The Electric Cooperative Industry: Alden One Meets Joint Use Challenges 

The Electric Cooperative Industry: Alden One Meets Joint Use Challenges 
Roy M. Palk, who has worked with electric cooperatives since 1970, is enthusiastic about the opportunities in the rapidly changing technological landscape.  When Roy M. Palk started working in electric cooperatives in 1970, the cable television boom was just around the ...

Take Control of Violations & Utility Data Management with Alden One

Utility asset owners and asset attachers face pressing violation management challenges due to the growing demand for ...

Electric Co-ops & Alden One: A Winning Combination for Joint Use Collaboration

It’s a new year with a familiar story for utility joint use asset management. Asset-owning electric utilities and attaching ...

Standardize Processes with Alden One Activities and Workflows

Alden One is a web-based, cloud-hosted platform that supports all types of utility assets, including distribution poles, ...

What’s New in Alden One – 2023 Roundup of Features & Enhancements

In 2023, our team released many Alden One enhancements aimed at delivering a superior, more efficient user experience. We ...

Alden One: Contracts & Billing Create Transparency, Automate Progress 

By connecting utility asset owners, attachers, and engineering and construction firms, Alden One helps to streamline and ...

A Deep Dive into how Alden One’s Data Lake Empowers Analytics

Part two of Alden Systems' series on “The Value of the Alden One Data Lake for Joint Use Asset Management.” Read the first ...

Track Streetlight Assets in Alden One

In response to requests from our users, it’s now possible to track and manage the attributes of streetlights through ...

Alden One: Joint Use Asset Management Drives Clarity & Collaboration

Managing utility infrastructure assets comes with inherent challenges. Often, utility networks consist of multiple smaller ...

Alden One: How Joint Use Software Turns Your Data into Action

Behind-the-scenes heroes power our nation's critical utility joint use infrastructure. Utility asset owners, engineering ...

Capture, Share, Act: Task Agent App Moves You in the Right Direction

The increased demand for fiber rollout keeps driving competition in the utility space, underscoring the need for the utmost ...

Alden Names Tom Brandewie Senior Director of Sales

Alden Systems is pleased to introduce Tom Brandewie as our newly appointed Senior Director of Sales! In a recent interview, ...

Overcome the Problem of Disparate Utility Data Collection & Reporting

Two challenges are converging in the utility industry. With the massive growth in the volume of attachment requests driven ...

Overcome Challenges Presented by the Flood of Attachment Requests

The Alden One Data Lake: What are the Benefits for Utility Companies?

Part one of a series titled "The Value of the Alden One Data Lake for Joint Use Asset Management." Read the second article ...

Alden appoints Zach Hester Director of Customer Success

Alden Systems is excited to announce Zach Hester as our new Director of Customer Success! We sat down for a Q&A ...

Joint Use Collaboration: Lessons From the 2023 Alden Conference

“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” Henry Ford.

Alden Systems’ User Conference Insights: Top 3 Changes to Prepare for

Could agility be the single most important quality you’ll need for success in the joint use industry today? Alden Systems ...

RDOF Funding Updates: Insights into How the FCC is Proceeding

This article is the second in a series that examines the progress of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auctions — with ...

RDOF Funding: A Review of Auction Results and Progress

This article is the first in a series that examines the progress of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auctions — with ...

3 Challenges of Fiber Deployment and How to Improve the Process

Consumers are eagerly awaiting the next step in broadband technology: 5G. With an explosion of small cell and fiber ...

Inside the Alden Conference: Real Talk with Utility Professionals

What happens when you gather together with joint use professionals and utility industry leaders and give them an open forum ...

How Cross-Team Collaboration Helps to Meet 5G Rollout Timelines

Alden Systems’ CEO explains why a team mindset is the best approach to a demanding deployment schedule and how the right ...

6 Ways Business Automation Software Breaks Down Silos for 5G Providers

Despite some speedbumps laid by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the rollout of 5G wireless service continues across the ...

How Tech Drives Efficiencies to Meet 5G Rollout Timelines

When it comes to the fast-paced utility and telecommunications deployments needed to meet the 5G rollout timeline, every ...

How an Asset Management Platform Can Help Your 5G Rollout Timeline

Data management, permitting, and internal and external communications become less daunting with the right technological tools

Implementing Solutions to Deliver on the Promises of 5G

Read Closing the U.S. Digital Divide: Why We Should Think Small to Win Big in AGL Magazine to learn why John Sciarabba, CEO ...

5 Steps to Leverage Data for Broadband Deployment Challenges with ISE

Leverage your resources to take advantage of 5G market demands.

Harnessing the Power of Data to Drive Better Decisions

In modern asset management, time is money. Whether a company’s assets are utility poles or cell towers, many costs—such as ...

Alden CEO Shares Insights in ISE's Podcast on Becoming a 5G Leader

Overcome the lack of resources with these key steps that drive efficiency Service providers are facing an incredible ...

Where We Are Now: The Status  and  Deployment  of 5G  Explained

When 5G wireless service appeared in the first few US markets more than two years ago, it arrived on a wave of anticipation. ...

How  Data Will  Drive the  Future of AI in  Asset  Management

In simpler times, joint use asset management for a utility or communications company wasn’t so daunting. It was important ...

AGL Highlights Alden CEO John Sciarabba’s June AGL Summit Talk

Learn Why Driving Operational Efficiencies Is Essential to Increasing ROI at the Tower Alden Systems CEO John Sciarabba ...

Remote Sensing Technology: 5 Things  to  Understand

Although remote sensing has been around in some form for many decades, this technology has emerged as one of the most ...

Network Densification & the Joint Use Industry

A couple of years into the deployment of 5G technology many asset owners, including utilities and municipal governments, ...

Closing the Digital Divide: How FCC Regulations Impact  Broadband

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that at the beginning of 2021, at least 3.8 million households with school-aged children ...

How Increased Demand for Fiber Technology Will Change the  Industry

As communications and broadband technology evolved rapidly over the past two decades, optical fiber networks played a ...

Enterprise Software Training: Why It Matters More Than You Think

Your company has just purchased an enterprise software system. The road to get here has been long. It’s been a significant ...

Alden Systems, McLean Engineering Team Up to Bridge the Digital Divide

Shift  from  a Project to Process Mindset: Get Onboard or Fall Behind

Part Four of our series “The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes.” Read the other articles ...

Data Driven Decisions Are Crucial to 5G Deployment

Part Three of our four-part series “The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes.” Read the other ...

What Joint Use Stakeholders Must Recognize for a Smoother 5G Rollout

Part Two of our four-part series “The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes.” Read the first ...

The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes

This article is the first in a four-part series that explores changes utilities can make to realize more effective 5G ...

How Small Cell 5G is Affecting Municipalities

The spread of 5G wireless service across the country continues with great fanfare. Communications companies are trumpeting ...

Guide to Communicating the Importance of Joint Use to All Stakeholders

For the many people responsible for deploying and maintaining utility and communications infrastructure, joint use is a more ...

Rising to the Demands of Massive Data Collection

A global drone company had a big job on its hands: collecting data on 20k+ utility poles per month and then providing a pole ...

The Joint Use  Evolution: The High Cost of Not Working Together

Joint use in the utility sector began as a simple resource-sharing proposition between electric utilities and telephone ...

How Data Management is Changing the Face of the Joint Use Community

The concept of multiple providers jointly occupying space on physical assets is nothing new; for decades, electric utilities ...

Why Digital Twin Utilities Usage Is on the Rise

As the technologies used to create digital twins have become better and more affordable, forward-looking companies in many ...

How Power Utilities Manage the Explosion of Small Cell Installations

Small cell is bringing big changes to joint use departments of electric utilities, telecommunications and broadband ...

Small Cell Technology: Top Joint Use Challenges

Endless demand for wireless data and advances in technology are ushering in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial ...

Small Cell Backhaul Requirements for Telecommunications

Businesses are in a rush to get small cell wireless attachments deployed. In the past couple of years, competitors entered ...

6 Ways Small Cell Infrastructure Is Impacting the Industry

Several years ago, the buzz began about the incoming mass deployment of small cell attachments. Annual deployment continues ...

What Is Digital Twin Technology and Why It Matters to Your Bottom Line

Digital twin technology is gaining traction across a widening range of industries, including utilities. Reasons include ...

The Future of Small Cell Sites for Telecoms

In the past few years, communications companies have deployed thousands of antenna systems to fuel next-generation 5G, and ...

5 Ways Small Cell Wireless is Changing Connectivity

For wireless consumers, small cell wireless promises ultra-fast connections, stronger signals, and exciting new technology ...

In Perfect Alignment with Alden One®: IREA

Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) is an 82-year-old Colorado-based rural electric association with roughly ...

Digital Twin Use Cases Demonstrate Benefit to the Utility Industry

As the technologies that can produce a detailed digital duplicate of a company’s physical assets are becoming more ...

Digital Twin and IoT: A Powerful Combination for Productivity

As our nation’s fast-expanding utility and communications infrastructure become more complex every year, the value of ...

The Joint Use Industry: A Digital Twin Example at Work

In the joint use industry, confusion and uncertainty are the arch enemies of cooperation. They cause delays in permit ...

A Closer Look at Digital Twin Definition and Why It’s So Important

The concept of a digital twin has been around for well over a decade, but many industries have been giving it a serious look ...

Tilson: Innovating and Multitasking with Alden One®

Tilson is a network development and information infrastructure firm providing professional services to national ...

Alden One® on the Job: Minnesota Power

Minnesota Power is an investor-owned utility with roughly 145,000 customers, whose services cover roughly 26,000 square ...

What Is a Digital Twin and How Is it Changing the Joint Use Industry?

The digital revolution that began a few decades ago continues to rapidly reshape the way companies around the world do ...

How Digital Twin Technology Can Improve Asset Management

The pace of change in today’s utility and communications landscape is accelerating almost constantly. Joint use requests are ...

Alden & Leica Geosystems Join Forces to Simplify Utility Data Capture

Let’s start with a common scenario: A communications company files a permitting application with an electric utility to ...

Meeting the Challenges of 5G Small Cell Deployment

The 5G rollout has begun in cities across the U.S., and applications for small cell attachments to utility and streetlight ...

Storm Hardening 101: What Utilities Should Consider and Why

Utility professionals have always been at war with the weather. Disruptive storms, whether in the form of hurricanes, ...

6 Joint Use Resolutions for 2020

The past few years have brought significant changes to the electric utility and communications sectors. The small cell ...

How Utilities Can Prepare for Severe Weather with Storm Hardening

The decision to implement a storm hardening program is a big step for any utility company. Large-scale storm hardening can ...

6 Reasons Storm Hardening is Essential for Utilities

Weather-related power outages have been inevitable as long as electric utilities have existed. The basic questions utilities ...

Storm Hardening & Severe Weather Preparedness for Utilities

Utilities have always had to contend with the ravages of weather, particularly after massive storms that damaged or ...

Utility Data Collection: The Past and Future of Inventory

For utility companies, accurate data is essential to effective asset management. Power providers need up-to-date data to ...

The Nation’s Fastest-Growing Joint Use Event: We Want You to Join Us!

At Alden, we understand that joint use professionals work better when everyone works together. Since 1995, we have centered ...

Joint Use 101 for Utility Poles and Other Assets

By the middle of the 20th century, many Americans likely felt they had reached the pinnacle of high-tech living. In ...

FCC Small Cell Overview: Resources and Guide

By now, many consumers of wireless services are aware that 5G is on its way. In a few U.S. cities, the newest generation of ...

Preparing Staff for FCC Small Cell Regulations is an Ongoing Process

The small cell revolution is underway. Deployment is accelerating as the 5G rollout continues. With the mass explosion of ...

What the FCC’s Small Cell Ruling Means for Telecoms and Broadband

When the FCC issued its Third Report and Order on small cell attachments in September 2018, wireless telecommunications ...

A Review of What the FCC’s Small Cell Ruling Means for Municipalities

The restrictions, requirements, and obligations in the FCC’s Third Order and Report on small cell wireless deployment ...

Playing by the FCC Small Cell Rules: Fees and Restrictions

The goal of the FCC’s Third Report and Order on small cell wireless deployment, issued in September 2018, is to remove any ...

Playing by the FCC Small Cell Rules: Timelines

The FCC’s Small Cell Third Report and Order, is all about speed. The Third Report and Order regulates deployment of small ...

The FCC Small Cell Order: Everything You Need to Know (Part 2)

The September 2018 Third Report and Order was designed to speed up deployment of small cell wireless infrastructure across ...

The FCC Small Cell Order: Everything You Need to Know (Part 1)

The race to roll out 5G wireless broadband service is under way in the United States. In September 2018, the Federal ...

Rapid Technological Changes and the Joint Use Industry

This year, progressive technology is generating massive changes for the United States. We find ourselves in the middle of a ...

The Latest with One Touch Make Ready: Updates and Resources

Several companies are re-evaluating their processes and molding their day-to-day to business to align with the new FCC ...

Digging into the FCC's Third Report and Order & One Touch Make Ready

Professionals in the joint use industry are preparing for compliance under the FCC’s Third Report and Order. The FCC’s ...

What You Need to Know About OTMR

If you have been following industry news or reading our blogs, you may know by now that the Federal Communications ...

One Touch Make Ready Tip Sheet: 5 Ways to Get FCC Compliant

New OTMR guidelines range from shortened timetables to specific processes. The primary parties involved (asset owners, ...

A Few of our Favorite Things

We are thankful for the people that make our communities better. The quiet heroes of our society linger in unexpected places ...

FCC Compliance and One Touch Make Ready

The Federal Communications Commission’s One Touch Make Ready order (OTMR), issued in August of 2018, spells out the rules, ...

Preparing Your Staff: One Touch Make Ready and Broadband Deployment

The FCC’s One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) order has placed the joint use community and its personnel in a new and uncharted ...

The Promises of One Touch Make Ready (OTMR)

If you’ve been reading our latest blog series, you know that the FCC issued a Report and Order in August for the new policy ...

Getting Started with OTMR: Make Ready Work

Across the United States, the joint use community is busy transitioning to the new rules and timetables established by the ...

Challenges with FCC Internet Regulation and One Touch Make Ready

The FCC’s One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) order, issued in early August, involves big changes for everyone in the joint use ...

Are You Ready for One Touch Make Ready?

The stage has been set for major advances in technology, and that means big changes for the joint use community. In August, ...

How Dark Fiber Impacts the Telecom & Power Industry

Installing fiber optic cable can be an expensive and lengthy process. Often, it requires an extended period of right-of-way ...

The Impact of Fiber Optic Internet & Small Cell on Joint Use

There are big changes on the horizon for joint use professionals. With the race to attach and deploy services, the next few ...

What is Fiber Optic Cable? 7 Things Joint Use Should Know

Fiber optic broadband is sweeping the nation. Fiber's advantages over copper include faster speeds, durability, and ...

Labor Day Isn't a Holiday for All Workers

The first Monday in September is dedicated to celebrating the American worker. Labor Day supports the goals of our Founding ...

What DAS and Small Cell Attachers Want to Know About Your Assets

We interviewed Dianne Costello, Product Manager of Managed Services and Client Training, at Alden. We asked what small cell ...

4 Ways to Streamline Joint Use Processes for Small Cell Deployment

One of our clients recently mentioned that within just a few weeks, their joint use department went from having five small ...

3 Cities to Explore on Independence Day

Independence Day is characterized by fireworks, barbecues, and quality time with friends or family. It is a day to reflect ...

Small Cell Architecture 101

Utility poles offer the necessary power and connectivity that is vital for small cell deployment. Providers will likely ...

DAS vs. Small Cell: 7 Ways They are Different

Cell phone signals have become much more reliable in the last few years. Making calls from your office, home, or school ...

What are Small Cell Attachments? Introduction for Joint Use Owners

Nationwide, utilities and other asset owners are seeing an influx of inquiries and permitting applications for small cell. ...

Cybersecurity Series: Joint Use Infrastructure Best Practices

With numerous cybersecurity threats discussed in the four previous posts, it is no wonder some leaders in the joint use ...

Cybersecurity Series: CATV and Broadband Providers (Part 4/5)

In the early days of cable service, providers encountered attackers who tried to steal service, customer data, and video ...

Cybersecurity Series: What are Communications Companies Facing?

Communications companies possess extensive consumer data, including financial and behavioral information. Customers ...

Cybersecurity Series: What are Power Companies Facing? (Part 2/5)

The U.S. electric grid consists of more than 7,000 power plants, 55,000 substations, 160,000 miles of high-voltage ...

Cybersecurity Series: Manage Critical Infrastructure Risks (Part 1/5)

As the joint use industry inches closer to a technology-based future, cybersecurity is an everyday concern. In the last few ...

The Rise of Distributed Antenna Systems: The Impact on Joint Use

Distributed antenna systems (DAS) were the original small cells. First used more than 30 years ago, DAS began as a solution ...

Small Cell Attachments Pave the Way for 5G Wireless

The Internet of Things (IoT) is ushering in a new era of connected homes, smart appliances, and other developments beyond ...

Differences in Power Space & Communication Space in the Race to Attach

New players in the joint use arena are racing to deploy services. Utility poles once stood tall under the weight of power ...

Top Joint Use Violations Under the NESC Guidelines

What Pole Owners & Attachers Need to Know In 2015, we published an in-depth blog series about the top ten violations in ...

Patching Legacy Joint Use Applications: Three Concerns

Many joint use asset owners and attachers/renters use homegrown, legacy applications to manage their assets. Some use Excel ...

The State of Broadband in America (Part 3 of 3)

In the previous two posts of this series (view here for part 1 and here for part 2), we discussed steps the FCC is taking to ...

The State of Broadband in America (2 of 3)

In the first post of this series, we discussed reasons why the FCC repealed the Title II Order (net neutrality) as a step to ...

The State of Broadband in America  (1 of 3)

The FCC’s Course Correction to Accelerate Deployment in 2018 While there have been many achievements in the long battle to ...

Utility Pole Violations (Part 3): Environmental Conditions

In our 3-part blog series, we are inspecting common pole conditions that can be costly for asset owners, as well as ...

Utility Pole Violations (Part 2): Damage on the Pole

In our 3-part blog series, we are investigating common pole conditions that interrupt service deployment and increase asset ...

Utility Pole Violations (Part 1): Dangerous Conditions

In this 3-part blog series, we are addressing common pole conditions that halt service deployment and can be costly to asset ...

Conduit Asset Management (Part 4): Safety and Access in Vaults

In our four-part educational series, we have explored three important issues that manhole and handhole owners are currently ...

Conduit Asset Management (Part 3): Violations in Manholes & Handholes

In this four-part series, we are uncovering manhole and handhole conditions. In our experience, asset owners are often ...

Conduit Asset Management (Part 2): Structural Damage in Manholes

Successful joint use management of underground infrastructure begins with knowing which assets are in underground spaces and ...

Conduit Asset Management (Part 1): Trespass in Manholes and Handholes

Successful business decisions for asset owners and occupants of underground infrastructure begins with knowing which assets ...

Getting Ahead in 2018: Keeping Our Resolutions (Part 3 of 3)

Our first article, “Getting Ahead in 2018: Pole Inspections (Part 1 of 3)” looked at the proactive strengths of resolutions ...

Getting Ahead in 2018: Conduit Inspections (Part 2 of 3)

In this post, we suggest ways to get ahead in 2018 by reviewing vital tools for strengthening joint use operations and ...

Getting Ahead in 2018: Pole Inspections (Part 1 of 3)

Over the next three articles, we will discuss the tools needed to strengthen joint use partnerships. We will focus on the ...

Field Asset Services (Part 3): Making Asset Data More Accessible

In the last post, we discussed the challenges created when asset owners are the only source of information on current field ...

Field Asset Services (Part 2): Improve Safety with Crowdsourcing Data

In our last post, we examined reasons why line workers have one of the most dangerous jobs in America. More than just the ...

4 Ways We Appreciate the Electric Utility & Communication Industries

This week, we wanted to reflect on our gratitude. We work together daily with incredible people who provide us with ...

Field Asset Services (Part 1): Utility Work is a Top Dangerous Job

Industry professionals understand the risks line workers face all too well. However, many customers may be surprised to ...

How Utilities Can Build a More Responsive Mutual Aid Network

For power and communications providers preparing for storms, wildfires, or flooding, every moment is critical. Mutual aid ...

How Utilities Can Resolve Issues Related to Mutual Aid Organizations

When a storm or other major event looms on the horizon, utility and communications companies turn to mutual aid ...

Assessing Natural Disaster Risk for Utility Infrastructure Management

For joint use asset owners that are already stretched thin managing their plant, the trend of more frequent and more ...

Utilizing an Active Fire Mapping Program for Utility Asset Maintenance

2017 was one of the worst years on record for wildfires in the Western U.S. According to a report from NPR; there were 123 ...

The Real Cost of Reactive Maintenance for Utilities After a Wildfire

While downed lines or other utility factors only cause a small fraction of wildfires, one fire is too many when the loss to ...

The Shortfalls of Standard Fire Mapping & How Utilities Can Use Them

In 2017, more than 37,000 wildfires burned 5.2 million acres nationwide. Fire season in some areas has become nearly ...

Underground Conduit Infrastructure (Part 5): 5 Inventory Necessities

To close our underground series, we look at the crucial principles of an underground inventory. Underground inspections are ...

Underground Conduit Infrastructure (Part 4): Underground Neglect

Alden’s Underground Conduit Infrastructure series has investigated the reality of underground facilities: what they are and ...

Underground Conduit Infrastructure (Part 3): Violations & Safety

A few weeks ago, Hurricane Harvey gushed into the streets of Houston and surrounding areas. It flooded businesses, homes, ...

Underground Conduit Infrastructure: Sneaking Around Underground

Foreign to our everyday lives above ground, the underground world can be quite mysterious. What lies beneath is unknown and ...

Underground Conduit Infrastructure (Part 1): Looking Under the Surface

The future of communications is rapidly progressing. With high-speed broadband becoming a basic requirement in daily life, ...

The Power of Good Data

Why is it common for a provider to require several months (or more) to respond to a permit to attach request? Often, poor ...

Better Communities Through Better Infrastructure

Our communities are built on the success of our infrastructure. When something fails, we are all impacted – whether that ...

3 Strategies to Speed Up the Lag in Broadband Deployment

Despite initiatives like the FCC's Connect America Fund, which aims to offset the costs of installing broadband ...

Better Route Planning is the Key to Faster Deployment

Facing struggles with sluggish broadband deployment? A shared, centralized asset database can help asset owners and ...

Addressing Security Concerns with Centralized Asset Data

Before asset owners can reap the benefits of a centralized platform, they must be confident that their data will be ...

Using a Joint Use Platform (Part 4): A Look at Data and Reporting

Search tools deliver faster, more accessible results than traditional reports. Data is a hot topic today. How do you collect ...

Using a Joint Use Platform (Part 3): Training for Users

Create a community of trained users to maximize your system’s value.

Fun Facts About America's Technology Leaders

This time of year is all about celebrating America’s roots of independence and liberty. The United States was founded on ...

Using a Joint Use Platform (Part 2): Integrate with Enterprise Systems

Modern and Innovative: Asset Management in One Centralized System In an ideal world, every company involved in the joint ...

Using a Joint Use Platform (Part 1): How To Enter Data

The vast amount of asset data is overwhelming. Where should you begin? Traditional joint use management began as a manual ...

Balancing Safety and Access On Poles and In Vaults

Better data management, consistency, and communication: three concepts to unite safety and access, multiplying productivity ...

What’s the Hold-Up? The Future of Broadband Deployment

Lack of Shared Data & Poor Communication impedes Broadband Deployment While broadband is consistently being deployed ...

Is Your Field Asset Data Secure?

Data security threats have become a primary focus for utility asset owners, as the risks from cyber threats grow in ...

The Benefits of a Joint Use Platform [Part 3]: For Attachers

It’s been all over the news this past year: Google Fiber made plans to deploy broadband into several markets at a breakneck ...

The Benefits of a Joint Use Platform [Part 2]: For Asset Owners

Sorting through paper records, emails, or asset records spread across several different spreadsheets or platforms is no ...

Benefits of a Joint Use Platform [Part 1]: For States & Organizations

People are using more and more data with their various devices. For state and local governments, getting broadband access ...

Data Asset Management: Current Challenges and Solutions

Today’s utility asset data is a vast world of information. Much of it is valuable; some of it is not. Asset owners hold data ...

The Prevalence (and Danger) of Delayed Pole Transfers

In January of 2016, there were more than 36,000 double poles in the state of Maryland alone. That was according to a report ...

The Battle Against Double Wood and Aging Pole Transfers

One of the most prevalent issues facing utility pole owners is aging pole transfers, but they don’t have to be a constant ...

How to Extend the Life of Your Utility Poles

When damage to a utility pole is caught early, it can be treated to halt rot, decay or insect damage from further weakening ...

Consumers are Changing the Utility Industry

From utility pole placement requests to calling for faster Internet speeds, consumers are a powerful influence in driving ...

How to Streamline Joint Use Utility Pole Transfers

When a utility pole needs to be replaced, the pole owner will schedule the required equipment transfers. Many utility poles ...

The 4 Types of Utility Pole Transfers

There are many reasons that cause double wood, which is the existence of two poles where only one should be. Regardless of ...

An Introduction to Utility Pole Joint Use

What is Joint Use, and How Does It Work? Imagine a street lined with several sets of utility poles running up both sides, ...

Taking Asset Inventory: 5 Key Steps to Get Started

For businesses that own and operate joint use assets including utility poles and underground conduit, it is important to ...

How the IoT Will Move Companies from Data Collection to Data-Driven

Big data is being used in practically every industry today, yet many struggle with beneficial data utilization by having too ...

Outdated Data: Worse Than No Data?

The big data revolution has left many utilities and communications companies scrambling to manage backlogs of stored ...

Unlocking the Massive Market Potential of the IoT and Machine Learning

The Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning are still in the early stages of what we see as an explosion of ...

Data: The Most Valuable Asset in IIOT

There is no doubt the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is going to change the way we all do business. Companies, ...

The Growing Importance of IoT and IIoT

The Internet of Things – and the Industrial Internet of Things – promise significant changes and improvements for asset ...

The Question of Aging Infrastructure

Are aging field assets an urgent crisis, or a manageable long-term maintenance challenge? Is aging infrastructure an ...

Field Asset Management and Joint Use: A Year in Review

As tempting as it is to see the start of a new year as a fresh beginning – an opportunity to forge ahead with new ...

Is Shared Responsibility the Key to Better Network Asset Management?

Most asset owners today hold 100 percent of the liability for their field assets, such as utility poles, towers and conduit. ...

Machine-to-Machine Communication and Network Asset Management

As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to gain momentum, more and more assets will be connected in the field. Advances in ...

Winning Strategies (Part 2): How Pole Owners Can Generate Revenue

This post is the second in a two-part blog series that explores the potential for joint use field assets to become ...

Winning Strategies (Part 1): How Pole Owners Can Generate Revenue

In the past, when companies were regulated entities, they could operate under a cost-plus business model that allowed them ...

Field Services Improvements to Beautify Utility Infrastructure

Utility poles have become ubiquitous along the streets and highways in the U.S. over the last century, and that will not ...

Tall Trees & Sagging Wires: Significant Risks of Unmanaged Vegetation

On a sweltering summer afternoon in August of 2003, 21 North American power plants suddenly crashed offline, leaving 50 ...

Highlight on IoT: Field Services Will Be More Energy Efficient

This post is part 3 of a three-part blog series about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its impact on infrastructure asset ...

Highlight on IoT: The Future of Infrastructure Asset Management

This post is part 2 of a blog series about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its impact on asset management. To read part 1, ...

Highlight on IoT (Part 1): Internet of Things & Fixed Asset Management

If you haven't yet been captivated by the complex and exciting potential of “The Internet of Things,” I imagine you soon ...

Today’s Joint Use Takes a Village: Teaming Up to Dig Through a Backlog

Joint use issues have made the news lately as incumbent carriers, pole owners, and the “new kids on the block” butt heads. ...

Who's on the Line? Contractor Coordination Under One Touch Make Ready

With 30 states in the joint use community now required to follow the Federal Communications Commission’s new “One Touch Make ...

Storm of the Century: How Weather Can Wreck Infrastructure

Bad weather happens. From the occasional light rain to seemingly increasing instances of extreme weather, tornadoes, ...

Infrastructure Asset Management: Why is Joint Use Important?

Utility poles and conduit vaults (the underground version of a wire-carrying 40-foot pole) are everywhere in our world—along ...

Less Room on the Pole = No Room for Error

It is evident that everyday life has changed significantly over the past few decades. Twenty years ago, most people could ...

Is it Time to Renegotiate Your Joint Use Contracts?

One of the keys to running a business well is having visible oversight—the high-level, future-focused information that ...

"Return to Sender" and Other Surprising Joint Use Contract Woes

In the world of joint use, connection and collaboration between pole owners, conduit owners and attaching companies is key. ...

Mind the Gaps—Outdated Joint Use Contracts Can Cost You

Quick: How long has it been since you thoroughly reviewed your joint use contracts? I'm talking about the joint use ...

3 Reasons a Joint Use Handshake Agreement is No Longer Current

Flashback to the year 1991. George Bush Sr. held the presidency. The Bulls held court in the NBA. When it came to getting ...

Your Double Poles Are Hiding Lost Revenue

We have drilled it into your head: double utility poles are a liability. They are a safety issue. They cost money. They ...

Why Double Wood is Really a Resource Contention Issue

We do a lot of talking about double utility poles from a safety perspective for good reason. Leaning or damaged poles left ...

How Double Wood Could Damage Your City's Revitalization

You may have noticed the trend on a return visit to that older industrial city you pulled up roots from years ago. The ...

Building & Maintaining Relationships With Joint Use

Allowing double utility poles to linger in the field comes with a number of costs. The cost of increased liability from ...

Do the Math: Compounding Poles Equals Compounding Fines

Call it double wood, double utility poles, or just a double headache for your joint use department, neglecting to remove an ...

Collisions to Crossing Hazards: Double Wood is Doubly Dangerous

2016 may be the year of the double utility pole. Consult your favorite search engine's news section and you will find an ...

Tales From the Vault #2: Stories of Joint Use in the Wild

At Alden, our experts travel all over the country solving infrastructure asset management, data collection, data management ...