FOSA Calls for Fiber-Enabled Interstate Roadway Metrics

PRESS RELEASE
March 22, 2021
Fiber Optic Sensing Association
Contact: Mark Uncapher, 240-685-1853

FOSA Calls for Fiber-Enabled Interstate Roadway Metrics 

WASHINGTON, DC – March 22, 2021 – The Fiber Optic Sensing Association (FOSA) filed comments with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg on the Department's Automated Vehicles Comprehensive Plan. FOSA recommended that the availability of fiber-enabled interstate roadways be tracked by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

FOSA Executive Director Mark Uncapher wrote Secretary Buttigieg: "FOSA recommends that the Transportation Department track, in a publicly available format, the availability and location of 'fiber-enabled' interstate roadways. Such a forward-looking approach is a natural extension of the Department's existing 'Dig Once' initiatives."

FOSA Smart Cities Committee Chairman Giovanni Milione continued: "Future-proofing our nation's highways involves placing fiber optic cables along roads when the opportunity presents itself to do so economically. This will significantly lower future infrastructure upgrade costs. Among other benefits, fiber-enabled roadways will support the build-out of 5G wireless networks due to the need for much higher antenna density, and drive the installation of additional broadband enabling fiber optic cables."

FOSA's USDOT comments are available here. 

ABOUT THE FIBER OPTIC SENSING ASSOCIATION FOSA, the nation's premier trade association dedicated to fiber optic sensing, was created in Washington DC in 2017 with the mission of educating industry, government, and the public on the benefits of fiber optic sensing. Through webinars, videos, white papers, public presentations, and public policy advocacy, the organization provides information on the use of fiber optic sensing to secure critical facilities, enhance public safety, and protect the environment. FOSA Member companies include AP Sensing, ASELSAN, Corning, Ditch Witch, Dura-Line, Fotech Solutions, Hawk Measurement, Hifi Engineering, Graz University of Technology, NBG Fiber Optic Corp., NEC Corporation of America, Network Integrity Systems, NKT Photonics, OFS, Omnisens, OptaSense, OZ Optics, Prysmian Group, Sensonic, Smartpipe Technologies, Terra Sound, and the University of California, Berkeley.