Telecom/Electric
Failed Communications Hampered Response to Wildfires Last Fall
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Newly released records show failed communication systems hampered the response to deadly wildfires in Tennessee last fall. Records that Sevier County began to release Wednesday that wind and fire on Nov. 28 combined to disable cell towers, melt fiber-optic cables and di..
Clearfield's Fiber Optic Technology Now Telcordia Certified
Clearfield, Inc. today announced that its fiber termination process used to manufacture Clearfield LC/UPC 900 μm 1.6 mm and 2.0 mm jumpers and fiber assemblies have been tested by an independent test lab compliant to the Telcordia, GR-326-Core requirements. With the Telcordia GR-326 achievement, the..
Better Broadband Coming to 7 Vermont Towns Thanks to Grants
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) — People in seven rural Vermont communities will be getting better broadband internet service thanks to a series of grants through Connectivity Initiative distributed by the Department of Public Service. The Connectivity Initiative works to expand high-speed broadband service s..
BICSI Revises, Updates Telecommunications Project Management Program
BICSI, a worldwide association committed to advancing the information and communications technology (ICT) community, has released its newly revised Registered Telecommunications Project Management (RTPM) Program. The role of an effective project manager is crucial to the outcome of any successful p..
CommScope Completes Acquisition of Cable Exchange
CommScope, a global leader in infrastructure solutions for communications networks, has completed its acquisition of Cable Exchange, a privately-held, quick-turn supplier of fiber optic and copper assemblies for data, voice and video communications. Cable Exchange, based in Santa Ana, Calif., manuf..
Amphenol Telect Unveils New Fiber Distribution Chassis
Amphenol Telect has launched the C2LINX 1RU, a high-density fiber distribution chassis with cable management features designed to fit hyper scale networks in a variety of network environments, including enterprise, telecommunications and cable TV. “We’ve developed a panel that hits the high-den..
GE’s Wastewater Treatment Technology Honored
Federated Co-Operatives Limited’s Co-op Refinery Complex in Regina, Saskatchewan, was named Industrial Water Project of the Year, as the 2016-commissioned project representing the most impressive technical or environmental achievement in the industrial sector of the international water industry. Us..
Water Technology Trends Survey Results Available
The initial results of a survey intended to identify current and future trends for water technology implementation are now available in the form of a new interactive data visualization tool. Developed under the Leaders Innovation Forum for Technology (LIFT) – a joint initiative between the Water En..
Navigant Research: Utilities Need to Take a Pragmatic Approach to Energy Transformation
Navigant Research has released two reports examining how the energy transformation is playing out across distribution networks and providing examples of leading business models and practical recommendations for network utilities to realize a successful transformation. Distribution Utility Transforma..
Arcadis Report Underscores Importance, Value Of Innovation
As North American water utilities imagine the future of providing on-demand, high-quality, affordable water and sanitation services to the hundreds of millions of customers who depend on them, a new report underscores the value of innovation in meeting those challenges. Empowering Water Utility Inn..
“Smart Water” Technology Sparks Spending Change For Municipal Water
Solutions to the continuing conflicts between aging infrastructure and pressure on utilities to ensure a safe, resilient water supply, are increasingly focused on software, data and analytics. In US Smart Water: Defining the Opportunity, Competitive Landscape, and Market Outlook, Bluefield Research ..
HydraTech Enhances Internal Joint Seal
The HydraTite internal joint seal, manufactured by HydraTech Engineered Products LLC, has a long and proven history for repairing leaking joints in man-entry sized piping. When joints in box culverts, tunnels, conduits or other structures with non-circular or -elliptical profiles need repair, howeve..
Matthews Assumes Trenchless Technology Center Leadership Role
In March, Dr. John Matthews assumed the position of director of the Trenchless Technology Center (TTC) at Louisiana Tech University. TTC is a leading research facility for the development of technologies influencing the various trenchless construction and rehabilitation methods. It is recognized as..
CUIRE 15th Annual Engineering & Inspector Schools
The Center for Underground Infrastructure Research and Education (CUIRE) at the University of Texas-Arlington held its 15th annual trenchless technology inspector training and certification schools Jan. 29-30, in conjunction with the Underground Construction Technology International Conference & Exh..
Ubiquiti Networks Launches Plug and Play Fiber Optic Technology
Ubiquiti Networks, Inc. has launched the UFiber GPON Platform, consisting of the company’s UFiber OLT and the UFiber Nano G Optical Network Unit solutions. The UFiber Platform is designed to enable internet service providers to quickly build high-speed fiber internet networks for many users and ove..
Asking The Question About Undergrounding
Driving home recently, I spotted electric company personnel diligently working in the extreme heat and humidity to replace wooden power poles. It looked like this was going to be a major project as most of the poles in the area were in poor condition. The poles’ tenants – power and telephone lines, ..
Clearfield Quadruples Manufacturing Capacity in Mexico
Clearfield, Inc. has quadrupled its manufacturing capacity at its Tijuana, Mexico facility. The expansion will enable the company to lower its cost of product manufacturing while ensuring it continues to provide customers short lead times and on-time deliveries. “Our Mexican manufacturing facilitie..
French Cable Station Museum Is Link to the Past
ORLEANS, Mass. (AP) — Lucien Ozon came to Orleans when he was 15, when his father, Clement, moved his wife and seven kids from St. Pierre and Miquelon for a job with a French cable company. The Ozon family represents a pocket of French culture — among about 10 families in town today — that dates fr..
A. O. Smith, The Water Council Announce Technology Challenge Winner
A. O. Smith Corporation and The Water Council have selected Nanolytix of Toronto as the 2017 winner of the BREW Corporate: Powered by A. O. Smith challenge. Nanolytix is a pioneer in artificial intelligence and sensor technologies for water quality detection applications. The unique water quality s..
Cable ONE Business Eyes Mississippi for Piranha Fiber Launch
Cable ONE Business has announced it is currently considering Mississippi for its next launch of Piranha Fiber – Ferociously Fast Internet, which offers 2 gigabits per second of symmetrical internet speed. “Piranha Fiber would be the first 2 gigabit shared fiber optic internet service available to b..
Frontier Communications Partners with Coriant to Enhance Broadband Services in Connecticut
Coriant, a supplier of packet optical, IP, and SDN solutions to Tier 1 global service providers and web-scale Internet operators, today announced that Frontier Communications Corporation will deploy the company’s technology to modernize its fiber-optic transport infrastructure across Connecticut. Th..
Registration Opens for Contractors' Fiber Forum
Clearfield, Inc. today announced registration is open for the Contractors’ Fiber Forum, which will take place at ISE Expo 2017. As part of the forum, leading contractors, engineers and consultants will convene at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida on September 12 to examine the ..
New Jersey American Water Publishes Interactive Pipeline Map
New Jersey American Water has published an interactive Infrastructure Upgrade Map on its website to share details about its pipeline renewal projects. The user-friendly map allows customers to view details about the company’s water and wastewater pipe renewal or replacement projects across its 190 ..
Former FERC Member Releases White Paper Addressing Problems in the Nation's Electricity Markets
Tony Clark, a senior advisor at Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP and a former member of the Federal Energy Commission, has released Regulation and Markets: Ideas for Solving the Identity Crisis, a white paper which shows that almost 20 years after restructuring many of the nation’s electricity market..
Utility & Communications Construction Business Update
By Daniel Shumate Director, FMI Capital Advisors Inc. EDITOR’S NOTE: The past 25 years have seen many changes in the underground utilities universe. Technology advances, regulatory activity and environmental requirements have dictated major alterations in the way companies are managed. Rating as on..
Report: Global Seamless Pipes Market to Surpass $237 Billion in 5 Years
According to MarketsandMarkets™ Seamless Pipes Market by Type (Hot Finished, Cold Finished), Production Process (Continuous Mandrel Rolling, Multi-stand Plug Mill (MPM), Cross-roll Piercing & Pilger Rolling), Material, End-use Industry, and Region – Global Forecast to 2022, the seamless pipes ma..
Fiber-Optic Cable Cuts Affect Mediacom Customers in 3 States
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Thousands of Mediacom internet and television customers have experienced service interruptions in Georgia, Illinois and Missouri after a pair of large fiber-optic cables were accidentally cut. Mediacom Communications spokeswoman Phyllis Peters says a mower for a road crew..
Study: U.S. Water Utilities to Invest $8.3 Billion in Smart Infrastructure
According to US Smart Water Infrastructure: Market Forecast (2017-2027), a new study published today by Northeast Group LLC, U.S. water utilities are projected to invest $8.3 billion in smart infrastructure over the next ten years. “Our survey results show that water infrastructure in the US is mod..
Fluke Networks' LinkWare™ Live Reaches Industry Milestone
Fluke Networks today announced that its cloud-based LinkWare Live service has reached a significant milestone – contractors and cable installers have uploaded more than five million test results to date. “In developing LinkWare Live, we looked closely at the daily challenges that installers were fa..
Water Research Foundation Launches Project on Resilient Water Infrastructure
The Water Research Foundation has launched a new project to improve the resiliency of water utilities, specifically around infrastructure needs. The project, Resilient Water Infrastructure: Improving Understanding and Assessing Needs, will gather information from regions and municipalities (both sma..

- Authorities investigating trench collapse that killed worker in Ashburn, Va.
- NTSB publishes preliminary report on fatal gas pipeline explosion in Lexington, Mo.
- OSHA fines Calif. company for violations that led to fatal trench collapse
- Mass. governor slams Trump for ‘dangerous delay’ of $50 million in lead pipe replacement funds
- Ditch Witch West sells first Bulldog trencher to speed up undergrounding work along West Coast
- Maryland lawmakers push to curb BGE pipeline spending, citing safety and cost concerns
- Charlottesville, Va., to begin work on 24-inch water line for Rivanna River crossing
- Mass. governor slams Trump for ‘dangerous delay’ of $50 million in lead pipe replacement funds
- City of Albuquerque halts fiber optic construction in response to damage, complaints
- Pasadena, Calif., undergrounding project could take 500 years to finish