Managed Connectivity for Precision Network Views Date:   Monday , November 24, 2014 TE Connectivity (NYSE: TEL) designs and manufactures products for a variety of industry ranging from automotive, data communication systems and several others. The company has a current market cap of $22.43 billion. As the world of networking moves towards small cells, the challenge remains as mobile operators deploy tens of thousands of these units to fill in coverage and capacity gaps. With more than 300,000 cell sites and a million or more DAS antennas present, managing the physical layer infrastructure that feeds them is a challenge. What complicates this further is the lack of clear visibility into network configuration, by site access restrictions and the need to be prepared for any eventuality. A managed connectivity system uses Connection Point Identification (CPID) technology embedded in the physical layer and a network management system to provide real-time reporting on the state of physical connections. It brings the physical layer of the network under the same management visibility, discipline, and control as the other network layers. Managed connectivity has significant benefits for Visibility, Optimization and Efficiency. With Large mobile operators typically having millions of network devices to inventory and manage, we have had network management systems that track activity at Layers 2-7 of the networking stack. However, operators have been forced to use manual, error-prone systems when it comes to documenting the physical layer. Typically, spreadsheets are used to track network configurations and equipment locations. Efforts to maintain manual documentation on the network require dozens of network engineers� time to update documents. Eventually, this lack of reliable information forces technicians to manually trace and verify connection and equipment locations before they do any work. This is a significant expense on the part of the mobile operator. Manual documentation also has a big impact on the timeliness and cost-effectiveness of network changes. When a repair is necessary, the technician is dispatched to the tower, rooftop, or customer premise without knowing for sure whether or not the equipment on the truck is adequate for performing the repair. This prolongs the time to repair, uses up network engineer time (in trying to maintain manual documents) that could be better spent elsewhere, and increases the cost of service calls. Managed connectivity provides the ability to know, in real time, when & where physical connectivity changes take place in the network, allowing the network physical layer to have the same visibility, discipline and control as other OSI network layers. By using the management system, service and network administrators can understand when a problem arises and then schedule a work visit with a technician. With instructions delivered via smartphone, the technician knows in advance which piece of equipment needs service and precisely what the problem is. Hence, on arriving at the site, the technician can get to work immediately fixing the problem rather than poking around trying to determine what the problem is. Managed connectivity hardware reports its status back to the database over the IP network. The database stores records of all the managed connection points in the network. The connection status of managed connectivity connectors can be monitored by the network management system. Saving technician time is critical for cost savings, especially since the cost of sending out a technician can far outpace the cost of the small cell being serviced. Metro cells have electronics that cost perhaps $500-$600, while it can cost $1,000-$1,500 to send a technician out to fix one. Making the most of that technician�s time is of the utmost importance, and managed connectivity systems can save 70 percent or more of a technician�s time at a given repair. Benefits of Managed Connectivity Managed connectivity addresses your network challenges through -Visibility, Optimization and Efficiency. 1. Visibility - Real-time visibility to all physical network connection information Immediate feedback on all connection related events 2. Optimization - Increased usage of all network assets, Improve time to resolution and Increased network availability 3. Efficiency - Clear technician guidance, immediate feedback on work order progress and accuracy. Automatic documentation updates The Future of Managed Connectivity Today, managed connectivity is relatively new, but it�s not hard to see how it will expand in the future. Eventually, we will see managed connectivity extend to all the elements in the network. Network connections are constantly changing with the advent of LTE, small cells, and continual scaling to accommodate more subscribers. Mobile operators can provide high visibility, increase optimization and improve efficiencies by implementing managed connectivity systems that can help address your network challenges in your physical layer.Managed connectivity brings Visibility, Optimization and Efficiency to a network that today is fraught with errors and costs, paving the way for a more efficient and cost-effective future.