APRIL 2014 OSPMAG.COM

ALSO INSIDE

OSP’s 2014 Game Changers --

Special Section Part 2

A New Marriage

Making Vectoring Smarter

Winning the Metro Game

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A P R I L 2 0 1 4 | O S P M A G . C O M 1 3

contents

S P E C I A L S E C T I O N PA R T 2Think you already learned about these leaders in the February 2014 issue? Think again. This month, we ask our influential Game Changers to dig a bit deeper into technology AND leadership. You might be surprised to read what they have to say.

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What are 2 of the biggest network-related challenges confronting leaders in the telecom industry today?

The first challenge is how to

get more years of service out of

the existing installed base of

network equipment. Service

providers are on a constant

search for tools and methods

that will help them leverage

their existing infrastructure for

longer time periods; often

delaying significant capital

expenditures to replace that

gear until they have exhausted

those options. As telecom

equipment continues to get

smaller, more effective and

feature-rich, operators are

replacing yesterday’s technol-

ogy with these new products

that typically free up space,

offer more capabilities, provide

more power, etc., further

extending the usability of that

entire system for a longer term.

The second challenge for

industry leaders is staying

ahead of consumer demand for

data. With the advent of

data-hungry tablets and

smartphones, the consumption

of data by consumers appears

to be never-ending. As soon as

the data speed benchmark is

raised it suddenly becomes too

low again. Engineers have

pushed the boundaries of

communication technology in

an exponential escalation of

progress that the consumer has

become accustomed to. The

challenge requires consistent

dedication to research and

development to continue

pushing the envelope of

technology.

How do you see the telecom industry changing in the next 2 years, and how does your company plan to stay ahead of the curve?

I see the industry focusing

more heavily on DAS and small

cell applications, while

continuing to strengthen and

upgrade the installed landline

base for bandwidth and

backhaul. This is both

challenging and expensive.

Eltek is supporting the industry

in 2 ways. First, we are

producing the highest

efficiency power converters

available in order to reduce the

amount of energy wasted to

operate network equipment and

recharge batteries.

Secondly, we have devel-

oped a high efficiency power

solution for small cell applica-

tions that requires no cooling,

enclosure or maintenance. It’s

never been done before. We’re

making serious efforts to help

service providers overcome the

obstacles they’re facing in

today’s challenging industry.

Where do the great ideas come from in your organization? Tell us about an innovative solution you and your company developed to solve a non-traditional problem.

Many of our great ideas

come from conversations with

our customers, listening to what

makes their day-to-day work

difficult and thinking of ways to

make it easier. A customer

recently shared that one of their

more challenging obstacles

was getting large, heavy

equipment racks to base

stations located on the roofs of

buildings that offer little or no

maneuvering room. Our

response was to make a

site-constructible rack that

ships flat and can be built on

location in about 30 minutes in

order to more easily transport

and mount power and batteries.

Making the installs more

modular and flexible saved our

customer installation and

mobilization time on-site and

made for a much smoother

deployment schedule. Every

customer has different

challenges, but the key to great

ideas in business is to keep ask-

ing What does my customer

need? Sometimes you’re lucky

and they will tell you.

GameChangers

Allen Pitts has been with Eltek since 1992 and has served as the Americas Regional

President for Eltek ASA since 2008. Prior to that role, he was responsible for business

development in the Latin American Region. Allen has a BS in Computer Science-Engineer-

ing Management from Southern Methodist University and over 20 years of experience in

DC power with Eltek (previously Eltek Valere and Power Conversion Products). He has

served on the IEEE Intelec Management Committee for the past 6 years.

Allen.pitts@eltek.com; www.linkedin.com/pub/allen-pitts/4/773/447

Allen Pitts

President, Americas Region Eltek