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First Ever Dura-Line Technology Summit Digs Into Microtrenching
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Before your community can start bringing better connectivity to municipal facilities, offering dark fiber to businesses or local ISPs, or supplying Internet access to residents, you must develop the infrastructure. In the past couple of years, a growing interest in microtrenching has spawned questions from local communities looking for options to traditional excavation. On May 1st, infrastructure product and system manufacturer and distributor Dura-Line held their first Technology Summit focused exclusively on microtrenching. The Austin, Texas, event attracted 200 professionals interested in learning more.
Special guest speakers included:
- Dan Urban - Corbel Communications Industries, LLC
- Chris Levendos - Crown Castle
- Jed Zook - Douglas County PUD (Washington state)
- Richard Thomas - Mayor of Mt. Vernon, NY
At the event, attendees were able to view a live demonstration of the step-by-step microtrenching process.
As Dura-Line notes in their press release, increases in urbanization and the critical need for high-quality connectivity will continue to drive innovation for new deployment strategies. While microtrenching has had mixed results in places such as Louisville, other communities are working through issues and having success. In Washington, the Douglas County Community Network (DCCN) is using the deployment technique and making it pay off, after facing problems related to inclement weather.
Enthusiasm at the event has encouraged Dura-Line to consider planning for a second Summit. Tim Grimsley, Vice President of Global Customer Engagement said:
“We even had several people already asking about next year’s topic and location. Our goal for each Dura-Line Technology Summit is to educate people on the benefits, techniques, and best practices of a focused topic. We look forward to providing this new annual event because ultimately the services we provide as an industry help advance communication around the world.”
Dura-Line released this video after the event, highlighting the microtrenching demonstration:
For another short explainer on the microtrenching process, check out this video from the Douglas County Community Network (DCCN). Learn more about how the Douglas County PUD began serving rural and urban areas and how microtrenching has played a key role in their deployment:
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