Serious Concerns and Serious Questions

from a qualified professional to Premier Danny Williams.

This is a copy of a letter sent by Robert K Noseworthy - to Premier Williams regarding the fibre optic deal.

Sue's Blog believes the information contained in this letter will assist the layperson in understanding some of the technical issues that have been discussed publicly.

Premier Williams,

First let me establish my credentials. I was employed with the Telephone Company (Avalon telephone, Nfld. Telephone, Newtel Telephone and Aliant Telecom) for 35 years, having taken early retirement in 2000. During my Career I worked in almost every aspect of the business, but the greatest part of my career was at Director Level: managing the Telecom Network in Newfoundland and Labrador; in Ottawa managing the National Telecom Network, and the last couple of years managing the Aliant Telecom Network in Atlantic Canada. I think I can say, without fear of contradiction that I have as much, if not more, experience, knowledge and understanding of operating a Telecom Network in Newfoundland and Labrador than anyone else in the country. I think that Paul Hatcher and Gilbert Bennett can vouch for that, both having previously worked for the telephone company.

Your announcement to partner with some companies to build another fiber optics route raises a number of issues.

You are likely aware that Aliant has a fully redundant network. Every essential piece of equipment is duplicated and transfer of a failed unit is automatic and transparent. The Fiber Optics Network across the Island is also fully redundant with a primary, fully buried fiber optic route and a secondary, aerial route from St. John’s to Nova Scotia and beyond. At key locations there are switches that automatically and transparently transfer service, from one route to the other, in case of failure.

Technical advances have expanded the capacity of a single fiber such that the existing fiber optic routes have sufficient capacity to service all the needs of the province for the foreseeable future.

Therefore the question arises why does the province need to subsidize another two fiber optic route(s) across the island and into Nova Scotia? I fail to understand how increasing operating costs, by providing more unnecessary infrastructure is going to reduce the cost of service to the public. Rather, it will allow the companies involved to remove their services from Aliant’s Network, making it less viable and put them on a network that is obviously not viable as it requires government funding.

The obvious and most cost effective solution is to work with Aliant to improve the reliability of their network and for Aliant to charge rates on their network that are reasonable.

My greatest concern, and I think most pressing to address, is the reliability of the fiber optic cables crossing the Gulf of St. Lawrence. My greatest nightmare has been a natural disaster or other incident that would sever all cables crossing the Gulf. Aliant experienced the severing of one cable several years ago when a ship hooked it. With the weather and other delays it took months to have repairs completed and the route returned to service. In the meantime all the communications coming into the province was dependant on the one remaining cable. There was some limited capacity through Labrador but not enough to make a difference. The addition of two more fiber optic cables crossing the Gulf of St. Lawrence will provide very little additional protection against a natural disaster or some other catastrophic occurrence in that relatively small geographic area.

The most secure design, for a fiber network, is a complete and geographically diverse ring. If a break occurs anywhere on the ring, service can be restored by feeding in both directions. This is the situation on the mainland, where rings are easily established because of the geography and alternate routes available in emergencies, some through the United States.

A ring for our province can be established by extending the existing fiber optic route, going up the Great Northern Peninsula, across the Strait of Bell Isle to Labrador City to connect with an existing fiber optic route serving that community form Quebec. This would provide a complete and geographically diverse fiber optic ring for the Province and ensure that a complete loss of service would be almost impossible. It is here that the government should make its investment.

I’m completely supportive of your vision and goals. We must take control and shape our future in this province. We must develop our people and build robust infrastructure to attract new business. We must work as a team. We must make investments that are based on real knowledge and experience and not on what appears to be a proposal by companies who want the government to subsidize their business.

I would appreciate your serious consideration of the issues I have raised. I’m available for further discussion, clarification or consultation.

Robert K. Noseworthy