Fiber Optic Services And Products

EYE ON FIBER

Myths 3

According to Mr. Pearson, It seems to me that people do not want to use fiber. It has been around so long that people ought to accept the reality about which fiber professionals have known forever. But UTP will not die. People do not want to give up their beloved UTP. With all the benefits of fiber, people are still accepting the inferior alternative.

Fiber myths and misconceptions are still with us. For example, people still believe that fiber is more expensive than UTP. This is untrue when you are creating a network in a new building or rebuilding a network. My company, and the Fiber Optic LAN Section of the TIA, created a cost comparison spreadsheet. This spreadsheet shows that FTTD begins to cost less when the hidden costs of the UTP network are included. Those hidden expenses include all the costs that are required by the telecommunications room, a.k.a. CE wiring closet. These costs are significant and range from $20,000 to $60,000 per TR.

These costs include surge suppression, limited/card key access, dedicated temperature control, fire suppression, UPS and lots of hardware. All these costs are eliminated by use of FTTD. In fact, the price difference between a fiber NIC and a UTP NIC is irrelevant to the total cost picture!

Another myth - fiber is hard to install. False! Fiber optic cables have minimum pull strength of 125 pounds force. UTP is limited to 25 pounds force. How can fiber be more difficult than UTP?

Also, consider connectors. My two sons learned to install fiber optic connectors when they were 11 and 13. They obtained the high reliability and low loss that professionals achieve. If teenagers plugged into their CD players can be successful, are fiber connectors really hard to install?

The truth is that fiber can be less expensive than UTP. There a still a lot of people that need to be educated before they will see this truth for themselves.

Eric R. Pearson, Pearson Technologies Inc.

Eric R. Pearson, President of Pearson Technologies Inc provided this viewpoint. Located in Acworth, GA, Pearson Technologies Inc. provides technical consulting and training to fiber optic installers and designers. Mr. Pearson provides a counterpoint to my rather optimistic predictions. From his perspective, he feels that most people have not yet acknowledged the superiority of fiber. Eric R. Pearson, CPC, CFOS

For Mr. Pearson contact information, click here.

Respectfully submitted for your consideration,

Eric R. Pearson, CPC, CFOS

President

Pearson Technologies Inc.

For Mr. Pearson contact information, click here.

Pearson Technologies Web Sites

http://www.ptnowire.com http://www.FTTDnow.info

http://www.fiberopticlawsuits.info http://www.sfoi.info

Contact Pearson Technologies Inc.