A new FBI report (http://www.fbi.gov/hq/majorthefts/coppertheft_120308b.htm ) has come out that focuses on the rise of thefts on copper cable and other valuable components of both the power and communications industries: 

Copper thieves are threatening US critical infrastructure by targeting electrical sub-stations, cellular towers, telephone land lines, railroads, water wells, construction sites, and vacant homes for lucrative profits. The theft of copper from these targets disrupts the flow of electricity, telecommunications, transportation, water supply, heating, and security and emergency services and presents a risk to both public safety and national security.¹

Over the years, I have advocated upgrading to fiber optics which would provide a leading-edge framework for broadband connectivity.  Now, it also seems like a safer bet as the backbone component for our network infrastructure.

What is needed today is an upgraded platform for commerce that includes a network infrastructure which can support multiple gigabit speeds.  With the increased value in copper as a raw material, pieces of the network have become targets for those trying to cash in material that is readily available and easily hacked off.

NOW IS THE TIME TO REPLACE COPPER

When the telephone network was initially built, it was built with copper wiring over a century ago.  The copper served the purpose well and from an engineering standpoint, it was a great vehicle for cost-effective voice communications.

We are in a new century and the demands for network communications have changed as well as expanded.  Both subscribers as well as network carriers have found out that voice communications can be readily handled by wireless means and that the heavy uses for a wired infrastructure have evolved to high-speed data and broadband video.

With so many organizations spending money on countermeasures and security measures, you have to ask the question, “Why not spend that money to just replace the copper with fiber optics?”  The FBI Report also observed:

Industry officials have taken some countermeasures to address the copper theft problem. These include the installment of physical and technological security measures, increased collaboration among the various industry sectors, and the development of law enforcement partnerships.⁹ Many states are also taking countermeasures by enacting or enhancing legislation regulating the scrap industry––to include increased recordkeeping and penalties for copper theft and noncompliant scrap dealers. However, there are limited resources available to enforce these laws, and a very small percentage of perpetrators are arrested and convicted. Additionally, as copper thefts are typically addressed as misdemeanors, those individuals convicted pay relatively low fines and serve short prison terms.

When will all the “experts” figure out that upgrading to fiber for the network infrastructure is long overdue?  Why do people want to protect an antique infrastructure?

Take all the money you would spend on security measures as well as recycling the copper itself and a part of the upgrade to fiber optics would be covered. 

STAGECOACHES ARE OBSOLETE IN TODAY’S NASCAR WORLD

As I have said before, we must stop running our stagecoach-era network infrastructure in the competitive NASCAR world.  Speed is king and the king of speed is not the United States. 

As I said in the past, putting DSL on copper is like putting on a vinyl top on a stagecoach in the era of the space shuttle.  It is far from being enough to compete in the global economy and yet so many have bought off on the hype.

Maybe the catalyst to upgrade the network will not come from educated and demanding consumers, but more from the acceleration of criminals hauling off pieces of the network.

Will crime become the catalyst for network upgrades to fiber?  Soon you will be seeing bumper stickers that read, “If you are running at gigabit speeds, thank organized crime.”

Maybe organized crime has done more in the last year to focus on the need to upgrade to fiber than most state legislatures.  Now that’s the real crime.

CARLINI-ISM :  Leading-edge countries do not maintain their position with trailing-edge infrastructures.