Phone companies to add fiber-optic ring

By Lynn Hotaling

Last Tuesday (May 21) marked the second time in a month that a construction crew installing a natural gas pipeline has severed the single fiber-optic cable that connects Jackson and its neighboring counties to the outside world.

Spokesmen for Verizon and BellSouth confirmed Tuesday that the two companies plan to construct a SONET ring, a synchronous optical network, that should be operational in about a month.

"Installing a ring of fiber-optic cable provides redundancy," said Verizon's Paul Miller. "If it's cut in one place, the signals can go in the other direction."

Verizon's portion of the new line is complete, said Miller; BellSouth's Lavoy Spooner said he expects the new connector ring to be operational by the end of June. Central offices within a single company's network are usually connected by redundant routes, said Spooner.

"Any two offices are connected by more than one route so if there's damage between, there are other ways for the signals to go," Spooner said.

Currently there is only a single connection between Verizon and BellSouth, Spooner said, leading to the telephone and Internet outages local residents and businesses experienced last week.

"When that connection is cut, it isolates the western portion of the state," Spooner said. "Calls within the Verizon network can be completed but not other calls."

Last Tuesday's outage began at about 10 a.m. when the crew installing natural gas lines along U.S. 23-74 between Sylva and Balsam damaged Verizon's fiber-optic line, which provides long-distance telephone service to Jackson, Macon, Swain, Clay, Graham and Cherokee counties. Residents and businesses could call within their communities and access the 911 system but could not make calls elsewhere in the region. Service was restored late in the afternoon.

A similar situation occurred May 8 when the same crew severed the fiber-optic line.

The telephone company does not blame the gas line contractor for the outages, Miller said.

"It appears to us that the gas company contractor is not at fault," Miller said. "We have had a difficult time locating that fiber - it was put in 20 years ago." Verizon and BellSouth were planning the SONET ring before the recent outages, Miller said.

"I'm thrilled it's finally happening," said local businessman John Kevlin, who said he's pleased that the telephone companies are addressing the problem. "I've been been asking local leadership to look into the redundancy issue for the past two years."

"(Last week's outage) was devastating to my business because out-of-state customers were unable to contact me," said Kevlin, who owns Metrostat Technologies in Sylva. "We host our customers applications here; when the line is out, our customers ability to do business is crippled."

Such outages also impact the region's ability to attract technology-oriented businesses, Kevlin said.

"In almost every other area, WNC can compete with any other region in terms of high-tech business," Kevlin said. "However, such outages might raise doubts about this region's viability in attracting e-commerce companies if this situation is allowed to persist."

Uninterrupted access to the Internet is fundamental to the success of his business, Kevlin said.

"We have big out-of-state contracts with financial institutions to host websites and develop e-commerce applications for them," he said. "It's vital for us to be able to communicate with them."

Back to Archive: 05/30/02.