Enhancing Fibre Network Resilience: Leveraging SkillsBase Tools to Mitigate Severe Weather Impacts

Fibre optic networks are renowned for their speed and reliability. However, severe weather conditions—such as heavy rain, strong winds, flooding, and lightning—can pose significant challenges. These elements can lead to physical damage, signal degradation, and service disruptions. For instance, strong winds can cause cables to become damaged or displaced, leading to data loss and signal degradation¹.

• • Physical Damage: Fallen trees, flooding, and debris can damage fibre optic cables, leading to immediate service outages².
  • Signal Degradation: Lightning storms can cause electromagnetic interference (EMI) that can disrupt fibre internet signals¹.
  • Access Issues: Severe weather can make it challenging for engineers to access affected areas promptly, delaying repairs.

Implementing proactive maintenance strategies can significantly mitigate these challenges. SkillsBase’s suite of tools not only enhances fault detection and repair efficiency but also ensures compliance and quality control through meticulous documentation and audit trails.

1. Splice Fault Detector: Precision and Compliance in Fibre Repairs: The Splice Fault Detector revolutionises fault detection and repair, especially in post-storm scenarios where quick, accurate diagnostics are critical.

• • Rapid Fault Identification: Engineers can swiftly pinpoint splice faults, reducing diagnostic time and enabling faster repairs.
  • First-Time-Right Repairs: By providing precise diagnostics, the tool reduces the likelihood of repeat site visits—a major advantage when access is limited by severe weather.
  • Compliance & Quality Control: Engineers can upload test results and repair data directly to the cloud, creating a comprehensive audit trail for every job.

2. AI Virtual Buddy: Ensuring Installation Quality and Regulatory Adherence: The AI Virtual Buddy enhances installation quality, providing real-time feedback to ensure work meets industry standards.

• • Real-Time Quality Control: During installations or repairs, the AI Virtual Buddy offers instant feedback to engineers, ensuring that best practices are followed even in high-pressure situations like post-storm recovery.
  • Remote Compliance Verification:
    • Engineers can upload photos and documentation of their work, creating a visual record that can be reviewed remotely for compliance.
    • This feature is invaluable during severe weather when on-site inspections are challenging.
  • Reducing Early Life Failures (ELF): By ensuring proper installation procedures, the AI Virtual Buddy helps reduce early faults, minimising future service disruptions.

3. AR Planner: Optimising Network Design and Supporting Compliance: The AR Planner simplifies network planning and deployment, ensuring robust network designs that withstand environmental challenges.

• • Augmented Reality for Accurate Planning: Engineers can visualise cable routes and equipment placements in real-time, optimising installations to reduce the risk of future faults.
  • Digital Twin and Compliance Documentation:
    • The AR Planner creates a 3D digital twin of the site, providing a detailed visual record that supports regulatory compliance.
    • This digital twin acts as a permanent record for future audits, ensuring that installations meet both technical and legal standards.

In industries like telecom, maintaining compliance with regulatory standards is as important as technical performance. SkillsBase tools facilitate this by:

• • Documenting Every Step: Engineers can upload test results, photos, and notes into the SkillsBase platform, creating a comprehensive, timestamped record of all work performed.
  • Supporting Audits and Inspections: This digital paper trail simplifies regulatory audits, proving that maintenance and repair work meet required standards.
  • Improving Accountability: With clear records of who did what and when, SkillsBase tools enhance accountability across the board, ensuring consistent quality control.

Severe weather is unavoidable, but extended outages and non-compliance issues aren’t. SkillsBase’s suite of tools helps telecom providers not only detect and repair faults quickly but also maintain regulatory compliance and ensure consistent quality control.

By integrating the Splice Fault Detector, AI Virtual Buddy, and AR Planner into your maintenance strategy, you can create a resilient, compliant network that keeps customers connected—even during the harshest conditions.

Discover how SkillsBase’s tools can help you deliver faster, more reliable repairs with full regulatory support.

👉 Contact us for a consultation.

Sources

1. Does weather affect fiber internet? (2024) GB Times. Available at: https://gbtimes.com/does-weather-affect-fiber-internet/
2. Weather-related fiber internet outages, explained. Available at: https://www.rsinc.com/weather-related-fiber-internet-outages-explained.php