Ultimately, all entities may benefit from better network
performance and low latency for critical services
because there are fewer electrical-to-electrical transitions
and optical-to-electrical conversions. Fewer conversions
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 downtime
a year. To compensate for the extremely high annual
downtime, legacy copper-based LANs have over-engineered
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 networks
for decades, providing carrier-class service of fivenines
(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
54 I ICT TODAY
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 Accountability
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)/ Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED).