Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1192126
54 I ICT TODAY Ultimately, all entities may benefit from better net- work performance and low latency for critical services because there are fewer electrical-to-electrical transitions and optical-to-electrical conversions. Fewer conver- sions mean less energy consumed, less heat generated and reduced latency across the end-to-end network, whether transmitting between buildings or campuses. Network Stability and Availability ANSI/TIA-1179-A specifically calls out the need for maximum reliability; therefore, LAN stability is a high priority for healthcare facilities. Fiber optic cabling and POL can improve LAN stability by adding operational efficiencies and lower costs. Unplanned LAN downtime in healthcare and hospital facilities puts critical care at risk. Legacy copper-based LANs' base architecture advertises three-nines (99.9 percent) reliability or 8 hours and 45 minutes of down- time a year. To compensate for the extremely high annual downtime, legacy copper-based LANs have over-engi- neered the amount of capacity, power, common control, paths, access, aggregation, switching, core and cabling that inflates the costs of healthcare facilities. The Passive optical LAN has been deployed in service provider net- works for decades, providing carrier-class service of five- nines (99.999 percent) reliability or just 5 minutes and 15 seconds of annual unplanned downtime for a fraction of the cost. With roots in the carrier/service provider world, the underlying telecom equipment is purpose-built to deliver lifeline voice service year after year. A passive optical LAN also provides an option for 99.9999 percent/six-nines network availability (i.e., 30 seconds) with FSAN ITU Type-B PON protection by using a 2:32, 2:16 or 2:8 passive optical splitter. With Type-B PON protection, there is fiber route diversity across the optical cable plant infrastructure and two fully redundant geographically dispersed OLTs in two unique locations. Network Security at Lower Costs Healthcare facilities are responsible for the security of medical records. This is the basic premise behind the 1996 federal Health Insurance Portability and Account- ability Act (HIPAA). Optical fiber cabling and POL provide a more secure LAN. Some in the U.S. federal government and U.S. military prefer this all-fiber LAN for their secure and top-secret LANs because it potentially delivers cable and equipment security, as well as user and system security. Environmental Sustainability Healthcare facilities are often heavy power users but have undertaken sustainability initiatives. Fiber optic cabling and POL can help meet those goals directly and with an indirect rippling effect through energy savings, less plastics, PVCs and lead. Credits can go toward U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)/ Lead- ership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).