Our education, government, public safety, and healthcare customers rely on thousands of miles of fiber optic cable that power our statewide Network. To keep this system dependable, the Outside Plant team at Iowa Communications Network (ICN) uses advanced Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping to track every physical component of our Network.
Using specialized mapping tools, our engineers design, track, and manage all underground fiber infrastructure (and a few aerial miles). In addition to accurately documenting the physical location of all Network assets, we also maintain and update fiber strand-to-strand connections at each splice location across the entire Network:
- Fiber Cables: Owner details, capacity, installation type (buried or above ground), locate/maintenance/emergency restoration responsibilities, and emergency contact info.
- Connection Points: Exact locations, equipment types, and fiber connection details.
- Customer Endpoints: Site names, physical addresses, and hardware models including fiber termination and cross connection details.
- Underground Infrastructure: Protective conduit & pipes, and access handholes.
Our expertise in network tracking is so strong that we also manage shared infrastructure for key partners, including the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT), Iowa Rural Health Telecommunications Program (IRHTP), and the Des Moines Metronet.
For nearly a decade, ICN Outside Plant engineers and Fiber Network Services technicians have used GPS equipment in the field to help pinpoint every the location of buried fiber lines and surface structures within our GIS. Mapping thousands of miles of infrastructure down to the individual strand and maintaining accurate fiber splicing and termination documentation is the foundation of our network reliability:
- Preventing Cable Cuts: When external construction projects happen across the State, city and county engineers, as well as private engineering consultants submit construction plans to the ICN. ICN Outside Plant engineers cross-reference these project plan sets with our GIS and as-builts and provide them with maps and network documentation in hopes of avoiding project design conflicts and accidental cuts.
- Speeding Up Emergency Repairs: During an outage, we send precise map coordinates to field crews leading them to the suspected fiber damage location, shortening customer service interruptions.
- Network Construction: Detailed mapping helps us design new routes.
By pairing our GPS information with smart mapping software, our team keeps Iowaβs statewide critical infrastructure secure, resilient, and dependable every day.