Demystifying PLTE Operations & Maintenance

Many utilities are considering PLTE networks to provide better control and capabilities. However, a PLTE network's operations are often viewed as too complex for utility communications teams. These perceived challenges are slowing the progress and advancement of this technology. In reality, it is no more significant a change than moving from the old TDM networks to the current MPLS networks. While utilizing this technology for utility communications is a recent concept, these networks have been deployed and operating worldwide for the last decade. While these networks are complex and challenging, many of the most difficult and labor-intensive voice services are not being deployed in the utility environment. Also, many improvements have been made in recent years to the hardware platforms, and the software delivery reduces the staff required to operate PLTE networks. These improvements include changes to the hardware platform and better tools to monitor and isolate faults in the network.