Americable (www.americable.com) has launched the Connectivity Consulting Group (CCG). Through the group, Americable provides two levels of consulting services to telecommunications providers. The Level One Answer Desk provides an "at-your-fingertips" option for basic connectivity designs, while the Level Two Advanced Design Services program provides an escalation point for more-specialized projects.
"While active component suppliers and engineering firms concentrate at the electronics level of a network, the CCG program offers free advice to telecommunications service providers regarding the physical deployment obstacles before the installation," explains Cheri Beranek Podzimek, chief operating officer at Americable. "While not competing with the engineering firm or the cable installer, the CCG program gives the service provider access to network-design advice, ensuring the appropriate passive equipment is deployed at the correct network location, thereby preventing field downtime."
Answer Desk Services include component selection, product customization and design, and conceptual physical-layer network layout. Advanced Design Services will be tailored to augment services currently available to the provider, and options include central office design and layout; fiber-optic raceway design and implementation; ladder racking design and implementation; co-location design; ISP design; OSP design; campus physical plant design, implementation, and testing; work instructions; as well as testing, certification, and project close-out.
The company says that the fiber-to-the-home deployment market is a key target for its CCG Advanced Services program. "Americable was instrumental in saving FTTH Communications thousands of dollars in our fiber-to-the-home network by carefully mapping the correct number of fiber strands and splitter counts in our Evermoor project," comments John Schultz, general manager of FTTH Communications. "The design folks at Americable have a strong background in integrating the telephone, cable TV, and Internet connections necessary for FTTH platforms."
Members of the CCG are available via phone, e-mail, or fax. Specialists hold the Registered Communications Distribution Designer (RCDD) certification.
