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 ...
Utility asset owners and asset attachers face pressing violation management challenges due to the growing demand for ...
It’s a new year with a familiar story for utility joint use asset management. Asset-owning electric utilities and attaching ...
Alden One is a web-based, cloud-hosted platform that supports all types of utility assets, including distribution poles, ...
In 2023, our team released many Alden One enhancements aimed at delivering a superior, more efficient user experience. We ...
By connecting utility asset owners, attachers, and engineering and construction firms, Alden One helps to streamline and ...
Part two of Alden Systems' series on “The Value of the Alden One Data Lake for Joint Use Asset Management.” Read the first ...
In response to requests from our users, it’s now possible to track and manage the attributes of streetlights through ...
Managing utility infrastructure assets comes with inherent challenges. Often, utility networks consist of multiple smaller ...
Behind-the-scenes heroes power our nation's critical utility joint use infrastructure. Utility asset owners, engineering ...
The increased demand for fiber rollout keeps driving competition in the utility space, underscoring the need for the utmost ...
Alden Systems is pleased to introduce Tom Brandewie as our newly appointed Senior Director of Sales! In a recent interview, ...
Two challenges are converging in the utility industry. With the massive growth in the volume of attachment requests driven ...
Part one of a series titled "The Value of the Alden One Data Lake for Joint Use Asset Management." Read the second article ...
Alden Systems is excited to announce Zach Hester as our new Director of Customer Success! We sat down for a Q&A ...
“Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success.” Henry Ford.
Could agility be the single most important quality you’ll need for success in the joint use industry today? Alden Systems ...
This article is the second in a series that examines the progress of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auctions — with ...
This article is the first in a series that examines the progress of Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auctions — with ...
Consumers are eagerly awaiting the next step in broadband technology: 5G. With an explosion of small cell and fiber ...
What happens when you gather together with joint use professionals and utility industry leaders and give them an open forum ...
Alden Systems’ CEO explains why a team mindset is the best approach to a demanding deployment schedule and how the right ...
Despite some speedbumps laid by the pandemic in 2020 and 2021, the rollout of 5G wireless service continues across the ...
When it comes to the fast-paced utility and telecommunications deployments needed to meet the 5G rollout timeline, every ...
Data management, permitting, and internal and external communications become less daunting with the right technological tools
Read Closing the U.S. Digital Divide: Why We Should Think Small to Win Big in AGL Magazine to learn why John Sciarabba, CEO ...
Leverage your resources to take advantage of 5G market demands.
In modern asset management, time is money. Whether a company’s assets are utility poles or cell towers, many costs—such as ...
Overcome the lack of resources with these key steps that drive efficiency Service providers are facing an incredible ...
When 5G wireless service appeared in the first few US markets more than two years ago, it arrived on a wave of anticipation. ...
In simpler times, joint use asset management for a utility or communications company wasn’t so daunting. It was important ...
Learn Why Driving Operational Efficiencies Is Essential to Increasing ROI at the Tower Alden Systems CEO John Sciarabba ...
Although remote sensing has been around in some form for many decades, this technology has emerged as one of the most ...
A couple of years into the deployment of 5G technology many asset owners, including utilities and municipal governments, ...
The U.S. Census Bureau estimated that at the beginning of 2021, at least 3.8 million households with school-aged children ...
As communications and broadband technology evolved rapidly over the past two decades, optical fiber networks played a ...
Your company has just purchased an enterprise software system. The road to get here has been long. It’s been a significant ...
Part Four of our series “The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes.” Read the other articles ...
Part Three of our four-part series “The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes.” Read the other ...
Part Two of our four-part series “The Success of 5G Deployment Depends on these 4 Key Industry Changes.” Read the first ...
This article is the first in a four-part series that explores changes utilities can make to realize more effective 5G ...
The spread of 5G wireless service across the country continues with great fanfare. Communications companies are trumpeting ...
For the many people responsible for deploying and maintaining utility and communications infrastructure, joint use is a more ...
A global drone company had a big job on its hands: collecting data on 20k+ utility poles per month and then providing a pole ...
Joint use in the utility sector began as a simple resource-sharing proposition between electric utilities and telephone ...
The concept of multiple providers jointly occupying space on physical assets is nothing new; for decades, electric utilities ...
As the technologies used to create digital twins have become better and more affordable, forward-looking companies in many ...
Small cell is bringing big changes to joint use departments of electric utilities, telecommunications and broadband ...
Endless demand for wireless data and advances in technology are ushering in the Internet of Things (IoT) and artificial ...
Businesses are in a rush to get small cell wireless attachments deployed. In the past couple of years, competitors entered ...
Several years ago, the buzz began about the incoming mass deployment of small cell attachments. Annual deployment continues ...
Digital twin technology is gaining traction across a widening range of industries, including utilities. Reasons include ...
In the past few years, communications companies have deployed thousands of antenna systems to fuel next-generation 5G, and ...
For wireless consumers, small cell wireless promises ultra-fast connections, stronger signals, and exciting new technology ...
Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) is an 82-year-old Colorado-based rural electric association with roughly ...
As the technologies that can produce a detailed digital duplicate of a company’s physical assets are becoming more ...
As our nation’s fast-expanding utility and communications infrastructure become more complex every year, the value of ...
In the joint use industry, confusion and uncertainty are the arch enemies of cooperation. They cause delays in permit ...
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 is a network development and information infrastructure firm providing professional services to national ...
Minnesota Power is an investor-owned utility with roughly 145,000 customers, whose services cover roughly 26,000 square ...
The digital revolution that began a few decades ago continues to rapidly reshape the way companies around the world do ...
The pace of change in today’s utility and communications landscape is accelerating almost constantly. Joint use requests are ...
Let’s start with a common scenario: A communications company files a permitting application with an electric utility to ...
The 5G rollout has begun in cities across the U.S., and applications for small cell attachments to utility and streetlight ...
Utility professionals have always been at war with the weather. Disruptive storms, whether in the form of hurricanes, ...
The past few years have brought significant changes to the electric utility and communications sectors. The small cell ...
The decision to implement a storm hardening program is a big step for any utility company. Large-scale storm hardening can ...
Weather-related power outages have been inevitable as long as electric utilities have existed. The basic questions utilities ...
Utilities have always had to contend with the ravages of weather, particularly after massive storms that damaged or ...
For utility companies, accurate data is essential to effective asset management. Power providers need up-to-date data to ...
At Alden, we understand that joint use professionals work better when everyone works together. Since 1995, we have centered ...
By the middle of the 20th century, many Americans likely felt they had reached the pinnacle of high-tech living. In ...
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 ...
The small cell revolution is underway. Deployment is accelerating as the 5G rollout continues. With the mass explosion of ...
When the FCC issued its Third Report and Order on small cell attachments in September 2018, wireless telecommunications ...
The restrictions, requirements, and obligations in the FCC’s Third Order and Report on small cell wireless deployment ...
The goal of the FCC’s Third Report and Order on small cell wireless deployment, issued in September 2018, is to remove any ...
The FCC’s Small Cell Third Report and Order, is all about speed. The Third Report and Order regulates deployment of small ...
The September 2018 Third Report and Order was designed to speed up deployment of small cell wireless infrastructure across ...
The race to roll out 5G wireless broadband service is under way in the United States. In September 2018, the Federal ...
This year, progressive technology is generating massive changes for the United States. We find ourselves in the middle of a ...
Several companies are re-evaluating their processes and molding their day-to-day to business to align with the new FCC ...
Professionals in the joint use industry are preparing for compliance under the FCC’s Third Report and Order. The FCC’s ...
If you have been following industry news or reading our blogs, you may know by now that the Federal Communications ...
New OTMR guidelines range from shortened timetables to specific processes. The primary parties involved (asset owners, ...
We are thankful for the people that make our communities better. The quiet heroes of our society linger in unexpected places ...
The Federal Communications Commission’s One Touch Make Ready order (OTMR), issued in August of 2018, spells out the rules, ...
The FCC’s One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) order has placed the joint use community and its personnel in a new and uncharted ...
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 ...
Across the United States, the joint use community is busy transitioning to the new rules and timetables established by the ...
The FCC’s One Touch Make Ready (OTMR) order, issued in early August, involves big changes for everyone in the joint use ...
The stage has been set for major advances in technology, and that means big changes for the joint use community. In August, ...
Installing fiber optic cable can be an expensive and lengthy process. Often, it requires an extended period of right-of-way ...
There are big changes on the horizon for joint use professionals. With the race to attach and deploy services, the next few ...
Fiber optic broadband is sweeping the nation. Fiber's advantages over copper include faster speeds, durability, and ...
The first Monday in September is dedicated to celebrating the American worker. Labor Day supports the goals of our Founding ...
We interviewed Dianne Costello, Product Manager of Managed Services and Client Training, at Alden. We asked what small cell ...
One of our clients recently mentioned that within just a few weeks, their joint use department went from having five small ...
Independence Day is characterized by fireworks, barbecues, and quality time with friends or family. It is a day to reflect ...
Utility poles offer the necessary power and connectivity that is vital for small cell deployment. Providers will likely ...
Cell phone signals have become much more reliable in the last few years. Making calls from your office, home, or school ...
Nationwide, utilities and other asset owners are seeing an influx of inquiries and permitting applications for small cell. ...
With numerous cybersecurity threats discussed in the four previous posts, it is no wonder some leaders in the joint use ...
In the early days of cable service, providers encountered attackers who tried to steal service, customer data, and video ...
Communications companies possess extensive consumer data, including financial and behavioral information. Customers ...
The U.S. electric grid consists of more than 7,000 power plants, 55,000 substations, 160,000 miles of high-voltage ...
As the joint use industry inches closer to a technology-based future, cybersecurity is an everyday concern. In the last few ...
Distributed antenna systems (DAS) were the original small cells. First used more than 30 years ago, DAS began as a solution ...
The Internet of Things (IoT) is ushering in a new era of connected homes, smart appliances, and other developments beyond ...
New players in the joint use arena are racing to deploy services. Utility poles once stood tall under the weight of power ...
What Pole Owners & Attachers Need to Know In 2015, we published an in-depth blog series about the top ten violations in ...
Many joint use asset owners and attachers/renters use homegrown, legacy applications to manage their assets. Some use Excel ...
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 ...
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 FCC’s Course Correction to Accelerate Deployment in 2018 While there have been many achievements in the long battle to ...
In our 3-part blog series, we are inspecting common pole conditions that can be costly for asset owners, as well as ...
In our 3-part blog series, we are investigating common pole conditions that interrupt service deployment and increase asset ...
In this 3-part blog series, we are addressing common pole conditions that halt service deployment and can be costly to asset ...
In our four-part educational series, we have explored three important issues that manhole and handhole owners are currently ...
In this four-part series, we are uncovering manhole and handhole conditions. In our experience, asset owners are often ...
Successful joint use management of underground infrastructure begins with knowing which assets are in underground spaces and ...
Successful business decisions for asset owners and occupants of underground infrastructure begins with knowing which assets ...
Our first article, “Getting Ahead in 2018: Pole Inspections (Part 1 of 3)” looked at the proactive strengths of resolutions ...
In this post, we suggest ways to get ahead in 2018 by reviewing vital tools for strengthening joint use operations and ...
Over the next three articles, we will discuss the tools needed to strengthen joint use partnerships. We will focus on the ...
In the last post, we discussed the challenges created when asset owners are the only source of information on current field ...
In our last post, we examined reasons why line workers have one of the most dangerous jobs in America. More than just the ...
This week, we wanted to reflect on our gratitude. We work together daily with incredible people who provide us with ...
Industry professionals understand the risks line workers face all too well. However, many customers may be surprised to ...
For power and communications providers preparing for storms, wildfires, or flooding, every moment is critical. Mutual aid ...
When a storm or other major event looms on the horizon, utility and communications companies turn to mutual aid ...
For joint use asset owners that are already stretched thin managing their plant, the trend of more frequent and more ...
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 ...
While downed lines or other utility factors only cause a small fraction of wildfires, one fire is too many when the loss to ...
In 2017, more than 37,000 wildfires burned 5.2 million acres nationwide. Fire season in some areas has become nearly ...
To close our underground series, we look at the crucial principles of an underground inventory. Underground inspections are ...
Alden’s Underground Conduit Infrastructure series has investigated the reality of underground facilities: what they are and ...
A few weeks ago, Hurricane Harvey gushed into the streets of Houston and surrounding areas. It flooded businesses, homes, ...
Foreign to our everyday lives above ground, the underground world can be quite mysterious. What lies beneath is unknown and ...
The future of communications is rapidly progressing. With high-speed broadband becoming a basic requirement in daily life, ...
Why is it common for a provider to require several months (or more) to respond to a permit to attach request? Often, poor ...
Our communities are built on the success of our infrastructure. When something fails, we are all impacted – whether that ...
Despite initiatives like the FCC's Connect America Fund, which aims to offset the costs of installing broadband ...
Facing struggles with sluggish broadband deployment? A shared, centralized asset database can help asset owners and ...
Before asset owners can reap the benefits of a centralized platform, they must be confident that their data will be ...
Search tools deliver faster, more accessible results than traditional reports. Data is a hot topic today. How do you collect ...
Create a community of trained users to maximize your system’s value.
This time of year is all about celebrating America’s roots of independence and liberty. The United States was founded on ...
Modern and Innovative: Asset Management in One Centralized System In an ideal world, every company involved in the joint ...
The vast amount of asset data is overwhelming. Where should you begin? Traditional joint use management began as a manual ...
Better data management, consistency, and communication: three concepts to unite safety and access, multiplying productivity ...
Lack of Shared Data & Poor Communication impedes Broadband Deployment While broadband is consistently being deployed ...
Data security threats have become a primary focus for utility asset owners, as the risks from cyber threats grow in ...
It’s been all over the news this past year: Google Fiber made plans to deploy broadband into several markets at a breakneck ...
Sorting through paper records, emails, or asset records spread across several different spreadsheets or platforms is no ...
People are using more and more data with their various devices. For state and local governments, getting broadband access ...
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 ...
In January of 2016, there were more than 36,000 double poles in the state of Maryland alone. That was according to a report ...
One of the most prevalent issues facing utility pole owners is aging pole transfers, but they don’t have to be a constant ...
When damage to a utility pole is caught early, it can be treated to halt rot, decay or insect damage from further weakening ...
From utility pole placement requests to calling for faster Internet speeds, consumers are a powerful influence in driving ...
When a utility pole needs to be replaced, the pole owner will schedule the required equipment transfers. Many utility poles ...
There are many reasons that cause double wood, which is the existence of two poles where only one should be. Regardless of ...
What is Joint Use, and How Does It Work? Imagine a street lined with several sets of utility poles running up both sides, ...
For businesses that own and operate joint use assets including utility poles and underground conduit, it is important to ...
Big data is being used in practically every industry today, yet many struggle with beneficial data utilization by having too ...
The big data revolution has left many utilities and communications companies scrambling to manage backlogs of stored ...
The Internet of Things (IoT) and machine learning are still in the early stages of what we see as an explosion of ...
There is no doubt the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) is going to change the way we all do business. Companies, ...
The Internet of Things – and the Industrial Internet of Things – promise significant changes and improvements for asset ...
Are aging field assets an urgent crisis, or a manageable long-term maintenance challenge? Is aging infrastructure an ...
As tempting as it is to see the start of a new year as a fresh beginning – an opportunity to forge ahead with new ...
Most asset owners today hold 100 percent of the liability for their field assets, such as utility poles, towers and conduit. ...
As the Internet of Things (IoT) continues to gain momentum, more and more assets will be connected in the field. Advances in ...
This post is the second in a two-part blog series that explores the potential for joint use field assets to become ...
In the past, when companies were regulated entities, they could operate under a cost-plus business model that allowed them ...
Utility poles have become ubiquitous along the streets and highways in the U.S. over the last century, and that will not ...
On a sweltering summer afternoon in August of 2003, 21 North American power plants suddenly crashed offline, leaving 50 ...
This post is part 3 of a three-part blog series about the Internet of Things (IoT) and its impact on infrastructure asset ...
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, ...
If you haven't yet been captivated by the complex and exciting potential of “The Internet of Things,” I imagine you soon ...
Joint use issues have made the news lately as incumbent carriers, pole owners, and the “new kids on the block” butt heads. ...
With 30 states in the joint use community now required to follow the Federal Communications Commission’s new “One Touch Make ...
Bad weather happens. From the occasional light rain to seemingly increasing instances of extreme weather, tornadoes, ...
Utility poles and conduit vaults (the underground version of a wire-carrying 40-foot pole) are everywhere in our world—along ...
It is evident that everyday life has changed significantly over the past few decades. Twenty years ago, most people could ...
One of the keys to running a business well is having visible oversight—the high-level, future-focused information that ...
In the world of joint use, connection and collaboration between pole owners, conduit owners and attaching companies is key. ...
Quick: How long has it been since you thoroughly reviewed your joint use contracts? I'm talking about the joint use ...
Flashback to the year 1991. George Bush Sr. held the presidency. The Bulls held court in the NBA. When it came to getting ...
We have drilled it into your head: double utility poles are a liability. They are a safety issue. They cost money. They ...
We do a lot of talking about double utility poles from a safety perspective for good reason. Leaning or damaged poles left ...
You may have noticed the trend on a return visit to that older industrial city you pulled up roots from years ago. The ...
Allowing double utility poles to linger in the field comes with a number of costs. The cost of increased liability from ...
Call it double wood, double utility poles, or just a double headache for your joint use department, neglecting to remove an ...
2016 may be the year of the double utility pole. Consult your favorite search engine's news section and you will find an ...
At Alden, our experts travel all over the country solving infrastructure asset management, data collection, data management ...