Arlyn S. Powell, Jr.
Group Editorial Director
Telecommunications is a network industry. Its customers demand a global scope. They must reach their clients or friends or relatives throughout the world. No local telecommunications carrier can survive or prosper without a connection to the global network."
These statements from a recent study entitled The New Telecommunications Industry are probably aimed at telecom supergiants like AT&T and British Telecom, but they are coming to apply equally--in my view, at least--to the readers of Cabling Installation & Maintenance.
But, you might say, those readers are primarily makers, installers, and users of premises and campus communications systems. Do people whose focus is on such a small part of the overall global communications infrastructure really need to be concerned about the bigger international picture?
My answer to that question is "yes." Take, for example, the cabling contractor. When we conducted research on the contracting marketplace last year, we discovered that 26% of the contractors polled said they do business internationally. The same claim could no doubt be made by a far larger percentage of the network and cable-plant managers of North American corporations and institutions, the group making up the end-user community of the domestic cabling industry.
Indeed, within the business community, the term "multinational corporation" has been in wide use for several decades, and the majority of today`s larger business corporations could probably be called multinational in the original sense of the word. The pros and cons of multinational business have been widely debated, but no matter where these seemingly endless discussions have led, the trend toward internationaliza- tion has continued--especially in the telecommunications industry, where mergers and acquisitions crossing international boundaries have been heating up for several years.
We at Cabling Installation & Maintenance and its sister publications have had a twofold interest in the growing trend toward a worldwide cabling industry. First, as the industry has globalized, we have had to become more familiar with business trends, technologies, and standards-making activities outside North America to keep our readers well-informed about the factors that impact the domestic business landscape. And second, like other businesses, we want to grow, and we see opportunities to expand our scope outside North America.
Cabling Installation & Maintenance already has a licensed edition appearing in Australia and New Zealand, as well as occasional articles translated into Russian and Chinese. In January, however, we will be making a much larger commitment to the international marketplace, in the form of Cabling Installation & Maintenance Europe.
This new magazine will be edited and printed in Europe and completely European in content, but the editorial and publishing management that has led to the success of the U.S. magazine will guide the new publication. And in the process, what we on Cabling Installation & Maintenance`s editorial staff learn in our international endeavors will inform and leaven what we continue to report to you in the pages of the U.S. edition.
Cabling Installation & Maintenance Europe announces premier issue
The first issue of Cabling Installation & Maintenance Europe, to be published in January 2000, will combine the successful format of the U.S. magazine with uniquely European content, according to group editorial director Arlyn S. Powell, Jr.
"With almost a decade of experience in the cabling industry," Powell says, "we`ve learned what information our U.S. readers want--and need--to do their jobs effectively. Our European research has suggested that a similar formula will be successful there."
Feature-length coverage of the design and installation of continental cable plants would form the heart of the new publication, along with stories about technological inno- vations, business trends, and standards-making activities. New-product coverage, announcements of upcoming events, a news section, and an opinion column similar to Cabling Installation & Maintenance`s "Endface" will also be included.
"We recognize that the largest European cabling markets are the United Kingdom, Germany, and France," Powell continues, "but the greatest growth is taking place in southern European markets such as Portugal and Greece. We plan to balance both our news and feature coverage to reflect these trends, while not ignoring established markets in northern Europe and those just beginning to emerge in Eastern Europe."
For more on the launch of Cabling Installation & Maintenance Europe, see "PennWell launches European cabling magazine," page 80.