Telecom Top 5
Telecom Top 5 is a weekly telecom news update for telecom professionals from ISE Magazine, delivering the most pressing recent developments in broadband, fiber optic, wireless, 5G, network engineering, BEAD, cloud and virtual networks, legislation, and much more. Tune in each week for a rapid news update that covers the week in telecommunications. Your host, Joe Gillard, is Executive Editor of ISE Magazine, a print and online publication for telecom professionals. In this podcast, Joe will curate the latest breaking stories, industry trends, research, and tech innovations and summarize it for you in a digestible format. Occasionally, Joe will also feature interviews with industry professionals who can add color, context, and industry knowledge to what’s going on and how it affects you and your colleagues. Telecom Top 5 hopes to save you time by allowing you to soak in the telecom news you need to know quickly, whether you’re in the car, at the office, or taking a walk.
Episodes
2 days ago
2 days ago
Your telecom news update for the week ending 5/3/24. Rip and Replace law, a new 6G innovation, and the LEO wars intensify. If you have a news tip, or any other comments, email me at jgillard@endeavorb2b.com
Friday Apr 26, 2024
Telco earnings, net neutrality, and some exciting new technology
Friday Apr 26, 2024
Friday Apr 26, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 4/26/24. Earnings, earnings, earnings. Plus some eciting new tech and more. If you have a news tip, or any other comments, email me at jgillard@endeavorb2b.com
Friday Apr 19, 2024
ISP nutrition labels, hyperscaler growth, and a Comcast/Disney teamup
Friday Apr 19, 2024
Friday Apr 19, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 4/19/24. ISP "nutrition labels," hyperscale data center growth, and more. If you have a news tip, or any other comments, email me at jgillard@endeavorb2b.com.
Friday Apr 12, 2024
Small cell research, Brightspeed, and rural FWA
Friday Apr 12, 2024
Friday Apr 12, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 4/12/24. ACP funding update, private wireless revenue optimism, a big rural FWA project, and more. If you have a news tip, or any other comments, email me at jgillard@endeavorb2b.com.
Friday Apr 05, 2024
Net neutrality, 5 years of 5G, and ACP funding
Friday Apr 05, 2024
Friday Apr 05, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 4/5/24. Today we're talking about net neutrality, 5 years of 5G, ACP funding, and more If you have a news tip, or any other comments, email me at jgillard@endeavorb2b.com.
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Capex slump, new speed record, and telco earnings
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Friday Mar 29, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 3/29/24. Upcoming telco earnings, a possible Tesla private 5G move, a new data transfer speed record, and more.
Friday Mar 22, 2024
6G with AI, Apple and Vodafone news, and a rural 5G fund returns
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Friday Mar 22, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 3/22/24. We're covering two different antitrust stories, a 6G simulation platform that Nvidia is rolling out, and more.
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Cyberattacks, undersea cables, and spectrum
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Friday Mar 15, 2024
Your telecom news update for the week ending 3/15/24. Lots of news this week, including another undersea cable outage. Listen in!
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Trailer: Telecom Top 5
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Friday Mar 01, 2024
Telecom Top 5, hosted by Joe Gillard, offers a weekly, concise update on the latest developments in broadband, fiber optic, wireless, 5G, network engineering, cloud, virtual networks, legislation, and more, aiming to save telecom professionals time by delivering essential news in a digestible format.
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
How to make sure your fiber optic network is ready for 5G
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
Thursday Nov 17, 2022
As fiber is the foundation of 5G networks, it is important to get fiber infrastructure up and running right the first time. This blog will take a quick look at some new technologies being deployed across fiber networks, the role of testing to keep those connections running right and the increased responsibilities of multitasking fiber technicians out in the field.
Strict, accurate testing is a necessity for 5G
Mobile network operators (MNOs) will be offering new 5G services grouped into one of three main types: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine-type communications (mMTC) and ultra-reliable low-latency communications (urLLC). Each requires its own mix of bandwidth, latency thresholds, guaranteed QoS and automation. To deliver on these new 5G services, networks must transform. An increase in bandwidth and capacity (i.e., 25G, 100G), scaling to a smarter network (e.g. NFV/virtualization, slicing), use of new technologies (e.g., eCPRI), small cell densification (10-20x more cells) within urban environments and pushing the data plane to the edge are all necessary transformations. Another key transformation will be the need to add more fiber and run it deeper into the network. Due to the nature of these transformations, more detailed and highly accurate testing is necessary to ensure everything’s working right. In addition, having the latest and most efficient testing processes in place will be imperative for speeding up the entire process.
Where 4G networks were quick to forgive bad splices or bad connections, 5G networks can’t and won’t. Unless thorough 5G testing practices are strictly followed, failure rates on new 5G deployments will increase. Back in the day, dropping a call was not a deal breaker, but now it is as the expectations for bandwidth, reliability and delay are very high. The “plug and pray” era is definitively a thing of the past. So what can operators due to improve quality of service and reliability? First, in any network—and particularly in outside plant networks—connectors and connections will always be the weakest points. In the vast majority of troubleshooting cases, the culprit is found to be a dirty connector. So, cleaning and inspection are key to providing better network quality.
What to test and how to test it
When a fiber link is deployed, two tests will typically be performed to validate the quality of the install. The first test is end-to-end loss measurement using a loss test set or an optical multimeter. The second test is a distributed measurement using an OTDR or more advanced reflectometry technology like EXFO’s iOLM. Once the optical link has been validated and qualified, technicians install transceivers connecting the different network elements. At that stage, various tests should be performed such as a spectral measurement on systems where multiple wavelengths or signals are carried into the same fiber. This validates that levels are within tolerances and that transceivers are tuned to the proper frequencies. Note that transceivers are considered as consumables with a very low price point and sometimes quality is an issue. That said, transceivers can be validated and tuned before installation by using a network tester. Some transceivers might have specific requirements in term of dispersion and fiber type and full fiber characterization might be required. That same network tester can be used for end-to-end testing and to validate that services are being properly transmitted and compliant with industry standards. At the network level, tests such as synchronization PTP1588, packet loss and jitter are usually performed to guarantee quality of service. Troubleshooting cell sites also involve RF-over-the-air testing, which is an entire subject onto itself.
Doing more and doing it quicker than ever
In addition to 5G, technicians in the field need to continue to support 4G LTE infrastructure for years to come. Being able to do more in the midst of new, emerging technologies means a rethink of current processes, with automation—one-button, intelligent testing—being vital to the ability to deliver accurate and ultra-fast fiber connections.
With the deployment of 5G—and soon 6G—test solutions need to do more, be more connected, smarter in every way. In terms of smarter testing, test equipment solutions need to do more than enable technicians to collect raw measurement data. Diagnosis information, advice on measurement and other guidance are valuable insights. For example, causes of failure—specifically a dirty connection or a stressor on a fiber—is important information that would be very helpful to include alongside readings collected using an OTDR. Through the power of the cloud, information can flow back and forth between cloud solutions (providing statistics and batch processing) and the test instrument (providing measurements and diagnosis). This enables technicians and engineers in the field to get that much-needed context and guidance.
Conclusion
Improving field-technician efficiency—by using the right tools and processes to identify and troubleshoot from day one—can represent a time savings of 90%, a necessary improvement in today’s 5G world. In turn, operators can continue maintaining 4G infrastructure while turning up 5G right the first time and begin monetizing their 5G investment sooner than later.