Just a few years ago, placing aerial fiber was a fairly quick and inexpensive way to expand a fiber network using existing infrastructure.  Fast forward to 2015, and additional challenges surround that aerial deployment.  A number of factors have played into this change.  Congestion in the Telecom space on the pole, new loading and wind calculations with more stringent parameters, power companies moving to online Joint Use Requests, and less tolerance by pole owners to allow occupation that might force them to change out the pole at a future time for their new customers.  All of which has led to an increase in cost for the companies trying to attach! 

The key to solving these challenges is two-fold.  First you must sharpen your value and least cost engineering skills to understand what it takes to reach agreement with a pole owner in today’s competitive environment.  The second is to leverage new technology to quickly determine the feasibility of using existing power or communications poles in the field.  Enter Yates Engineering Services laser measuring photography equipment to help you and your team assess the best option(s) for aerial fiber placement.  Gone are the days when a technician needs to stand in the middle of the street and hold a height stick to determine clearances, or navigate a fence to determine the sag of the power Neutral and the height of the top existing communications cable on a pole.  The data can be gathered quickly and sent back as a file to be carefully annotated and rendered into pole loading software or a joint use request electronically.  At Yates Engineering, we are working with our engineering technician teams to innovate and find the best way to quickly and accurately gather aerial pole data for clients right now, and hopefully you in the future!