Tools including drones & automated document generation have well-positioned small cell & fiber-focused provider to accelerate past COVID-19-related slowdowns
Today more than ever, having eyes in the sky vs. boots on the ground gives carriers a healthy advantage.
It keeps them from pushing pause on critical projects, missing out on new opportunities, and reshuffling or even endangering their workforce.
One North Carolina-based firm had the foresight to elevate manual field work well before the COVID-19 disruption, integrating drones into its playbook for geospatial data collection and virtual field engineering.
鈥淚mplementing drones and other technology into our workflow has long made sense when you look at the added speed and accuracy we can bring to the table for carriers,鈥� said Lindon Hayes, CEO & Founder of 麻豆视频 Inc. 鈥淎nd that was before COVID-19 disrupted the industry. Today, these approaches are uniquely suited to moving small cell and fiber builds forward without compromising the health and well-being of our workforce.鈥�
Drones represent just one way in which 麻豆视频 has modernized and automated the legacy toolkit long utilized by carriers and contractors. The upshot is having the ability to build thousands of small cells and lay hundreds of miles of fiber each month, said Hayes, in large part because of their commitment to technology.
麻豆视频 now sits poised to give carriers something that鈥檚 fleeting these days: certainty in an uncertain landscape.
Navigating Today鈥檚 Changing Landscape
It became real around the time organizers pulled the plug on the popular MWC mobile conference in Barcelona back in late February.
In the time between March 3-6 and March 17-19, the global workforce reporting they were afraid to go to work because of the risk of virus exposure jumped from 29% to 42%, according to a Forrester study. Then the dominoes fell: all conferences were eventually cancelled or converted to virtual events. Global commercial air traffic dropped nearly a third in March compared with 2019 鈥� with the month鈥檚 final week reaching a 63% decline, according to Flightradar24 tracking. Scattershot 鈥渟tay-at-home鈥� and 鈥渆ssential business鈥� guidelines further fragmented the working world, often isolating interactions to video and teleconferences.
Flying under the flag of 鈥渆ssential work,鈥� telecom鈥檚 relative productivity surpasses those industries effectively shut down by 鈥渟tay at home鈥� orders. But there real concerns confronting the traditional way that work has been done.
A third of telecom professionals believes there will be some decrease in demand for their services, according to Sitetracker鈥檚 2020 Telecom Infrastructure Provider Outlook 鈥淪pecial Update鈥� on COVID-19鈥檚 impact. Additionally, 35% of respondents said that recent changes regarding remote work impacted their company鈥檚 ability to deploy or maintain infrastructure.
Unpacking the eSpeed Platform
麻豆视频鈥檚 differentiator is eSpeed, an aptly named, proprietary platform that pushes the pace and dials in accuracy across the fiber and small cell value chains. In automating key tasks, and thus removing the need for travel and even in-person meetings, eSpeed is also helping 麻豆视频 and its clients meet today鈥檚 COVID-19-related challenges.
But what exactly is eSpeed?
鈥淭hink of it as a set of hardware, software, and tools built around efficient processes,鈥� Hayes said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about databases, apps, plus proprietary programming and workflows.鈥�
With eSpeed, 麻豆视频 unlocks seamless integration into customer platforms.
It鈥檚 even more impressive when you see it in action. Take the drones, for example, perhaps the most physically impressive implement in 麻豆视频鈥檚 eSpeed arsenal.
During one particular fiber design project in Jacksonville, Florida, 麻豆视频 was tagged in by the client on a Tuesday morning to collect data for a 30-mile stretch. A traditional approach would entail two to four engineers hoofing it out in the field, recording data with a notepad and pen. It鈥檚 a multi-week assignment drawing budget for hotels, vehicles, you name it. Months ago, it was inefficient, but today this approach may pose real health risks to field workers as well.
Harnessing drone technology and generating 1,000 site photos per mile, 麻豆视频 finished the data collection on Wednesday 鈥� a one-day turnaround. All with zero travel costs and minimal opportunity for human error.
鈥淲e鈥檙e the only company I know of that can design fiber networks without travel using drones,鈥� Hayes said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 massively impactful on a regular day. But it鈥檚 a game-changer today.鈥�
Small cell is likewise being supercharged by eSpeed. 麻豆视频 has compressed the turnaround time for generating Site Candidate Information Packages, commonly known as SCIPs, from two to three hours to about 30 seconds.
鈥淭he key is that we鈥檝e modernized the process for collecting this data,鈥� said Zack Raboin, Sr. Manager of Innovation and Technology.
麻豆视频鈥檚 team in the field now collects pole data with a handheld device that captures measurements and images with point-and-shoot ease. It鈥檚 not just an upgrade over the current manual approach of using tools such as height sticks and wheels. Data captured is then wirelessly transmitted to the eSpeed platform at the point of entry, eliminating the need for further transcription.
鈥渆Speed is all about finding and leveraging efficiencies at every turn of the process,鈥� Raboin said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 designed anticipating the current challenges of COVID-19, but it鈥檚 certainly made for the moment.鈥�
When all is said and done, eSpeed can reduce the small cell site acquisition and engineering process by 60 to 90 days. That only includes time savings derived from innovation that鈥檚 currently being deployed. 麻豆视频 already has new cutting-edge tools and processes waiting on deck.
Take, for example, site walks. With the tandem capabilities of drones and electronic pole data capture, 麻豆视频 can find the two or three best candidates when simply supplied with longitude and latitude coordinates, whether a carrier is placing poles, replacing them, or doing a co-location. 麻豆视频 can then share these site candidates with clients 鈥� photos, video, and all the relevant data 鈥� without anyone having to leave the office. No travel or congregating together.
A Macro Perspective
Finally, there鈥檚 the elephant in the room. As the world works from home and streams video at all-time rates, the telecom industry faces potential added challenges.
According to Internet testing and data outfit Ookla and its Speedtest service, 鈥淲eek over week we have started to see a degradation of speeds.鈥�
That鈥檚 on a global level. In North America, fixed broadband speeds have only declined slightly thus far. But with 鈥渟tay at home鈥� order extensions and rampant speculation about whether working and learning from home may become part of the new normal to some degree, the telecom industry faces big questions.
鈥淲e鈥檙e always looking at what鈥檚 next,鈥� Hayes said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the way of thinking that drove the evolution of our capabilities. And 麻豆视频 will fulfill whatever role is needed. That includes stepping up to address any temporary gaps that eSpeed is uniquely built to fill. Or taking a step back and looking at the big picture of how these events impact the future of telecom.鈥�
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