Outside Plant Magazine Jan. 1997

OSP Technology & Trends

OSP and the World Wide Web A tremendous explosion

by Bob Green

In the early to mid-1940s, thousands of scientists and individuals were assigned to the task of developing a secret weapon. Most of the people had no idea what they were working on, and even those that knew really did not know what the results would be. When it was finally unleashed at a test site in a western desert, scientists and others looked in awe at the ascending mushroom cloud and apocalyptic destruction.

If you are involved in outside plant construction, then you also have had your hand in laying the groundwork for a colossal secret weapon. In fact, this secret weapon will impact societies in many ways far greater than Einstein's brainchild. Of course, the secret weapon I am speaking of is the Internet. The Internet was started by the Department of Defense in 1969 as a top secret project. The intent was to develop a computer network that would be virtually immune to nuclear attacks. Few, if any, could have conceived back then what the Internet has become today. It is no longer a secret, as millions of computers around the world are linked together. Information from individuals, universities, governments, libraries, etc., is readily available to anyone who invests in a computer, a modem, and subscribes to an Internet service.

The Cobbler's Children

Although, the telephone industry has helped to build the infrastructure to make this ongoing explosion in communications technology possible, many are just now wondering how they can benefit from it. Too often we in the telecommunications construction industry are like the cobbler's children; we are the last to use what we have created for others.

Many questions come to mind when we consider investing the time and money to become involved in the "Net." What are some benefits the Internet holds for readers of Outside Plant Magazine? Are there web sites specifically for our industry and, if so, where are they? How much does it cost to get linked into the Net, and how does one get started? How are people actually using it today in our sector of commerce? How are manufacturers setting up their cyberspace storefronts to fill industry needs?

What's the cost?

The cost of an adequate computer to take full advantage of the Internet typically runs $2,000 to $3,000. A dedicated phone line will cost approximately $25 per month, and the cost for local Internet access ranges from $20 to $40 per month. Prices may vary from area to area.

How to get started

Many people are willing to help new users get "up and running" at little or no charge. Contacts with friends, business associates, employees or local computer stores will generally turn up people who are willing to help. Local and long distance phone companies, as well as the local Internet providers, can become very valuable sources of information, too.

What is E-mail?

For those of you who have never used e-mail, relax. You don't have to start wearing thick glasses and a pocket protector to master the procedure. I won't go into specifics here, but it is very easy to use. In essence, e-mail is a message that you write on your computer and send to somebody else's computer via the Internet. Other files can be attached to the message, which can be pictures, pages of specifications information, or even entire computer programs. For example, let us say you are talking with an engineer, and he is trying to explain the finer details of a drawing or a product. If both of you have Internet accounts, he can e-mail drawings, specifications, or whatever is needed, quicker than a fax and without wasting paper. You can look it over on your computer monitor, and select portions to print out if necessary.

Technophobia

At this point it would probably be good to consider an attitude that keeps many from learning something new: Fear of technology. In conversations with people in our industry I have run into the perspective by some that they do not have the time to waste learning how to use the Internet. For some reason, this attitude reminds me of the story of the wood cutter who couldn't talk to a chain saw salesman because he was too busy chopping down trees with his axe.

Technophobia has always accomplished two things. The first thing it does is stops a person or company from learning about new processes or procedures that can benefit them. The second thing that it does is provide a significant competitive edge to the person or company that is willing to invest the time to learn and implement a new technique. Another way to look at it is to view the Internet as an information superhighway. Those that learn how to use it are motorists zipping along in cars, those that don't learn, are road kill.

Technophobia   Stops a person from learning about something new that can benefit them   Provides a competitive edge to those willing to learn a new technique.

According to Jay Warmke, Executive Director of BICSI, "Only a small percentage of people in our industry are linked into the Internet, and an even smaller percentage are making full use of what the Net has to offer. Most current industry users are doing so for the convenience of e-mail. I'm beginning to hear people proudly giving their email addresses to each other; it's like a status symbol. It's similar to what was happening with fax machines and fax numbers about five years ago. At first people were afraid of the new technology, but now most companies have fax machines, and it's hard to conceive of doing business without them. It's just a matter of time before the same thing happens with the Internet."

Warmke went on to say that nearly all the universities and colleges are now using the web services on a regular basis. BICSI has a new home page on the Internet, which holds a lot of useful free information, and he encourages everyone to visit (http://www. bicsi.com).

Joe Samuel with Atlantech in Lionville, Pennsylvania has been an Internet subscriber for about a year. Atlantech is a manufacturer's representative of communications-related outside plant materials. According to Samuel, "The Internet is a wonderful source of information. We have been able to find products and answers to questions, but we have found e-mail to be the most beneficial part of the Internet for our purposes. By using it we can reach all of our customers that have e-mail addresses almost immediately, without any long distance cost. E-mail is quick, inexpensive, and every thing is documented. You can send messages at any time of day or night, and not have to worry if a fax machine is turned on."

Gathering information

One of the most powerful and attractive services that the Internet provides is the ability to access just about any information that a person can think of. Howard Tipton of Carnes, Burkette & Wiltsee in Charlotte, North Carolina said he used the service several weeks ago to obtain a list of government approved bonding companies for a project they were compiling. When he gave me the address, I wondered how he ever found it - http://www.ustreas.gov/treasury/ bureaus/finman/ c570.html.

This brings up a good point. How do you find your way around on the Net? Rather than trying to dig through it by yourself the first time, have someone who knows how, show you how to run a search. Once again you will be amazed at how simple it really is.

For more advanced users here is a tip for an extremely powerful search vehicle. You can find literally anything with it. Go to http://www.metacrawler.com and try it out. It searches through several of the most powerful search engines at once and it is great to use for ferreting out hard-to-find information.

There is another way to find specific companies and information that is conveniently being provided by smart manufacturers and suppliers. They are putting their web addresses right on the packaging and advertising. Consider the following real-life example:

In a conversation with Dennis Thaxton, an engineer and consultant for Mid-South Consulting in Charlotte, North Carolina, I was told how they had just read an advertisement about a new method of boring cables. Mid-South was interested and wanted to get more information. The ad had the company's Internet address, so they huddled around their computer in the office that had web access, and quickly found the company's home page. All of their questions were answered in a matter of minutes. "This is the first time that I can personally say that I've seen the effectiveness of the Internet," said Thaxton.

American Polywater now has a web page and plans to advertise it. According to John Fee, author of the Pull Planner Software, and president of American Polywater, "We are taking an evolutionary, as opposed to a revolutionary, approach to the Internet. As new literature needs to be printed, we are including the web site address on it. We are not pulling all of our literature and starting new on everything. We are starting somewhat small and plan to grow with it over time."

Some other great web sites

We are all involved in business in one way or another. Government regulations are constantly changing and can have an immediate and severe impact on businesses large and small. To answer any government related questions, start at Infomine (http://www.ucr.edu/search/ ucr_govsearch. html). It is a very comprehensive search tool for these types of issues, whether it involves OSHA, EPA or other agencies.

The tax man soon cometh, so it's appropriate to list a site to obtain IRS forms and related tax information - http://www.irs.ustrea. gov/prod/.

For those involved with government contracts, don't miss the GovCon site - http://www. gov con.com. The Commerce Business Daily is available at this site for free. Rather than reading page after page of nonessential information, this site allows the user to type in search words. In a matter of seconds, every listing that matches the search comes up on the screen.

Communications construction industry sites

The communications construction industry is still very much in its infancy regarding fully utilizing the Net. There are a number of companies that still don't have a web page, some have what appears to be amateurish first attempts, while others are forging ahead and trying to take the lead.

Ditch Witch and JI Case both have developed excellent sites that are easy to use and have a large quantity of information available. I personally like the colors and layout of the Ditch Witch site the best. As one would expect, most of the Bell Operating Companies have developed excellent sites.

I personally have been involved in developing a site for a large plastics extrusion company (Carlon Telecom Systems) for the past several months. The goal was to develop an extremely easy-to-use, graphically pleasing site that had all of the information that people in the industry typically look for. During this process I have gained a whole new respect for others doing this type of work. It is not an easy task. Visitors to the Carlon site (http: //www.carlon.com/cts) say they like the animated backhoe that crosses the screen. Other features of the site include an entire catalog of information that's readily available on every product and includes pictures. Pressing the envelope a bit, we even created an interactive multimedia presentation on Multi-Gard multicell that users can download and view on their own machines. To help save some resources we included a downloadable electronic catalog about flexible raceways that was created in Microsoft Word. The user can keep it in his own computer and call it up anytime product or other information is needed. That should make a bunch of trees happy. (Stop by the site and let me know what you think. Click on the Links button and check out all the industry sites that are listed, and post a note to me if you have information on other sites that I might have missed.)

The Internet has the potential to become a massively powerful weapon in the hands of those who are willing to learn it and apply that power to their own benefit. It's a brand new beginning, and the choice is yours to decide what to do with it. Drawing from one of my favorite "Indiana Jones" movies, the phrase "Choose wisely" comes to mind.