The Fiber Optics LAN Section (FOLS--www.fols.org) of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA--www.tiaonline.org) has elected its slate of officers for 2006.
Dan L. Harman, applications engineer at 3M, was elected as section chair. "Dan is an excellent choice to lead the Fiber Optics LAN Section," said Gary Cawley, chair in 2005. "He has been an active force in the section for several years, most recently playing an integral role in developing the section's latest generation of our cost model."
Cawley added that, "Dan has a lot of exposure to end users and brings to the FOLS a true understanding of the challenges they face. He can help the section better answer the concerns and questions that users face when they make their infrastructure decisions."
"This is an exciting time to be leading the FOLS," said Harman. "Fiber is gaining mindshare among users as they become aware of the cost and performance benefits it offers compared to new generations of UTP copper. Fiber is an especially attractive option for users who want the flexibility of supporting voice, data, video, and security over the same infrastructure."
In addition to Harman, the following other leaders in the fiber-optic industry have been elected.
Vice chair: Andrew Oliviero; OFS
Communications subcommittee chair: Rodney Casteel; CommScope
Membership subcommittee chair: Beni Blell; Berk-Tek, a Nexans Co.
Standards subcommittee chair: Herb Congdon, Tyco Elecronics
FOLS serves as an educational resource, providing information to users about the benefits of fiber in customer-owned networks. The group offers a free interactive cost model, as well as case histories, FAQs, and standards updates. Now in its thirteenth year, FOLS was originally founded to provide information on the use of fiber in the backbone and horizontal portions of a premises network.