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International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology (IJCIET)

Volume 10, Issue 07, July 2019, pp. 141-152, Article ID: IJCIET_10_07_016

Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/ijciet/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=7

ISSN Print: 0976-6308 and ISSN Online: 0976-6316

© IAEME Publication

AN INTEGRATED GIS AND GPS-BASED

APPROACH FOR MANAGING LAYER 3 FIBER

NETWORKS

Temitayo Matthew Fagbola

KZN e-skills CoLab, Department of Computer Science,

Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa

Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Nigeria

Surendra Colin Thakur

KZN e-skills CoLab, Department of Information Technology,

Durban University of Technology, Durban 4000, South Africa

ABSTRACT

As Fiber Optic network expands, the need for a complete knowledge of the routes

within the network is vital. Fiber break occurs regularly due to environmental stress

or human factors which include sabotage; hence, the cable routes change constantly.

Unfortunately, these changes are usually not reflected in the Asbuilts drawing

produced by the contractors after implementation. This is because the maintenance of

the routes are usually awarded to maintenance companies, hence on expiration of the

existing maintenance contract, updated routes information will pose a problem for the

new maintenance company and a lot of time will be spent by the team in resolving a

break. Also, the present practice is such that Asbuilts and paper documentation

required to resolve a break are not centrally stored, hence cannot be queried. Hence,

there is a need for Asbuilts information to be accessible in realtime from a central

monitoring location for more quicker and intuitive response. In this paper, Quick

Geographic Information System (QGIS) and Geographic Positioning System (GPS)

were integrated and used to demonstrate how a fiber optic network routes could be

managed while taking into consideration the aforementioned challenges. A case study

of an existing Fiber network of Layer 3, within Victoria Island, Nigeria was used to

test the integrated approach. Results obtained reveal the existing infrastructures

showing a spatial distribution of Hand holes which makes it easier to map out the

logistics for fiber deployment to any prospective client within the study area. The

determination of required civil work and the length is made possible and costing

prepared before formal field work. Also, as the joints increases within a fiber route,

there is a drop in signal. The integrated QGIS-GPS approach makes it easier to

identify the number of joints along a fiber route and enable the fiber team calculate

the loss budget hence making a timely decision to either recall and replace fiber cable

or not. This paper concludes that this integrated QGIS-GPS approach can assist the

telecommunication industry in enhancing fiber optics network’ planning and

management efficiencies.

Temitayo Matthew Fagbola and Surendra Colin Thakur


Key words: GIS, Fiber networks, management system, Nigeria.

Cite this Article: Temitayo Matthew Fagbola and Surendra Colin Thakur, An

Integrated GIS and GPS-based Approach for Managing Layer 3 Fiber Networks.

International Journal of Civil Engineering and Technology 10(7), 2019, pp. 141-152.

http://www.iaeme.com/IJCIET/issues.asp?JType=IJCIET&VType=10&IType=7

1. INTRODUCTION

The most advanced and modern mode of data communication is fiber-optic technology which

has been in existence not more than forty (40) years ago. Communication scientists were

looking for a data communication medium that will have a wide band with the least amount of

loss of communication to be used at high data rate. This research led to the development of

optical fiber communication (Biswas, 2017). Optical fiber is the medium through which

communication signals are transmitted from one location to another in the form of light

guided through thin fibers of glass or plastic (FOA, 2014a). These signals are digital pulses or

continuously-modulated analog streams of light representing information. These can be voice

information, data, video or any other type of information, which can be sent on metallic wires

such as twisted pair and coaxial and through the air on microwave frequencies (Hayes, 2001).

The main advantage of optical fiber is that it can transport more information longer distances

in less time than any other communication medium (FOA, 2014a). In addition, it is unaffected

by the interference of electromagnetic radiation, making it possible to transmit information

and data with less noise and less error. Robert Maurer of Corning Glass Works developed a

fiber with a loss of 20dB/km, promoting the commercial use of fiber. Since that time, the use

of fiber optics has increased dramatically (Hayes, 2001). Swift network, Phase 3, Smile

network, Mainone, 21st Century and Spectranet are amongst the companies implementing

fiber optic cable networking, thus providing high speed internet services to their clients

countrywide. There are also many other applications for optical fiber that are simply not

possible with metallic conductors. These include sensors/scientific applications,

medical/surgical applications, industrial applications, subject illumination, and image

transport (Hayes, 2001). Fiber is theoretically unlimited in bandwidth. Bandwidth is a

measurement of the data carrying capacity of the media. More data or information is

transmitted with greater bandwidth. Copper has a bandwidth and a distance limitation, making

it less desirable.

On the other hand, Geographic Information System (GIS) is a science for collection,

management and administration of data spatially referenced to any geographical location on

the globe. It is a tool for acquiring, manipulating and presenting spatially referenced data to

suit the demand of the users (Longley et al., 2005). GIS is capable of transforming any piece

of data into useful information; it uses a query system to answer questions relating to the data.

GIS gives a database, and also provides pictures of the area of study. It allows for better

statistical analysis of data so that more intelligent decisions are taken. Generally, GIS

provides facilities for data capture, data management, data manipulation and analysis, and the

presentation of results in both graphic and report form (National Geo, 2017). An emerging

area of interest in GIS is telecommunications (mention existing applications). Fiber Optic

route and attributes are captured and stored in a GIS database where it is linked to a map. This

allows users to simultaneously leverage both the visual advantages and data storage and

retrieval capabilities of relational database. Hence, GIS can function as a network inventory

and useful for giving reports on management of the fiber optic cable networks. Manual tracing

of cables on site by field Engineers can be reduced as database query can be done using GIS

to locate faults hence, reducing downtime. GIS has a good data handling and spatial analysis

capabilities, which is ideal for meeting the information needs of telecommunications

An Integrated GIS and GPS-based Approach for Managing Layer 3 Fiber Networks


infrastructure development (Chrisman, 1999). In the telecommunications world, a GIS is

ideally suited for network planning and development. This is because it has the capability to

create layers of information on the earth’s surface along with attribute data. This allows

engineers to assess a network from the office thereby saving time and reducing the number of

trips, if any, that the engineer must make to the field (Oladiboye et al., (2013). Furthermore,

the automation capabilities offered by a GIS increase the speed and accuracy of the network

design process and can help reduce, and even eliminate, the downstream impacts of design-

phase errors on cost and schedule during the network deployment phase. Rule-based features

found in a GIS can also offer network designers the ability to produce better products,

optimized for cost, shortest routing distances, or other user-defined metrics. The rules are

based on SQL style query language that is built into GIS application (Woodrow, 2011).

Solving the many business problems of a telecommunications company requires a good

understanding of where the customers and facilities exist today and where such will be over

time. In an industry that changes so rapidly, the capability to find, manage, and analyze data

quickly and effectively is critical. Documentation is an important part of a fiber optic network

management. Some of the data include the cable type and length, cable route, splice points,

termination points. The traditional technique stores these data as Asbuilt drawings (see Figure

1) which can be saved in a Portable Document format (PDF), Google earth file (see Figure 2)

and spreadsheets while Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) trace results for cable

length and loss budget are usually printed out or saved in a Portable Document format (PDF)

for a later viewing in case a problem arises (FOA, 2014b). These files are located at various

places and as such the information are not directly related between the filing systems.

Figure 1 PDF Documentation of cable route (9Mobile, 2016)



Figure 2 Google Earth Documentation of cable route (Globacom, 2017)

The process of documentation of these Optical Fiber route is too time-consuming which

often results in significant delays in providing services to customers and operations such as

repairs and maintenance. Each time a fiber implementation is to be done, it is logical to carry

out a route survey in order to become familiar with the terrain. It involves moving round the

proposed fiber route for ground truthing/verification exercise. This process involves using a

Global Positioning System (GPS) and a distance measuring wheel to capture the points and

line features. The value of the captured feature is jotted in a writing material and a drawing

sketch of the surveyed portion is taken. A digital camera is also used to capture pictures of the

route and documented in order to prove to the client that a survey was actually carried out and

Asbuilt drawing is generated in AutoCAD after a successful implementation (Adejola, 2016).

The first point of contact of the maintenance team is the Asbuilt drawing with which they

get familiar with the route. A high level of accuracy is expected of the drawing. As fiber break

occurs, the Asbuilt drawing for that route have to be located and visually inspected to

determine the break location. This process causes more time to be spent, while client becomes

impatient reducing the satisfaction level. Also, when breaks are located and fixed by the

maintenance team, the As-built drawing are usually not updated with the splice point

information hence, an inaccurate AutoCAD document. However, in GIS, when a base map is

developed at the first survey, it is only subject to manipulation and processing which involves

operations needed to remove errors and update of current dataset at every new implementation

(Lao, 2004). The Asbuilt drawing and spreadsheets are to be called for independently on

request hence cannot be queried. There is a need for the documentation pattern to be

structured into something more informative and projective in order to enhance proper

planning and expansion. In this paper, Q-FONMS, a fiber optic network management system

(FONMS) leveraging on Quick GIS (QGIS) is developed by creating a base map of the fiber

optic network datasets (Manhole, Splice point (Joint), core distributions at clients end) and

their attributes. Furthermore, as an experiment, a spatial network analysis was conducted

using the developed Q-FONMS for Layer 3, Victoria Island, Nigeria where the existing

Asbuilt and fiber data are both integrated into QGIS environment to enable query and analysis

to be carried out. This attempt enables breaks, faults and new customer’s location to be easily

updated and seamless.



2. MATERIALS AND METHOD

A lot of work has been conducted on related topics like Development of a Fiber Optic

Asset Management System for the city of El Paso, Texas (Carlos, Luis and Raed, 2011). The

aim was to provide the managers and maintenance crew with easy access to detailed fiber

optic information, conduct proximity infrastructure buffer analysis and generate smart maps

for what-if situations for decisions making. Also, Fries, Anjuman and Chowdhury (2013)

carried out a work on Asset Management of Intelligent Transportation System where focus

was on presenting required variables in evaluating Intelligent Transportation System (ITS)

asset management system using GIS. In Nigeria, Ohamobi (2012) conducted a work on the

determination of transport route network in Sokoto area using GIS. The aim was to formulate

scenarios for computer-assisted transport route selection and planning of Sokoto state, north-

western Nigeria, using input data from Landsat MSS imageries and aerial photographs, as

well as field and laboratory data, which provide the geotechnical properties of the soils of the

area. The study provides highway engineers, road planners and designers with information of

soil problems that are to be encountered if a route is built across poorly suitable soils.

According to the results obtained in the study, the most suitable mapping units for transport

route selection occur in the upper and lower slopes. It was advised, that planners and

administrators of highways should use this technology for the benefit of increasing

productivity and the reliability of their works.

USER ASSESSMENT

SPATIAL DATA

NON-SPATIAL DATA

DATA COLLECTION

IS DATA APPROPRIATE?

DATA CONVERSION & ATTRIBUTE CREATION

FEATURES SYMBOLOGY

RESULT PRESENTATION

DATA UPLOAD



GIS have been used to determine geospatial location of industries in Aba, Eastern Nigeria

(Chiemelu et al; 2007). The study focused on carrying out an industry-based emission

inventory of Aba industrial city through mapping and documentation. The study was able to

answer what is where with regards to the major industries in Aba, Nigeria. Isong and Uduak

(2015) carried out a GIS performance analysis of an existing 3G wireless Cellular Network in

a bid to proffer optimized solutions to the existing traffic problems of network operators

through proper monitoring of telecommunication traffic. It was achieved by studying the

effect of population, road structure and visibility on the Erlang traffic on an existing 3G

network. With the GIS solution, a graphic user interface (GUI) was integrated into mobile

phones for users to monitor Carried traffic with respect to number of users, mobility and

visibility. The GIS has the advantage of providing network operators and mobile users with

real-time assessment of the network. Oladiboye et al. (2013) carried out an analysis of mast

management distribution and telecommunication service was carried out using GIS. The aim

was to provide a Decision Support System using GIS as a tool in the decision making process

to enhance the productivity of the telecommunication industry especially in the area of

network planning and management, decision and operations support, marketing and sales

customer care and in the provision of value added services, using Zoom Mobile formerly

known as Reliance Telecommunication (Reltel) and MTN Telecommunication Limited as a

case study in Lagos State. In this study, GIS was used to integrate the existing infrastructure

data of Layer 3 within Victoria Island, Lagos state. A geographic database and attribute table

was created for these data to enable query and help users in timely decision making.

3. RESULTS

The chapter shows the analysis that was performed on the Layer3 Fiber Optic cable route

network. A GIS-based Fiber Optic Network Management System (G-FONMS) was created

using QGIS and all the fiber optic network datasets were integrated. Spatial data analysis was

conducted and the results from queries presented as seen in Figures 4.6, 4.7 and 4.8

respectively.

3.1. The Geodatabase

A layer was created for the Handhole infrastructure of Layer 3 within Iru/Victoria Island.

Handhole having a splice point was labelled as Joint and the ones without splice point were

labelled Normal. The Optical fiber Cable route layer was also created which comprises of

varying lengths of cable from the patch panel to the termination points within the study area.

Also, a layer for Points of interest (POI) was created which consists of various landmarks like

schools, hospitals, banks and so on within the study area. These POIs includes clients

currently under the services of Layer 3 and prospective ones.



Figure 3 Geodatabase Layers created of Layer 3 within Victoria Island Lagos.

3.2. The Attributes

Attribute table was created for Optical fiber Route, handhole layers, and the Points of

Interests as seen in Figure 4, 5 and 6 Data for each feature in the layers were entered.

Information on the features is displayed using the display icon in the QGIS environment.

Using the identify tool and clicking on an item on the map, all the information about that

feature was displayed provided that it was available in the attribute table created.

Figure 4 Attribute Table created for the Handhole



Figure 5 Attribute Table created for the Fiber Optic Cable route.

Figure 6 Attribute Table created for some Points of Interest within the Study Area.

3.3. Discussion

In order to have better understanding, an overlaying analysis was done where the hand hole

layer, Point of Interest layer and Fiber route layer were overlaid on the based map. This is to

ensure that all relevant data are visible. In order to easily identify features, the query builder

was used to define subsets of a feature.



Figure 6 Selection using Query builder to define Handhole.

From the figure above, all joint and normal handhole along the fiber route were defined

using the query builder and given different colours for easy identification. Also, using the

query builder for the points of Interest, all customers currently served and prospective

customers were identified and given different colours for easy identification. All these were

overlaid in the map as shown in figure 7 below. Hence, at a glance, the questions of where

are all Joints and Normal handhole, all existing and prospective clients, what are the cable

information and attributes of all features are answered. This will aid timely decisions by the

decision makers.

Figure 7 Selection showing the Handhole and Points of Interest along Fiber route.

With a click, using the identify tool, the attribute of the feature can be seen which will

enhance quick decision making as shown in figure 8 and 9 respectively.



Figure 8 Display of Handhole information using identify tool.

Figure 9 Display of Point of Interest information using identify tool.

With the display generated by queries, it can be seen that the GIS application can be used

to analyze and solve challenges in different organization. The total number of handhole

infrastructure of layer 3 within Victoria Island is thirty-eight (38), having seventeen (17)

Normal and twenty-one Joints (21) as seen from the feature count above. Easily identifying

the number of joints within a route will help the fiber team in calculating the loss budget. This

is because for every joint introduced due to a break, there is a drop in signal quality. Hence, if

there is too much joint displayed within a route, it will enhance a timely decision of a cable

recall and replacement.

From the digital map, it is easy to map-out the logistics for the implementation team to

plan a fiber deployment to any prospective client within the study area. The required length,



extent of civil work to be done can be estimated and costing prepared before formal field

work.

The core count at every splice point can easily be tracked using the identify tool as seen

above. This will help determine whether to run a fresh cable to a client or give out of the

availability core of cable to a client. Also, alternative route can be projected in case of

obstacles in the existing cable route in order to reach a client.

4. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORKS

The study was able to show what is where with regards to fiber optic point of presence of

Layer 3 within Victoria Island, Lagos State. Through the study, the points of presence was

produced in a map and this would enable an enquirer to have a total assessment of all the

Fiber infrastructures of Layer 3 in Victoria Island at a glance and see the last point of

presence of any prospective client’s location. In addition, the attributes information of the

hand holes, fiber cable and clients were added and are stored in a centralized database; hence

a direct relationship with various data sets. At each last point of presence, the core distribution

to clients is seen by a click. This is the primary objective the GIS tried to achieve. Through

this study, the attribute database for Fiber route infrastructure for Layer 3 have been created

and this is a base for further academic research or otherwise and also a baseline data to be

utilized by telecommunication industries in Nigeria. This study has shown how a Geographic

Information System can enhance the productivity of the telecommunication industry

especially in the area of network planning and management.

Efforts should be made to ensure trenches dug for fibers are up to the standard depth. This is

to avoid degradations and breaks due to sabotage or heavy objects on the route.

It is recommended that, there should be greater awareness of GIS technology to reduce the

amount of time wasted during network restoration and network quality improvement.

These applications should be published in cloud for decision makers.

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