Cabling industry meets Jan. 21-24: emerging applications follow historical demands for more - Cabling, Wiring and Enclosures

Communications News, Jan, 2002 by Ray Peckham

The nation's cabling and wiring industry will assemble this month in Orlando, FL, under a cloud. Technology events of the past year have left many feeling uncertain of the future and, at the same time, with some hope that an economic turnaround is under way.

At the winter BICSI conference, slated for Jan. 21-24 at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, event planners and speakers are set to dispel those uncertainties and boost the hopes of attendees. The conference program will examine where the cabling industry is going and what infrastructure will be required for emerging applications, in addition to the usual technical programs.

BICSI Executive Director Jay Warmke recognizes the challenge of reinvigorating those attending the event. "There are groups within the industry who, because of the dot-com meltdowns and some of the larger manufacturer shakeups, are feeling uncertain, feeling that perhaps the rules have all changed," he says. "This conference will demonstrate to them that they really haven't, that it's a minor bump in the road, but that the road is fairly well set."

Warmke says that the same factors that have driven growth in the cabling industry for the past 10 years are still in evidence. "From an historical perspective, the demands are always for more," he offers. "We have seen people holding off, because we, as an industry, have done a good job meeting their current needs."

Those needs, however, are about to change, Warmke asserts, as new applications require new cabling infrastructure. "I feel very confident--with 100% certainty--that such applications will present themselves in almost every industry," he says. "The demand will be there, and the infrastructure will have to be created to support that demand."

That trend will be echoed in the conference's keynote address, "Technology Avalanche Theory: How Does It Affect Us at the Infrastructure Level?", presented by Paul Andres, president of Andres Investments. Andres will focus on the industry's past achievements and future opportunities in the information revolution, looking at some of the technologies that exist today and those on the horizon.

Andres' keynote material will contain a technical and philosophical discussion of how communications has facilitated the evolution of humanity. Andres suggests that the world is on the edge of a breakthrough in the evolution of communication. "How wide a bandwidth is required to give reasonable video on demand he asks. "Without a very good conferencing link, everyone gets headaches and gets tired."

Based on human needs and given the compression ratios now available, Andres points to research that suggests a 2-Mbps bidirectional link provides an acceptable experience. "Right now, most of us have got in the order of .5-Mbps with cable modems. We are about two steps away from being able to do reasonable video on demand. That is the crossover between a technical model and an evolutionary model."

The whole presentation "is meant to open the conference with a call to arms to think differently about all the things attendees are going to see in the next four days," says Andres, "and to think about them not in just how they optimize a network, but how they optimize the human network we call society."

In addition, guest speakers will present information on the most recent events and concerns in the telecommunications and cabling industry. Those speakers include:

On Tuesday--

* Joseph Coffey, ADC Telecommunications, "Practical Applications of Media Conversion in Today's Networks."

* John Michlovic, PE, H.H. Robertson Floor Systems, "Cellular Floor ... A Safer Alternative to Office Wire Distribution."

* Patrick Sims, RCDD, Optical Solutions, "Fiber-to-the-Home Network Architecture: A Comparison of PON and Point-to-Point Optical Access Networks."

* Mike Tobias, Unique Fire Stop Products, and Jim Stahl Jr., Specified Technologies, "The Cable Installer vs. the Fire Wall."

* Brian Mordick, Hoffman, "Incorporating Thermal Management into Cabinet Designs."

* Wayne Carson, Carson Associates, and David Kiddoo, AlphaGary Corp., "Plenum Cables: Proven Safety and Performance."

On Wednesday--

* Shawn Smith, RCDD, Americable, "Passive Optical Networking Applications Using Fiber-Optic Branching Components."

* Paul Vanderlaan, RCDD, Belden Electronics Division, "Are We Bound for Trouble?"

* Warren Hicks, Corning Cable Systems, "Two-Fiber System Polarity for All Connectors."

* John Wages, The Siemon Co., "Environmental Sealed Cabling Solutions for Ethernet Applications."

* Panel Discussion, "The World of Non-Competing Telecommunications Organizations."

On Thursday--

* George Linnartz, Anixter, "Wireless Networks in Today's Business Environment."

* Valerie Rybinski and Christopher Magay, RCDD, Hitachi Cable Manchester, "Manufacturing Copper and Fiber-Optic Cables: The Basics."

Closing ceremonies on Thursday morning, Jan. 24, will include a presentation on leadership, team building and personal excellence from Jimmy Johnson, former NFL head coach.

Exhibitions will be open during a reception on Sunday evening, Jan. 20, and again Monday through Wednesday evenings, Jan. 21-23.