The Fiber Optics LAN Section (FOLS; Arlington, VA) of the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has released its third-generation interactive cost model for estimating LAN infrastructure costs, following two years of research and development. The new model focuses on supporting converged networks, and features a simplified user interface, facilitating tool customization.
Just like previous generations of the model, comparison results will be contingent on user input; however, when using the sample scenarios, the installed first costs of fiber-based solutions are shown to be either less expensive, or within 5% of the installed first costs of the traditional combined fiber backbone and UTP horizontal architecture. The interactive cost model is available on FOLS’ website as a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and a comprehensive, supporting document explaining the various scenarios and providing detailed instructions for use of the model is also available. Both are downloadable at no cost at www.fols.org.
“Since our second-generation model was released in late 2003, new standards have been released that make the fiber-to-the-telecom enclosure architecture standards compliant, plus the costs for fiber electronics are lower,” according to Gary Cawley, FOLS chairman.
The model compares the horizontal star architecture (UTP horizontal with fiber riser backbone) cost to three all-fiber architectures: centralized cabling (collapsed backbone), fiber-to-the-telecom enclosure (FTTE) low-density, and FTTE high-density.
Because FOLS members designed the new model from the ground up, its changes include: focus on network switches that enable converged network performance; inclusion of the new FTTE architecture, as it offers users a cost-effective and flexible network solution; comparison of standards-compliant architectures; the ability to create a completely customized comparison; a simplified user interface, incorporating drop-down menus to allow choices; use of aggregate pricing data derived from publicly accessible databases, such as www.peppm.org, an education and technology bidding program. In all cases, the pricing used in the model represents an average price taken from at least three different manufacturers.
“Many people know that optical fiber offers several benefits over the life of the network-such as reduced maintenance costs, ease of upgrading, and reduced downtime-but the model developed looks specifically at installed first costs,” explains Dan Harman, section vice chair. “Lower lifecycle costs are an important benefit of deploying fiber, but they are also more difficult to quantify. We felt that installed first costs were so critical to end users that we wanted to focus on them in the model. The model directly dispels the myth that fiber-based networks are always more expensive than copper networks.”
