NETWORK new s December 2001/January 2002 Vol8 No6 CONNECTING PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY AROUND THE GLOBE WE COME OF AGE D ecember 12, 2001 sees the end of our 20th anniversary year and we celebrate our 21st birthday We have certainly attained our majority and come of age in the past 12 months Besides receiving an Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (AEEMA) award for ‘Excellence in Product Stewardship’ AEEMA also gave us special commendations for our work in Energy Efficiency and Commercialising R&D Another accolade came from GIO when KRONE Australia won its Business Star of the Year Award in the Market Share category This honour followed not long after the well-respected global research organisation, BSRIA UK, confirmed we had the lion’s share of the structured cabling market in Australia We have achieved more than double the market share of our nearest competitor Local skill and expertise in the design, development, testing, and marketing of innovative connectivity products has seen KRONE Australia become the self-sufficient organisation that we are today and our Berkeley Vale plant on the NSW Central Coast is the manufacturing Centre of Competence for the Asia Pacific region We design and develop more than 75 per cent of the KRONE Group’s regional p r o d u c t r eq u i r em en t s there and approximately 90 per cent of the product range for Australia The last three months of 2001 have been tumultuous, as we have seen the world change and wage war against terrorism The IT&T industry is suffering in the aftershock of job cuts and declines in profits The travel and tourism industry is in decline Despite the uncertainty of the moment, we are looking forward to the New Year and the challenges it will present KRONE succeeds because of its people and its customers I’m happy to report that we’re on track for strong results this year As always, we will continue to strive to develop new technologies to meet your needs 2002 will be no different Thank you to our people, our partners and our customers for your support We, at KRONE, wish you good health and prosperity for the future Sincerely Craig Jones CEO CONTENTS networknews@krone.com.au Business Articles KRONE New s Product New s 8 14 A Solution for Every Need Customer Stories City Rail Plays it Safe Standards and Industry New s 12 Boosted Cable Performance Tests the Testers Copyright © 2001 KRONE Australia Holdings Pty Limited NETWORKnews 10 13 16 A Year of Milestones & Accolades New Staff On The Road with Optical Access GIO andAEEMA Vote KRONE the best KRONE’s International Success AccessNET Hightime Seminars Club KRONE Product Watch Lightning Charges Towards Networks Website: www.krone.com.au Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au A YEAR OF MILESTONES AND ACCOLADES First Quarter: January - M arch PremisNET HIGHLIGHT® fibre cable is introduced Club KRONE introduces bonus redemption points against training Club KRONE website is launched Second Quarter: April - June HighTIME Conference held in Port Douglas TrueNet demonstrated at BiCSi and Networld+Interop, Sydney PremisNET Intelligent Building solution showcased at AEEMA Cleaner, Greener Smarter Conference Win $20 million Telstra Customer Access Network contract Participate in the Copper Development Council’s Smart Wired House Project UK BSRIA Report confirms our leadership position in the Australian structured cabling systems market 2000/2001 Catalogue available Third Quarter:July - September MASTERminder™ rack mountable cable minder launched Five-ring Patch Cord Minder introduced Fibre range expanded for AccessNET and PremisNET customers Fourth Quarter: October - December KRONE appointed Australian distributor for Optical Access wireless solutions Fibre and Optical Wireless products on show at Optical Networking Conference, Sydney Club KRONE introduces online redemption All products on show at Canberra Trade Day TrueNet demonstrated at Networld+Interop, Melbourne Win GIO Business Star of the Year Award in the Market Share category Win AEEMA Award for Excellence in Product Stewardship Win AEEMA Special Commendations for excellence in Energy Efficiency and Commercialising R&D All KRONE products certified as A-Tick compliant AirLAN™ wireless LAN family launched BROADWAY™ home cabling system introduced TrueNet ™ Cat Patch Cords available ComProtect ™ over-voltage product launched NETWORKnews CITYRAIL PLAYS IT SAFE WITH TERMINATOR® T by Jeff Glen, M anager, KRONE Australia’s Pow er & Control Division NETWORKnews he safety of the hundreds of thousands of passengers who use Sydney’s CityRail network is of paramount importance to the management team at the State Rail Authority (SRA) Vandalism and/or anti-social behaviour is a major concern Philips Projects Australasia (now Tyco Integrated Systems) was one of the successful bidders for the highly contested contract for what is the largest project of its type in the world In all, more than 5,700 CCTV cameras have been installed at 302 CityRail stations and major CityRail precincts such as commuter car parks and bus interchanges Images from all cameras are recorded at two frames per second, 24 hours a day This huge volume of data is maintained by a digital recording and storage system that provides reliable, high quality images for use in legal prosecution proceedings An intranet network links each of the CityRail stations Monitoring of the system (including live video) can take place from designated remote control room locations The success of the CCTV rollout was evident during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when the cameras were effectively used for security and crowd control John Freeland, Philips’ Site Supervisor for SRA said of TERMINATOR: “ One particular advantage of the KRONE TERMINATOR system was the ability to add fuse protection with indication to the camera supply circuits when required without having to change terminals and wiring.” “ KRONE’s TERMINATOR was the cabling termination solution specified by Philips Projects,” said Greg Lankow, Managing Director of systems integrator, Eurovac “ Prior to the “ We were so impressed by all the features the KRONE TERMINATOR system offers that we are now specifying it for our other CCTV sites.” CityRail project, we had no experience with the product and, as a first time user, found it extremely easy to use It actually halves the length of time we would normally have spent on stripping the wires down and connecting them to terminals “ From an ongoing maintenance point of view, fusable links can be easily monitored There are test points on the KRONE block where a probe may be inserted to determine the voltage and gauge the density of the signal Before TERMINATOR, we would have had to pull wires out and test each one individually,” said Mr Lankow “ We were so impressed by all the features the KRONE TERMINATOR system offers - and the fact that it is an Australian-manufactured product - that we are now specifying it for our other CCTV sites, particularly in the hotel security area.” PREMISNET A SOLUTION FOR EVERY NEED KRONE’s PremisNET™ st ruct ured cabling solut ions t ake int o account t he diff ering needs of our cust omers and provide unrivalled f lexibilit y and reliabilit y f or every t ype of net w ork demand O ur PremisNET solutions are classified in Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum levels By having four categories of PremisNET solutions, we aim to match people’s technical requirements with their financial expectations For instance, we offer 20-year warranties Realistically, if you manage the network in an organisation with a two-year lease on a floor in a building, why would you need a 20-year warranty? Our PremisNET Bronze level is a standardscompliant, Cat 5E solution By having four categories of PremisNET solutions, we aim to match people’s technical requirements with their financial expectations If you don’t have a huge dependence on IT, or don’t have an upgrade plan, the bronze plan is probably fine for you Maybe you are a small organisation with no desire to move from 10 megabit Ethernet We would then offer a costeffective, bronze level solution that met your technical requirements The Silver level is still standards-compliant to Cat 5E but we call it ‘Cat 5ET (the T standing for TrueNet)™ Our TrueNet systems (silver and platinum levels) have cable and connector components that have been impedance matched Therefore we can offers the customer a five-year warranty during which time we will guarantee zero bit error rate in the network It’s a step up from the basic Cat 5E solution At the gold and platinum end, if you are a large organisation that owns its premises - a good example would be a university or corporate headquarters - you are committed for the long term and probably have a high dependence on IT If the majority of your users are still using 10megabit of Ethernet but you have a planned migration within two years to Gigabit Ethernet, Voice over IP and videoconferencing, then you would want to install the best premium products by Peter Davis Sales and M arketing available M anager KRONE Australia ‘Gold’ is a standards-compliant Cat solution As yet, there is no approved standard for Cat but some customers still strive for that level of performance Our gold level solution conforms to the proposed Cat standard as we know it today The next level is our ‘Platinum’, Cat6T solution (again, the T is for TrueNet) This gives all the electrical parameters that we know for Cat and comes not only with a 20year parts, labour and service Platinum C6T warranty but also carries a fiveTrueNet CAT 6T Ultimate system efficiency year throughput warranty and future proofing guaranteeing zero bit error rate performance For more information or Gold C6 to taylor a solution to CAT 6/CLASS E Channel Future proofing for your needs, contact your Gigabit Ethernet and KRONE representative beyond in your State TM Silver C5eT Bronze C5e CAT 5e/CLASS D - 2000 Powersum Compliant Components TrueNet TM CAT 5eT Maximum system efficiency for Gigabit Ethernet KRONE is A-Tick OK All telecommunications equipment must carry the Australian Communications Authority (ACA) A-Tick mark It has been introduced to give consumers confidence that a telecommunications product meets the safety and technical standards set by the ACA The ACA w arns that use of products that don’t carry the A-Tick label is not only unsafe and potentially damaging to the netw ork, but that penalties may also be imposed All components of our PremisNET and AccessNET solutions carry the A-Tick mark in accordance w ith ACA regulations and our Product Compliance Folders are easily accessible at our Berkeley Vale headquarters NETWORKnews PRODUCT WATCH BUSINESS OR HOME, KRONE COVERS IT ALL THE WIRELESS LAN FOR ALL ENTERPRISES by Glen Johnston, Product Development M anager, KRONE Australia NETWORKnews Workers on the move, whether they are in large or medium enterprises, small business or SOHO situations, can all benefit from KRONE’s new broadband wireless local area network (LAN) solution, AirLAN™ We’ve expanded our PremisNET product portfolio into the wireless area and AirLAN will provide mobile workers with access to e-mail, the Internet and business networks AirLAN is designed as a competitively priced, easy-to-install, plug-and-play solution that enables communication from anywhere in a building, at any time Based on the IEEE 802.11b standard for wireless communications, there are three products in the KRONE AirLAN family: the Access Point acts as a bridge between wireless and Ethernet networks; the PC Card for mobile notebook computers allows the user to access in-home or corporate networks when combined with the Access Point; and the USB Adapter plugs into the desktop PC, enabling the mobile computer user wireless access to the home PC or network when combined with the Access Point All three products can be used together to provide expanded wireless communications The key benefit of the AirLAN family is that mobile notebook users have the freedom to move from room to room, or floor to floor, while still maintaining a high-speed, 11Mbps wireless connection to the business or SOHO local area network It is a quick and easy-to-install; plug-and-play solution that minimises the potential of tangled cabling The AirLAN family is ideal for: small office/home office (SOHO) operators, difficult-to-wire buildings, frequently changing environments, mobile users within a corporate network, and areas that don’t need permanent access to a LAN AirLAN’s operating system supports Windows 95/98/NT/2000ME The product’s external operating range covers140 metres at 11Mbps, 200 metres at 5.5Mbps and 400 metres at 1Mbps Inside the building, at close office range, AirLAN reaches 30 metres at 11Mbps, 35 metres at 5.5Mbps and 50 metres at 1Mbps family and SOHO business, with the extra benefit of adding value to the property KRONE’S NEW BROADWAY STAR BROADWAY™ is a home wiring system that links four rooms or areas in the home with phone, fax, printer and computer lines, as well as broadband signals for cable and free-to-air TV, giving residents the ultimate in flexibility for their information and entertainment needs We have seen SOHO businesses emerge as a solid market force BROADWAY was designed to meet the specific needs of this residential market The features included in our BROADWAY 10 and products - for larger-sized residences and apartments - have been incorporated into BROADWAY 4, and fine-tuned to suit families with students or a home business, or both Designed to complement the décor of most homes, BROADWAY is a cavity wall-mounted control box that achieves Category 5e transmission performance It can be situated in a cupboard, under the stairs, in a garage or cellar - anywhere the resident decides will give easy access for the simple plug-and-play redirection of signals to different areas of the home When combined with a hub, BROADWAY delivers an instant Ethernet networking system All that is visible in the four designated areas within the residence is the neat wall outlet (similar to those seen in most offices) into to which your communication device (telephone, computer, TV, VCR) plugs One distinct advantage of KRONE’s BROADWAY range is that it allows new technologies, like optical fibre services to be added later By installing BROADWAY 4, the owner is future-proofing the home for the future requirements of the TRUEPATCH GIVES DIY CAT PERFORMANCE A Category version has been added to our TruePatch™ family of patch cords Patch cords are the most overlooked component in the cabling infrastructure system However, our test laboratories show that the overall performance of the network can be improved simply by replacing existing patch cords with the high-performance, impedancematched TruePatch product - and the IS team can it themselves TruePatch is a vital part of our revolutionary TrueNet cabling channel In many installations, cabling is installed as a link only, and the user adds patch panels as needed - or patch cables are added to the installation over time as needs change or older cords fail In either case the effect of mismatched or marginal cords on network throughput can be disastrous TruePatch patch cords are tuned to match all components in the TrueNet channel for optimum throughput A frustrating reality of the advance of technology is that new innovations tend to make the previous generation of equipment obsolete Fortunately, network managers can realise some of the benefits of KRONE’s TrueNet system simply by adding TruePatch patch cords to their existing installations Manufactured at KRONE’s plant on the NSW Central Coast, TruePatch Cat6T patch cords are the best Cat solution available, fulfilling Cat requirements according to the relevant ISO/IEC and TIA/EIA standards NETWORKnews TAKING KRONE TO YOU NEW NATIONAL AND NSW MANAGERS FOR OUR PREMISNET TEAM by Peter Davis, Sales and M arketing M anager, KRONE Australia T revor Kleinert has been appointed as our National Sales Manager - PremisNET and Terry Buckridge joins us as New South Wales Sales Manager -PremisNET Brendan Giles also has been recruited to the NSW sales team Trevor was previously our Business Development Manager, Fibre Optics and will continue with his responsibility for that area for the time being He brings to his new role 17 years’ experience in the industry across the areas of sales and marketing and product management and development; he has been particularly involved in the fibre optics area for the past seven years Trevor holds a BiCSi RCDD accreditation as a registered com-munications distribution designer and has been involved in standards and technical panels for BiCSi in Australia and the USA Terry Buckridge returns to the fold after spending four years as a Business Development Manager for two of our KRONE endorsed installers This experience will help us improve our service to our customers Terry was previously a sales executive with our ACT Terry Buckridge New South office and originally Wales Sales M anager PremisNET joined us after managing a cabling installation contracting company Brendan Giles, our new NSW sales executive, brings with him ten years’ experience in various sales management positions for distributors and integrators in the data communications industry ON THE ROAD WITH OPTICAL ACCESS Syd n ey/Can b er r a W Syd Can NETWORKnews e took to the road recently and exhibited our Optical Access products at the Optical Networking Australia conference in Sydney and held our own Trade Day in Canberra Zeev Draer, International Sales Director of KRONE partner, Optical Access, came to Australia for both events and gave a presentation on Free Space Optical networks (FSO) and showed how his company is deploying FSO technology in Sao Paulo, Brazil The two-day Optical Networking conference was well attended and showed the increased interest in the subject as companies sought to assess the future of intelligent optical networking and learn about the key economic and technical issues in developing and deploying the all-optical network In Canberra, we had a chance to meet around 100 customers and suppliers and we were able to show them: our revolutionary TrueNet solution - the first end-to-end cabling system specifically designed to prevent throughput loss in local area networks; our HIGHLIGHT fibre portfolio and the Optical Access range of optical wireless and advanced switching and routing solutions; our PremisNET range of RJ solutions, patch panels jacks, patch cords, cable and cable management products; and our SOHO and Small Business solutions comprising the BROADWAY home cabling management system and the MiniLAN mini patching cabinet for small workgroups We also used the occasion to introduce AirLAN, our new broadband wireless local area network (LAN) family of products (See story on page 6) GIO AND AEEMA VOTE KRONE THE BEST KRONE honoured by indust ry accolades f or it s Product St ew ardship and M arket Share O ctober was a rewarding month for KRONE Australia We won the GIO Business Star of the Year Award in the category of Market Share and, for the second year in a row, we received an Excellence Award from the Australian Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association (AEEMA) - this time it was for Product Stewardship AEEMA also gave us Special Commendation Certificates for our work in Energy Efficiency and Excellence in Commercialising R&D We were one of only seven Australian companies to be so honoured The 2000/2001 GIO Business Stars Programme, conducted through the prestigious National Business Bulletin magazine, called for nominations from fast-growing Australian companies with annual sales of seven figures or more over the past decade More than 400 submissions were received Philip Thomson, Director of National Business Magazines and the GIO Awards judging panel, said: “ With virtually all fixed telephone lines in Australia using KRONE products and virtually every significant office building wired with KRONE connectors, the company is a worthy winner of the Business Star of the Year Market Share Award.” We are commit t ed t o best pract ices in every aspect of t he product lif ecycle The GIO Business Star Award is certainly appropriate and much appreciated, coming just after the respected UK BRSIA research organisation in its Report into the structured cabling market in Australia confirmed that KRONE Australia has the lion’s share of the sector, which is more than double that of our nearest rival With regard to the AEEMA accolades, it is gratifying to receive such an acknowledgement from our peers Winning the AEEMA Excellence Award in Product Stewardship is a testament to our dedication to Australian-designed, developed and manufactured products More than 75 per cent of all KRONE product KRONE CEO, Craig Jones accepting his aw ard from Senator M arise Payne sold in Australia meets this criteria A further 15 per cent of products are made in Australia under licence What’s more, 80 per cent of KRONE’s automated machinery is made in Australia and a high portion of that by our own in-house engineers We are committed to best practices in every aspect of the product lifecycle This is reflected in KRONE’s adherence to ISO 9001 quality procedures and ISO 14001 standards for Environmental Management Systems All saleable products have to pass through a stringent seven-step milestone process and only then are released into the market Every possible consideration is given to environmental impacts in this process Products are made completely from recyclable materials, as is all packaging All cardboard packaging is made from 100% recycled material and the packaging is re-engineered to reduce the amount of cardboard used by Craig Jones, CEO, KRONE Australia Thanks team I’d like to take this opportunity to congratulate our people at KRONE - from R&D and product development right through to production, manufacturing, supply and sales administration It is their commitment to excellence that has resulted in our reputation for quality products and service These awards belong to them NETWORKnews KRONE’S INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS CONNECTING PEOPLE AND TECHNOLOGY I n 140 countries, KRONE provides solutions for companies ranging from network operators and industry leaders to medium-sized operators and small enterprises Shane M cIntosh Export M anager, KRONE Australia In the case of AccessNET, these include worldrenowned telecommunications companies such as the United States’ largest carrier, Verizon, Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, China Telecom, France Telecom and our own Telstra WALKING WITH DINOSAURS Our Optical Access products were instrumental in providing the network technology used by UK company, Framestore, for its work on the BBC’s Walking with Dinosaurs TV series Recreating 155 million years of prehistory, most of it in ‘virtual reality’, required awesome computing power Framestore, which created the digital images and computer animation, had to deal with a huge amount of data - In the field of structured cabling, we can boast equally high-profile connections For instance, Steven Spielberg’s Dreamworks SKG animation studio boasts a powerful KRONE network infrastructure Digital animation requires enormous computing capacity over fast networks and KRONE supplied an infrastructure that keeps the animators focused on drawing the next blockbuster, without worrying about network capacity going bust LINKING WITH HISTORY One address, steeped in history and religion creating a single scene might result in a 200 MB file at 1.5MB per frame Several servers on a multi-site network might be running all night to process up to 12,000 frames by morning and Optical Access provided the switching technology and fibre-driven backbone to move this immense payload of information WHEN HOLLYWOOD CALLS 10 NETWORKnews and instantly recognised throughout the world, is the Vatican City in Rome Behind its solid, ancient walls, a PremisNET solution is installed AROUND THE GLOBE linking 1,000 rooms - including the Vatican museums and the famous library - and 3,000 users in the Papal State READY FOR THE FUTURE The ‘Millennium Dome’ in the London district of Greenwich is a symbol for the third millennium and testament to the future capability of KRONE Technology KRONE continues to play a key role in providing telecommunications solutions for future technologies In the deregulated telecoms markets, new network operators are creating their own infrastructures with proven KRONE technology In emerging markets, such as South America, Asia and Africa, KRONE is at the forefront, reflecting the new dynamism of these economies with state-of the art installations that lay the groundwork for the future With our network of subsidiaries, four development and seven production locations around the globe, you’ll find KRONE speaking the same global language as our customers and provisioning networks which meet demands and exceed expectations widespread damage in an area as densely populated and so critical to the financial world as lower Manhattan As the world watched, Verizon’s employees proved they could meet the challenges These efforts ranged from helping the New York Stock Exchange resume trading and handle record volumes less than a week after the attacks to helping small businesses survive by transferring their phone numbers to temporary locations “ Source: Verizon website KRONE is contracted to supply network connectivity products and solutions to Verizon, and we pitched in to help by escalating our manufacturing and delivery processes to meet emergency deadlines KRONE’s AccessNET solutions for public networks provide Verizon, the United States’ largest telecommunications company, with the flexibility, density and reliability it requires to maintain the high quality of service that its customers demand Visit www.verizon.com and see the special edition of the company’s Service Standard newsletter which provides a further look at what happened in New York VERIZON RECONNECTS LOWER MANHATTAN “ The terrible events of September 11 presented Verizon Communications with an enormous challenge Perhaps at no time in the last century has a telecommunications company been faced with having to quickly repair NETWORKnews 11 BOOSTED CABLE PERFORMANCE TESTS THE TESTERS A by Peter M eijer, Technical Training M anager, Industry Liaison pproval and upgrading of new structured cable system standards will help meet the needs of high performance systems The standards allow for extra testing guidelines to address performance improvements necessary to support Gigabit Ethernet (1000 BASE-T) and improve Fast Ethernet (100 BASE-T) performance The TIA* Category 5e structured cabling component standard has been approved, together with an upgrading of the ISO* cabling system standard Similar amendments to the Australian-New Zealand system standard are expected to follow shortly Of particular note is the need to consider the impact of patch cords on the performance of the channel with new specifications for patch cord performance being incorporated into the new Category 5e component standard Standards for patch cords previously didn’t exist so many of those currently in service may not meet the new requirements With the advent of these changes to the standards it is important to ensure that handheld field testers used to test structured cabling installations are certified for Category 5e use Most existing Category cable scanners have been effectively rendered obsolete by Category 5e The following level 2e testers are recommended for testing of Cat 5e solutions: MicroTest PentaScanner 350; Agilent WS155 (software version 5.2 or higher); and FLUKE DSP4000 The Category standard is still at a very early stage of implementation, with final ratification Basic Link Permanent Link Channel 12 NETWORKnews not expected until the second quarter of 2002 at the earliest The two main barriers to Category compliance are currently Return Loss and backward compatibility interoperability (the ability to mix and match products from various vendors at different performance levels), which is an extremely difficult engineering problem to resolve The following testers are recommended for Cat solutions: MicroTest OmniScanner & 2; Agilent WS350 (formally HP); and FLUKE DSP 4000/4100 Return Loss - or signal reflection - is largely caused by mismatches in components used to make up the permanent link or channel The potential impact of these mismatches is a moderate to severe reduction in data throughput In 1999, this problem was recognised by KRONE and resulted in the development and introduction of its revolutionary TrueNet™ structured cabling system This same engineering issue is now under review by the ISO Standards for patch cords previously didn’t exist so many of those currently in service may not meet the new requirements The backward compatibility and interoperability requirements of the Category draft standard are also an area of concern Most vendors have their own solution but are still grappling with the issue of mixing with other vendors Existing Category products are largely proprietary with varying amounts of proprietary compensation being built into both plugs and sockets and this does not allow mixing of jacks and patch cords from different vendors with different amounts of compensation * TIA is the US-based, globally recognised Telecommunications Industry Association ISO is the International Organisation for Standardisation; headquartered in Switzerland - it sets international standards ACCESSNET HIGHTIME SEMINARS During November, our AccessNET division held HighTIM E seminars in Sydney and M elbourne f or our carriers, service provider and OEM cust omers F ree space optics is in growing demand due to today’s high bandwidth application and requirements for fast development During one of the seminar sessions KRONE’s fibre experts, Trevor Kleinert and Alan Crawford, gave an overview of the next generation optical wireless solutions that are available right now Trevor also gave a separate talk on KRONE’s fibre portfolio, based on our HIGHLIGHT range Robert Cross, KRONE’s National Sales Manager for AccessNET, gave a presentation on overvoltage protection He also took the opportunity to update delegates on our AccessNET portfolio, including some exciting new tailor made products for special applications During this session, Robert talked about the reliability of KRONE connectivity compared to that of competitors in the marketplace Recent laboratory test clearly confirms the superiority of the KRONE LSA Plus connection technique Should you wish to have a more in-depth discussion on this subject, we would be pleased to share the findings of test with you The seminar ended with KRONE’s Technical Manager, Peter Meijer, giving an update on what is happening with the fast changing telecommunications standards The informal part of the event gave us all the opportunity to network on a social level over dinner and entertainment As always, the opportunity to network with our customers was invaluable The feedback received from delegates was excellent and we will take note of their suggestions as we develop products and services to suit the AccessNET market by Robert Cross, National Sales M anager, AccessNET M elbourne delegates Wayne Tate, Tenix Alliance, and KirstyM arshall Sydney delegates Arthur Schumann, ETTA, and Robert Cross NETWORKnews 13 LIGHTNING CHARGES TOWARDS When light ning st rikes it blackens corporat e reput at ions as w ell as propert y and sensit ive t elecommunicat ions equipment Net w ork dow nt ime caused by light ning damage can aff ect cust omer service, eroding conf idence and revenues by Robert Cross, National Sales M anager AccessNET, KRONE Australia T he issue of protecting networks from security breaches has attracted considerable attention but organisations also need to guard against environmental risks such as lightning Damaged or destroyed equipment, which is integrated into manufacturing or data storage processes, can cause physical damage, as well as high consequential losses due to downtime Lightning strikes can also delay production due to data loss and damage process control computers or computer-based warehouse and storage systems Such delays usually cost many times the amount of the direct damage While it is almost impossible to protect against direct lightning strikes, research indicates that such incidents are only responsible for five per cent of damage caused by atmospheric discharges The fact is that almost all damage is caused by indirect lightning hits The fact is that almost all damage is caused by indirect lightning hits When the charge hits the ground it radiates in a rippling effect through the earth, like a pebble thrown into the centre of a pool This means that networks located within a radius of one or more kilometres away from the 14 NETWORKnews site of impact can be affected The annual damage caused by this in Australia is estimated to be millions of dollars Lightning often enters a network via the customer local-loop, normally between streetside telecommunications cabinets and office buildings From the point of entry, energy from lightning travels in both directions - towards premises and street-side cabinets or telephone exchanges In most cases, substantial damage can be expected Some telecommunications companies provide overvoltage protection in their networks but this is not usually designed to protect customers In most cases, customer premises equipment has no protection from lightning or power contact with the telecommunications network Awareness of the need for overvoltage protection has increased in recent years due to growing demands on modern communications for voice and data traffic, and organisations’ greater reliance on their networks At the same time, rapid developments in electronics have resulted in miniaturisation of many communications systems and components This has increased the density of electronics but made them less robust This is the reason overvoltage protection between telephone lines and equipment is needed, in NETWORKS lightning strike injuries each year, about 80 per cent result from people using fixed telephones during thunderstorms when the phone system may become highly charged near where lightning is striking Related injuries may include hearing damage, burns or even electrocution.” KRONE offers systems specifically for protection of equipment in data and In most cases, customer premises equipment has no protection from lightning or power contact with the telecommunications network addition to surge protection for sensitive electronic devices such as PABXs, modems, and faxes Lightning is not the only potential cause of damage to telecommunications equipment Direct or indirect contact between power and telecommunications cables can also pose a threat to equipment and personal safety According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology: “ Severe thunderstorms can occur at any time of the year and most strike between September and March when the supply of solar energy is greatest Of the many communication networks and in measurement and control applications The protective circuits guard against electrical influences due to lightning or power contact, discharging them on impact Stage/ point a a' GDT b Line KRONE ComProtect graded 5-point protection b' Syst em For more information about KRONE’s network protection technology and other products and services call your KRONE representative or visit the website at: www.krone.com.au COM PROTECT SAFEGUARDS YOUR INVESTM ENT ComProtect™, the new est addition to KRONE’s overvoltage protection range, gives graded five—point protection of single pairs on HIGHBAND 10 or Series disconnect or sw itching modules mounted on KRONE Profil or Backmount frames Unlike the majority of protectors w hich are destroyed by the impact of a “pow er cross” fault, ComProtect’s unique circuits restore themselves immediately to normal operation once the fault is corrected This feature is achieved by careful selection of the protective elements used and greatly reduces the level of maintenance required ComProtect is easy to use - the compact over-voltage protection plug is simply attached to the KRONE disconnection or sw itching module It is also possible to retrofit ComProtect to existing KRONE distribution equipment The KRONE range of overvoltage products is suited to the latest applications w ith high transmission rates such as ASDN and xDSL Besides ComProtect, it.also includes various arrestor magazines for over-voltage protection All the versions, HIGHBAND, Profil Series and NT, have one thing in common they are adaptations of the protective components of KRONE’s patented LSA-PLUS and/ or LSA PROFIL distribution systems M DF 71 and other related dropw ire and PCB modules are also available ONLINE REDEMPTION ITS EASY SAYS NEWSCOM Club KRONE member, New sCom is right behind online redempt ion because it is f ast , easy and t he rew ards are great by M ark M eyer M anager Club KRONE “ In the past, we were probably lazy,” said Scott Ellard of NewsComm “ We’ve been members of Club KRONE but missed out on redemptions because we just kept on forgetting the deadlines, no matter how often we were reminded “ It was always a bit of a chore to fill in the fax form and calculate the number of points Now, all we need is go into the Club KRONE website, register NewsCom’s ID and we can see our invoices and points entitlement immediately “ The last batch of bonus products we received included ten of the 27-way covers They’re priced at around $80 each so that’s $800 worth of product We were able to put them into a project we were doing and the payment we received was pure profit on the job,” he said “ That’s a great incentive to redeem products online “ We share the bonus products around between technicians - it’s always handy to be able to have some spare stock in the van in case we need it Scott also pointed out that, aside from online redemption, Club KRONE membership is important for NewsCom “ It keeps us abreast of what is happening in the industry via your newsletter, Network News - and I particularly like getting the technical updates and new product releases via your e-mail bulletins.” NewsCom is based in Bayswater a suburb of Melbourne It has 20 people, including 15 technical experts and its main customers are universities such as the six Melbourne-based institutions, schools and technical colleges; they also commercial fit-outs for customers such as Westfield KRONE’s 2001/ 2002 Product Catalogue Most of you will already have received a copy of the latest KRONE Product Catalogue We trust you have found the new format easier to use than ever, allowing quick reference to KRONE product information To support the release of the printed edition, we have recently deployed an online version of the catalogue on KRONE Australia’s website, www.krone.com.au The new online catalogue has seen many improvements from the previous version, now offering… Seven different methods of searching Display of related products, as in the printed catalogue Colour coding for product families follows the same standard as used in the printed catalogue Higher quality colour images Descriptive icons showing: performance level, PremisNET solution, and network area Access the Online Catalogue in the same way as the old version From the KRONE.com.au home page just click on the “ Product Catalogue” link on the left hand side navigation menu Of course, the hard copy version is still available For your copy contact us through the offices listed below HEAD OFFICE KRONE NSW KRONE VIC/ TAS KRONE WA Hereford Street BERKELEY VALE NSW 2261 PO Box 335 WYONG NSW 2259 Ph: (02) 4388 4422 Fax: (02) 4388 4499 1/46-48 Percy Street AUBURN NSW 2144 Ph: (02) 9749 9200 Fax: (02) 9749 9955 Suite 12, 622 Ferntree Gully Road, WHEELERS HILL VIC 3150 Ph: (03) 9560 0977 Fax: (03) 9560 0988 KRONE QLD KRONE ACT Suite 46, Como Corporate Centre 11 Preston Street COMO WA 6152 PH: (08) 9474 6600 FAX: (08) 9474 3898 Level 1, 67 St Pauls Terrace SPRING HILL QLD 4004 Ph: (07) 3236 9233 Fax: (07) 3236 9244 1/42 Geils Court DEAKIN ACT 2600 Ph: (02) 6281 4580 Fax: (02) 6281 4453 TOLL FREE TECH SUPPORT: 1800 801 298 KRONE SA/NT Web Site: www.krone.com.au KRONE NEW ZEALAND Cnr The Esplanade & Nevis St PETONE NZ Ph: +64 / 576 9213 Fax: +64 / 576 9243 Suite 11, 297 Pirie Street ADELAIDE SA 5000 Ph: (08) 8236 0111 Fax: (08) 8232 6699 ... Seminars Club KRONE Product Watch Lightning Charges Towards Networks Website: www .krone. com.au Email: kronehlp @krone. com.au A YEAR OF MILESTONES AND ACCOLADES First Quarter: January - M arch PremisNET... headquarters NETWORKnews PRODUCT WATCH BUSINESS OR HOME, KRONE COVERS IT ALL THE WIRELESS LAN FOR ALL ENTERPRISES by Glen Johnston, Product Development M anager, KRONE Australia NETWORKnews Workers... provide mobile workers with access to e-mail, the Internet and business networks AirLAN is designed as a competitively priced, easy-to-install, plug-and-play solution that enables communication