AN INTEGRATED GIS AND GPS-BASED APPROACH FOR MANAGING LAYER 3 FIBER NETWORKS

As Fiber Optic network expands, the need for a complete knowledge of the routes within the network is vital. Fiber break occurs regularly due to environmental stress or human factors which include sabotage; hence, the cable routes change constantly. Unfortunately, these changes are usually not reflected in the Asbuilts drawing produced by the contractors after implementation. This is because the maintenance of the routes are usually awarded to maintenance companies, hence on expiration of the existing maintenance contract, updated routes information will pose a problem for the new maintenance company and a lot of time will be spent by the team in resolving a break. Also, the present practice is such that Asbuilts and paper documentation required to resolve a break are not centrally stored, hence cannot be queried. Hence, there is a need for Asbuilts information to be accessible in realtime from a central monitoring location for more quicker and intuitive response. In this paper, Quick Geographic Information System (QGIS) and Geographic Positioning System (GPS) were integrated and used to demonstrate how a fiber optic network routes could be managed while taking into consideration the aforementioned challenges. A case study of an existing Fiber network of Layer 3, within Victoria Island, Nigeria was used to test the integrated approach. Results obtained reveal the existing infrastructures showing a spatial distribution of Hand holes which makes it easier to map out the logistics for fiber deployment to any prospective client within the study area. The determination of required civil work and the length is made possible and costing prepared before formal field work. Also, as the joints increases within a fiber route, there is a drop in signal. The integrated QGIS-GPS approach makes it easier to identify the number of joints along a fiber route and enable the fiber team calculate the loss budget hence making a timely decision to either recall and replace fiber cable or not. This paper concludes that this integrated QGIS-GPS approach can assist the telecommunication industry in enhancing fiber optics network' planning and management efficiencies.