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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Merger of TIA TR-42 and FO-4 Promises Synergy and Long-term Benefits
May 23, 2008, Arlington, Va: Members of the Telecommunications Industry Association’s (TIA) Fiber Optics LAN Section (FOLS) believe that the recent merger of TIA FO-4, Committee on Fiber Optics, Engineering Committee merged into the TIA TR-42, User Premises Telecommunications Cabling Infrastructure, Engineering Committee represents a positive move in the industry. “The resulting committee comprises a body of companies ideally suited to maintain standards and make progress in new areas, such as the Multi-dwelling Unit (MDU) market,” said Rodney Casteel, FOLS Chair. “We believe that this merger will ensure that standards will stay current with emerging markets.”
According to Herb Congdon, Chair of TR-42, and FOLS Standards Chair, “While there will be little short-term impact on the responsibilities and activities of these committees and their subcommittees, there are some longer-term benefits expected.” He explained, “The TIA’s Technical Committee saw an opportunity to bolster the FO-4 Engineering Committee, which has experienced a decline in participation in the past few years. The increasing use of optical fiber in customer-owned networks, such as commercial buildings and data centers, and the recognized absence of optical fiber component and testing expertise meant that the TIA TR-42 Engineering Committee was a likely partner for FO-4.”
In February 2007, the two Engineering Committees started co-locating their meetings and hosting joint leadership meetings. Through the year, it became apparent that there were multiple synergistic benefits to be realized from the merger, such as:
- Balancing the component and testing expertise for balanced twisted-pair cabling in TR-42.7 with component and testing expertise for optical fiber cabling in TR-42.8;
- Incorporating optical fiber into new and existing common and premise standards; and
- Capitalizing on new applications that are based on optical fiber.
Now that the merger is complete, the committee leadership is revising the scope of the TR-42 Engineering Committee, and re-numbering the FO-4 subcommittees. For simplicity, the FO-4 subcommittees have been re-numbered as follows:
- FO-4.1 will be TR-42.11
- FO-4.2 will be TR-42.12
- FO-4.3 will be TR-42.13
- FO-4.5 will be TR-42.15
The subcommittee leadership of the FO-4 subcommittees was not affected by the merger. However, there were regularly scheduled elections in February that resulted in some new leadership in several subcommittees. The merged TR-42 Plenary Officers elected were Herb Congdon (Tyco Electronics) as Chair and Bob Jensen (Fluke Networks) as Vice-chair. Herb had served as Chair of TR-42 prior to the merger, and Bob was serving as interim Chair of FO-4.
About FOLS
The Fiber Optics LAN Section (FOLS) of TIA represents technology leaders committed to providing the most current, reliable, and vendor neutral information about fiber optics and related technologies for advancing new and better communications solutions. FOLS members are leading fiber cable, component and electronics companies including, 3M, Berk-Tek, a Nexans Company, CommScope, Corning, Corning Cable Systems, Draka Comteq, Fluke Networks, OFS, Ortronics/Legrand, Panduit, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, Superior Essex and Tyco Electronics. Visit the FOLS at www.fols.org.
About TIA
Currently in its 84th year, the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) represents the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry through standards development, advocacy, business opportunities, market intelligence and world-wide environmental regulatory compliance. Thousands of companies and individuals work through TIA to enhance the business environment for telecommunications, broadband, mobile wireless, information technology, networks, cable, satellite, unified communications, emergency communications and the greening of technology. TIA is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Visit www.tiaonline.org for details.
TIA’s Board of Directors includes senior-level executives from ACS, ADC, ADTRAN, Alcatel-Lucent, ANDA Networks, ArrayComm, AttivaCorp, Avaya, Bechtel Communications, Inc., Cam Communications, Cisco Systems, Corning Incorporated, Ericsson, Inc., Graybar, Henkels & McCoy, Intel Corporation, LGE, Microsoft, Motorola, Nokia Siemens Networks, Nortel, OneChip Photonics Inc., OnSite Systems, Panasonic Computer Solutions Co., Research In Motion, Sumitomo Electric Lightwave Corporation, Tellabs, Tyco Electronics, Ulticom, Inc., Westell Technologies, Inc. and Zebra Technologies Corporation. Advisors to the Board include FAL Associates, ILS Technology, Orca Systems and Telcordia Technologies.
TIA membership enhances the ability of companies to prepare for the future of communications. TIA brings people and businesses together by helping the industry overcome technical and political barriers to communications. Visit www.tiaonline.org for details.
For More Information:
Taly Walsh
Vice President, Marketing & Business Development
TIA
703-907-7744
twalsh@tiaonline.org
Elizabeth Goldsmithib
Fiber Optics LAN Section
781-259-8584
liz@goldsmithpr.com
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