Utility Joint Use: Industry Terms

Backhaul

A fiber optic cable that connects a small cell to the core network, also called the fiber backbone.

BEAD

Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program to expand high-speed internet access through funding of planning, infrastructure and adoption.

Busing

Insulating material which separates a piece of equipment from its connection to a conductor.

Capacitor

A device used to manage electrical capacity that stores electricity for release into a circuit when a drop in voltage occurs.

Circuit

A series of conductors which carry electrical current.

CLEC

Competitive Local Exchange Carrier

Communications Space

The lowest space on the pole occupied by communication lines including CATV, broadband, fiber, telephone, and more.

Conductor

A wire or group of wires that are not insulated from each other, sufficient to carry electrical current.

Consumer

Paying customers who use the electricity supplied by a utility. These can be residential, commercial, or agricultural.

Conversation

A "Conversation" in Alden ONE refers to all the communications among utility stakeholders regarding common asset data, relevant processes/workflows, and other information necessary for a task or project to be completed, such as documents, notes, photos, invoices, and contracts.

Article: Learn about Alden ONE Conversations >

C-RAN

Standing for either centralized or cloud radio access network.

Current

The wave-shaped electrical charge flowing through a conductor. In electrical circuits, carried by moving electrons through a wire.

DAS

Distributed Antenna System i.e. - wireless.

De-energized

A piece of equipment or conductor that is not carrying an electrical current. Also referred to as dead or open.

Detach

Remove an attachment from a pole.

Densification

The process of increasing cellular capacity in accordance with increased demand by building more cell sites in a given area.

Digital Twin

A digital version of an asset as it exists in the real world. 

Distribution

A  system of electrical circuits that originates at a substation and supplies electricity to consumers.

Double Wood, Double Pole, Buddy Pole

When a new pole is set and the old one is not removed, often leaving equipment attached to multiple poles.

Downstream Flow

The current going away from the substation.

Electric Cooperative

A nonprofit business owned by it's members that supplies electricity; all profits are reinvested for infrastructure and/or redistributed among the members.

Energized

A piece of equipment or conductor that is connected to power and carrying an electrical current. Also referred to as live, hot, or closed.

Fault

An abnormal flow of current.

FCC

The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States.

Fiber

A thin flexible fiber with a glass core through which light signals can be sent with very little loss of strength. Fiber is deployed on utility poles to bring higher speed internet service to consumers.

Flow

The path of current through a conductor.

GIS

Geographic Information Systems (GIS). A system that stores, manages, analyzes, and displays geographic data.

Ground

A direct connection to the earth which de-energizes an item.

Guy Wire

A wire carrying no current which is used to keep a pole standing upright.

Hot Stick

The telescoping fiberglass pole which is used to measure and adjust equipment in the power and communications spaces on a utility pole. 

Impedance

ILEC

Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier

Insulator

A block of material, typically glass or ceramic, enclosing or supporting a wire carrying an electric current where it crosses a support.

Joint Pole Audit

The process of when the pole owner and attacher(s) go in tandem into the field or agree upon a contractor to perform pole attachment verification and other data collection.

Joint Ownership

Two utilities (or more) own a percentage of a pole. 

Joint Trench

The practice of burying different utilities together in one trench.

Joint Use

The shared use of utility and communication poles by utilities, cable, telecom companies, municipalities, and various public and private entities.

Video: Joint Use 101 - Learning the Basics >

Joint Use Agreement

Agreement between a pole owner (asset owner) and a non-pole owner (asset attacher) to allow additional equipment to be placed on a pole.

Joint Use Pole

A utility pole where attachment space is owned by one company and space is rented by other service providers. Asset owners charge equipment-attaching companies rent for space on poles.

Liability

The state of being responsible for something, especially by law. Utilities may be held liable for a variety of reasons, including: negligence, wildfires, and service interruptions.

Lightning Arrestor

Equipment which protects the grid on a pole from voltage surges often caused by lightning strikes.

Line

The supply of electricity as it relates to equipment. 

Load

The demand for electricity as it relates to equipment.

Make-Ready

Make-ready is the work necessary for poles to be prepped for new attachments. Before other service providers can attach additional equipment to any given pole, make-ready work may be required. 

NESC

National Electrical Safety Code is the standard of the safe installation, operation, and maintenance of electric power and communication utility systems.

Neutral Space

The space below the supply space and above the communications space on a joint pole.

Nominal Voltage

The voltage level of a distribution circuit to supply sufficient power to consumers. 

Notifications

Automated notifications to help keep activities on track in Alden ONE. Users can customize notification preferences and frequency.

NTP

Notice to Proceed

Operating Voltage

The variance above or below the nominal voltage, usually less than +/ 5% of the nominal voltage.

OSHA

The Occupational Health and Safety Administration is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of Labor that establishes and enforces workplace safety and health regulations.

OSP

Outside Plant – Commonly refers to the infrastructure up to the customers endpoint (house, business, etc).

OTMR

One Touch Make Ready requires pole owners to allow a single construction crew to make changes to multiple utility wires (companies).

Overlash

The process of attaching additional wires or cables to those that are already attached to a utility pole, accommodating any additional strands of fiber or coaxial cable on existing  attachments.

Parity Agreement

Between two asset owners, each owning a fixed percentage of poles for a mutual service territory.

PCA

Post Construction Audit – Customer review of field work performed during Construction, Make-Ready, or Attaching Equipment.

Phase

The complementary waveform shape of a current designated as A, B, or C that is separated by 120 degrees. Each primary conductor carries a single phase.

Pole Abandonment

A utility pole is a pole where all attachments have been removed. 

Pole Loading Analysis

Assesses pole condition by evaluating the forces impacting them. Includes examining attached equipment to prevent overloading and potential pole failure. May be required before attachments can be permitted.

Power Space

Any space on the pole primarily utilized for the distribution of electric power – the space between power lines, and includes the space from the top of the pole down to the Communications Space and includes the space above the Communications Space designated by the National Electrical Safety Code as the "communication worker safety zone."

PTA

Permit to Attach – Process by which a service provider is granted access to space on a utility pole. One of the most common workflows utilized by within Alden ONE.

PUC

Public Utility Commission – Governmental body provides oversight or regulation of public utilities in a particular geographic area.

RDOF

Rural Digital Opportunity Fund to aid in broadband and voice services to under-served rural areas.

Riser

Equipment that transfers current from overhead to underground.

ROW

ROW refers to the right-of-way that public utilities are granted to use on municipal roads and streets, private land, railroads, public and federal lands, and utility corridors.

Secondary Power

The low voltage line below the primary power which has had the voltage stepped down to be consumable by the direct consumer.

Service Drop

The wire which carries a communications signal from the pole to the consumer.

Small Cell

Low power equipment that can be placed on a pole, building or other structure to enhance cellular network coverage and capacity.

SPA

Single Pole Administrator. Appointed to optimize and streamline the management and maintenance of public utility infrastructure situated within public rights of way.

Streetlight

A light illuminating a road, typically mounted on a pole. Can be used for joint use utility attachments.

Storm Hardening

The process of ensuring a network will continue to function through a major storm by improving areas where infrastructure is likely to fail.

Supply Space

The space from pole tip down to secondary that carries the power supply on a joint pole.

Switch

Equipment that redirects or interrupts current.

Task Agent

Alden's mobile app utilized for field data capture. Syncs with Alden ONE. Available for iOS and Android. 
Learn More >  |  Download Info Sheet >

Third-Party Attachment

Any piece of equipment attached to an existing utility pole or infrastructure by another company to provide their services, in addition to the services provided by the pole's owner, for which the company pays rent to the pole or asset owner for the right to use the space.

Transformer

The equipment that reduces the voltage to a level that is used by consumers.

Transmission

The equipment that carries the bulk of high voltage electricity over long distances between power generating plants and distribution substations.

Upstream Flow

The current going towards the substation.

Underground Conduit

An underground conduit is a shared space designed to house and protect essential service lines. It plays a critical role in ensuring the safe and reliable transmission of electricity, communication signals, and other vital utilities.

Volt

The difference of electric potential between two points of a conductor carrying a constant current.

WO

Work Order – Task or job to be scheduled or assigned.