Telecom/Electric
NineStar Connect Achieves Fiber Optic Milestone in Indiana
NineStar Connect, a smart utility based in Hancock County, Ind., has achieved a milestone of providing high-speed fiber optic broadband service to 100 percent of businesses and homes in McCordsville, Ind. “Reliable, high speed internet is no longer a nice-to-have for businesses; it’s an absolute ne..
Nokia to Provide Communications Network for California Utility
Nokia today announced it will provide an advanced communications network to the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) in Northern California to support its hydro-electric power generation and water distribution services in the area. PCWA is the primary water resource agency for Placer County, California..
Infinera Completes Successful Fiber-Optic Field Test on Trans-Atlantic Route
Infinera has successfully completed a subsea field test on a modern trans-Atlantic route. The field test was conducted with the Infinera XTS-3300 meshponder and demonstrated the potential of 19 terabits per second (19T) per fiber pair, delivering the highest spectral efficiency on a major trans-Atla..
i3 Broadband to Expand Fiber-Optic Network in Illinois
i3 Broadband today announced it will start construction in multiple neighborhoods to continue its multi-year, multi-million dollar investment in extending the company’s fiber network throughout Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. “We are extremely excited to provide residents and businesses of Champaign-Ur..
Axalta Releases New Internal Pipe Coating Solution
Axalta Coating Systems, a global supplier of liquid and powder coatings, has released Nap-Gard® 7-0016, a thermosetting epoxy powder that is designed to provide excellent chemical resistance in temperatures up to 150 degrees Celsius (302 degrees Fahrenheit). “Axalta is excited to bring another inn..
Pennsylvania American Water Unveils Interactive Map to Spotlight Pipeline Projects
Pennsylvania American Water has launched an interactive web-based map of its 2017 infrastructure upgrade projects, enabling customers to view details about water and wastewater pipe projects across the company’s service areas. “Often, customers do not see their water bills at work because we may no..
PHMSA Releases Mobile App for Pipeline Regulations
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has released a new online Code of Federal Regulations (oCFR) mobile application that provides first-ever mobile access to PHMSA’s Pipeline Safety Regulations in 49 CFR parts 190-199, which highlights the f..
Teleste and Antronix JV to Bring Next Gen Cable Technology to North American Markets
Antronix, a manufacturer of broadband products in the United States, and Teleste, a provider of video and broadband technologies and related services in Europe, have entered a joint venture to offer Next Generation Gigabit cable access network solutions to North American broadband markets. The joint..
Peak Utility Services Group Acquires Kelly Cable
Peak Utility Services Group, a utility services provider serving natural gas, telecom, and electric utility markets in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West regions of the United States, has acquired Kelly Cable of New Mexico. As part of the transaction, Mike Ford, the President of Kelly Cab..
Subsite Electronics Acquires R.S. Technical Services
Subsite Electronics, a Charles Machine Works Company, has acquired the assets of R.S. Technical Services, Inc., an innovator in the design and manufacture of closed-circuit television remote inspection and monitoring cameras. The deal adds proven camera inspection capabilities to Subsite’s line of U..
Every Arkansas Public School to Have High-Speed Internet This Fall
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – A project to implement high-speed internet at every Arkansas school is expected to be complete in time for the new school year. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2t9laBq) reports that Arkansas will be one of a handful of states that guarantees high-speed internet..
Digital Divide Affecting Nebraska
GLADBROOK (AP) — On the wide-open plains of central Nebraska, a little more than a mile north of the Logan County line along Avenue 70, Pam Schaeffer can go days without functional internet. On those days, her husband Rodney will walk around the house grumbling about technology as he holds up his c..
Cut Fiber Optic Cable Forces North Carolina DMV Offices to Close
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — An internet network outage in central North Carolina has forced approximately 35 driver license and license plate agency offices to suspend services. The N.C. Department of Transportation said in a news release that Division of Motor Vehicles officials were told by Time W..
New Series Highlights "Utility of the Future" Challenges
The Retail Energy Practice of global economic consultancy The Brattle Group is producing a series of briefs that provide an integrated view into potential utility responses to the challenges and trends associated with the “Utility of the Future” (UoF). “The business model that has worked for utilit..
Comcast Completes $1.7 Million Fiber Optic Expansion
Comcast Business has completed a nearly $1.7 million fiber optic network expansion project in downtown New Haven, Connecticut. As a result, Comcast’s high-performance network is now delivering up to 10 Gigabits-per-second of Ethernet capacity to more than seven businesses located between Tower ..
Maine Regulators, FairPoint Agree on $175K Settlement
AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine utility regulators and FairPoint Communications are in agreement on a $175,000 settlement after the company failed to meet performance benchmarks from 2014 to last year. The state Public Utilities Commission’s staff had recommended $500,000 in fines after FairPoint..
Avanti Creates New Online Video Series to Solve Sewer, Water Problems
After years of collaboration and development with multiple authorities, Avanti International today announced that Fundamentals of Municipal Grouting, a 16-module video series designed as an interactive learning experience for solving Infiltration and Inflow (I&I) issues in sanitary sewer and storm w..
Improvements In HDD Technology Over Last 50 Years
by Robert Carpenter Editor-in-Chief It is said that the last 50 years have seen more accumulation of knowledge and technological developments than in all the previous history of mankind. Today, technology, on an annual basis, is advancing geometrically. It has changed our lives in ways we cannot ev..
How To Get The Most From Your PACP-Certified Software
By NASSCO Member Ronnie Flannery-Guy, Business Development, Aqua Data Software certified by NASSCO’s Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP) is required to generate and import a standard database file that is fully compatible with PACP. Contractors and system owners across the country have..
TTC Celebrates 10-Year Partnership With China For Trenchless R&D
For 27 years, the Trenchless Technology Center (TTC), an industry/university/government research center at Louisiana Tech University, has served as a global leader for the development of technologies influencing almost every aspect of trenchless construction methods. In April, the TTC’s Dr. Thomas ..
Technology Helps Utility Reduce Methane Emissions from Pipeline
Southern California Gas Co. recently used innovative gas capture technology to empty natural gas from a permanently abandoned pipeline in Santa Clarita, Calif. The special process enables gas to be saved for later use while eliminating noise and emissions that occur in the traditional venting metho..
Frontier Communications Makes Leadership Change
Frontier Communications Corporation today announced that John Maduri, a telecommunications expert with 30 years in the industry, has been named to the position of Executive Vice President, Consumer Sales, Marketing & Product. Maduri will join the company on July 24 and succeed Cecilia McKenney, who ..
Southwest Research Institute Patents New Pipeline Inspection Technology
The Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) has patented a new technology to inspect coatings of pipelines installed through horizontal directional drilling. The technology can identify both the extent and the configuration of any damage to the coating that occurs during HDD installation,” said Dr. Pav..
Rice Electronics Launches Connected Worker Solution
Rice Electronics has launched the Connected Worker Solution with Intel® IoT technology. Designed to improve the safety and productivity of field workers in industrial environments, the end-to-end IoT solution using Rice Electronics smart devices along with Intel-based IoT gateways provides robust co..
McElroy Releases New DataLogger® 6
McElroy has released the new DataLogger® 6, an Android-powered tablet that makes collecting and analyzing data on fusible pipeline projects easier than ever before. The DataLogger® 6 offers a modernized touchscreen interface and easy-to-navigate software system with on-screen instructions. Fusion o..
Corning Launches Multi-use Platform to Make Launching Fiber Networks Easier
Corning Incorporated has launched its multiuse platform, the industry’s first solution to offer a combination of multifiber and single-fiber connection points, making it easier for carriers, operators, and municipalities to quickly deploy fiber-deep access networks. The multiuse platform will be fea..
Viavi Introduces Innovative Fiber Optic Cable Technology
Viavi Solutions has released the SmartClass™ Fiber MPOLx optical loss test set, the first Tier 1 certification test solution for cabling systems that utilize ribbon fiber with multi-fiber push on (MPO) connectivity The MPOLx can perform all MPO Tier 1 (basic) test and certification requ..
Updated FTTH Brand Reflects Next-Generation Innovation, Partnership, Energy
Keeping up with the ever-evolving fiber industry, its largest and only trade association has made a big change. Fiber to the Home Council Americas (FTTH) is now the Fiber Broadband Association. While still committed to fiber to the home, the new name reflects the expanded demand for the speed and r..
Rural Alaska Gets High-speed Internet In Europe-Asia Project
By installing 900 miles of fiber-optic cable connecting Fairbanks to Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope, Anchorage-based telecommunications company Quintillion Holdings is bringing broadband internet to the Arctic for the first time. Marking the first phase of a larger project to lay a fiber-optic..
ECI Upgrades Rainier Connect's Optical Transport Network to 100G
ECI® has successfully upgraded Rainier Connect’s optical transport network to 100G using the company’s Apollo family of products. The project was funded in part, by the Rural Utilities Service, an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers programs providing ..

- Intrepid Fiber breaks ground on fiber optic network in Superior, Colo.
- Excavator collides with I-95 overpass in Henrico, Va., causing multi-vehicle crash
- Shrewsbury, Mass., expands sewer inspections and cleaning efforts
- Construction worker killed in trench collapse near Prosperity, S.C.
- Two workers rescued after hours trapped in Mich. trench collapse
- Texas contractor penalized by OSHA for repeated trench safety violations
- Final construction phase kicks off for Indianapolis deep rock tunnel
- WES tunnel boring machine retrieved from Oregon river after seven-month project
- Illinois overhauls Peoples Gas pipeline program, mandates focus on high-risk pipes
- Ameren Illinois to invest $140 million in natural gas pipeline replacement program