties Union officials question whether or not this isn’t some big surveillance system.

Look, the bottom line is this. No one wants sensors that give off false positives and that can be overcome. A person’s civil liberties shouldn't be encroached upon, so don’t do silly things that will bring attention to yourself. Do what is right and law abiding.

We already know the outcome of doing nothing, and law enforcement agencies failure to communicate. The city already has 1,000 officers involved in anti-terrorism work on a daily basis. It’s a good idea to give them another reliable source of information and the ability to track suspicious characters. What does the average citizen want? Critics and the NYCLU probably don’t ask the average citizen, and city hall probably doesn’t ask either. The fact is NYPD has a role and responsibility to fulfill. Giving them more cameras is a good idea. Surveillance is one ingredient that gives terrorists more opportunity to makes mistakes and be discovered, and cameras create the possibility for prevention of an attack.

http://secprodonline.com/articles/2009/10/09/new-york-has-everything.aspx

About the Author

Ralph C. Jensen is editor-in-chief of Security Products magazine.