Fiber Monitoring for Reliable Network Performance

Posted by Kevin Miller on Fri, Jul 17, 2020 @ 11:07 AM

The Importance of Reliable Fiber Networks

According to a recent study from the Fiber Broadband Association and RVA, LLC, broadband use during the pandemic became critical as individuals weathered the uncertainty from their homes. One area where broadband saw a significant increase was the use of video conferencing, a technology that requires high levels of reliable bandwidth, as well as online gaming and video streaming.  A Lightwave article notes that in the first quarter of 2020 bandwidth use increased by 47%, with, “the average broadband subscriber consuming a weighted monthly average of 402.5 GB of data.”


By all accounts, unlike other industries caught flat-footed during the pandemic, the internet backbone performed as expected, delivering equivalent average speeds versus previous years in the face of much higher demand. Ensuring those levels of performance and reliability required long hours for the network maintenance teams. According to a quote from Verizon’s, CTO, “ Our network team has been working 24x7 since this crisis began to ensure we were able to meet the shifting demands as the virus took hold.”  

While businesses, municipalities, and schools are beginning to return to their regular operations, many have also pivoted to include continued remote working and learning options.  As they meet and review the responses and challenges associated with the recent, unexpected events, they should be pleased overall but will likely see opportunities for improvement in areas such as resource allocation and service levels related to downtime. Even if network demand appears to be easing back to nominal levels in some areas, it will be critical for these companies to continue to invest in technologies that help ensure high performance and reliability of their fiber network. 

To provide continuously reliable service, network operators need to actively monitor the integrity of the optical fiber infrastructure and quickly resolve issues when they arise.  By investing in a valuable tool like a fiber monitoring system, they can accurately identify the location of fiber breaks, tampering, and other issues.  Therefore, the investment into the monitoring system delivers key capabilities that significantly reduce the time for the service teams to locate and begin repair activities, saving hours time and related labor and operations costs.

Fiber Optics Monitoring Solutions

Designed to be an “all-in-one” technology, the fiber monitoring device available from M2 Optics incorporates all of the necessary elements such as an OTDR, 1XN optical switch, and management software into a single enclosure.  This approach results in a compact footprint, reducing rack space requirements while minimizing the number of individual hardware components resulting in added reliability and cost savings.  With such a space-efficient approach, the system scales easily, expanding as the network grows. 

A proven technology like the Remote Fiber Monitoring System from M2 Optics is proven to have a positive and quantifiable impact on the time, resources, and costs associated with managing and maintaining critical optical fiber infrastructures.


Learn more about Remote Fiber Monitoring.

Topics: fiber monitoring