Quilt Optical Fiber Workshop

Boulder Research and Administrative Network (BRAN)

Experiences/Lessons Learned

By Jim Van Dyke

6/22/04 - 2

BRAN Introduction Four Partners: NCAR/UCAR, City of

Boulder, NOAA/NIST, CU at Boulder Boulder metro installation to connect

partner sites A 96 strand SMF-28 fiber from end to

end Nodes are spliced and pigtailed

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Development Initiated by technical side, not

management side Four partners mean: cooperation,

politics, serving special interests Management and technical folks had

to work together to develop project RFP process with detailed

specifications

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Specifications Identify lead party to develop and

champion specifications Do not compromise quality Document and confirm the details Have other parties review specs and

proposals

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Construction Electrical contractor won the bid with a

communications subcontractor The contractor underestimated the

complexity/cost of the installation – it is called “Boulder” for a reason– Hit countless big rocks– Hit at least 2 water mains– Locates/paths under busy intersections

difficult– Working with railroad RoWs difficult

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Prepare for Setbacks

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Installation Assign lead party to manage

installation Spend time with the contractor/installer

up front Verify quality of fiber installers/splicers

prior to installation

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Acceptance Criteria Quality components Bend radius Pulling tension Splice quality Connector quality 100% fiber strand verification Make sure your expectations are clear

up front– Verify quality early and often

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Connector Faces

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Phased implementation Specifications should allow turning up

links in the path without having the entire project done

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Maintenance: Do you maintain or outsource? Coordinate outsource management

– Locator– Manhole verification - annually– Repair

We maintain– Emergency parts– Contingency fund

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Maintenance – annual manhole verification

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Expansion Collocated at local PoPs Have a common bundle of fiber go to

every new node/spur and be terminated for route testing

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Questions?