NGN power problems

Powering the outside plant of next-generation networks (NGN) presents multiple challenges. Add a Hurricane and watch things break.

Service providers have to deal with problems with improperly grounded electronics at the customer premises and worry about pending state and federal regulatory requirements for backup power.

Broadband fiber networks have different power challenges. AT&T's fiber-to-the-node approach requires ways to power many smaller nodes closer to the subscriber. Verizon's FiOS doesn't have that problem, but the concerns shift to powering, installing and maintaining electronics at the customer premises.

A FCC post-Hurricane Katrina order requires all fixed and wireless carriers to supply a minimum of eight hours of backup in the event of a power outage. There's also the push-out of requiring customers to be responsible for swapping out batteries on the equipment in their own homes.

Say what you will about POTS and Ma Bell, if you plug in a corded phone into an RJ-11 under the legacy system, it usually will deliver dial tone - no batteries required.

For more:
- Telephony Online talks about lighting up NGN networks. Article [1].

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