COMPLETED APPLICATIONS. CommNets Drafting. CommNets Walkout

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1 Suite Summary Communication Networks (CommNets) comprises a suite of applications, descriptions of each of them follow. Kanotech has fully functional web versions and downloadable evaluations of many of the applications so that you can try them out for yourself and we can perform web demos of the remaining ones. Our goal is to have videos and detailed brochures for each of the applications; as of April 2003 we have completed and released videos and brochures for two of the applications: Communication Networks Infrastructure Management System and the Communication Networks Infrastructure Management System for Fiber Outside Plant. Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of the applications or arrange for trials of them. We are available standard business hours at Try our broadband specialist (Dean Whitford, dwhitford@kanotech.com) at extension 2, or talk to our Marketing Manager (Megan Marrie, mmarrie@kanotech.com) at extension 1. COMPLETED APPLICATIONS CommNets Drafting The Communication Networks Outside Plant Drafting (CommNets Drafting) application allows CAD Operators to draft all coax and fiber outside plant infrastructure. Standardized blocks and layers are built in to the application and CommNets Drafting ensures their proper use through automated quality assurance routines. Features in the application enable users to create a smarter and higher quality broadband infrastructure-mapping product than ever before possible. There are 100s of seats of CommNets Drafting in use today. Kanotech recommends that the software be implemented in a blanket form both internally at broadband companies AND at any contractors doing work for them. CommNets Drafting uses a protected database for control features and standards management. An authorized company administrator will have the ability to control the standards, quality assurance requirements, and many other parameters simply by changing the control database. CommNets drafting also includes some twisted pair functionality, although for a twisted pair specific network some enhancements may be required depending on client needs. The benefits to companies that have implemented this software include: Much higher quality mapping product (from both internal staff and contractors) than ever attained before Standards-compliant mapping with automated enforcement by the application instead of the company having to invest massive amounts of manpower into manually checking mapping Maximized source data information capture by having the application enforce what is required and what is optional at the time it is drafted. Infrastructure relationship capture in the source. The application enforces support and plant as connected physical models; logical relationships between addresses and feeding equipment are also captured and maintained. The application maximizes drafter efficiency by guiding them through required relationship capture. A 33% to 66% reduction (typically 1 to 2 cents per foot) in the rate paid to contractors for drafting, even though the drafting product is much higher quality than before. CommNets Walkout The Communication Networks Walkout application uses the same core as CommNets Drafting, but has an additional simplified user interface with pen based computing optimization. The user interface was simplified to make it easier for field staff to learn and use, plus they do not need the wide variety of blocks/tools that a person doing design or redraft does. The mapping, however, is fully standards compliant and does not need any alteration to be equal to maps drafted in the Drafting Application. By implementing this application for walkout, the company will be able to skip an expensive paper redraft step in the design process. In our experience, this results in a 3 per foot savings in the cost of work to upgrade or perform new build in a service area. All the benefits of CommNets Drafting are inherent in CommNets Walkout, including automated quality assurance and the configurable control database.

2 CommNets Infrastructure Management System (CommNets IMS) The Communication Networks Infrastructure Management System uses Autodesk MapGuide mapping and data distribution technology to provide data sharing and analysis amongst business units. Staff who have never before had access to Engineering mapping, for example, can now view that information for their entire market using this application. Users will require 1/2 day or less of training and will be able to run the application from anywhere on the client company Intranet. Features include, but are not limited to: Seamless browseable map of all infrastructure worldwide. Ability to access and view source DWFs. Zoom to objects from simple pick-list. Create buffers around any object and report on objects in buffer. Redline the seamless mapping. Incident reporting place point markers to call other user s attention to issues. Outage viewing, reporting, and automated polling (i.e., query external datasource for outages and show them in the seamless mapping). View detailed attribute information about any infrastructure object in the map or client address. Report on equipment located within any boundary (e.g., get detailed report on all amplifiers or addresses in any node). Trace RF service upstream from any point in the network to RF origination; both a visual trace and asset-by-asset report are produced. Trace RF service downstream from any point in the RF network down to all termination points for that start point; both a visual trace and asset-by-asset report are produced. Trace RF service from customer point of service up to origination; both a visual trace and asset-by-asset report are produced. Trace all reported outages in a node; both a visual trace and asset-by-asset report are produced. All traces also supply a Most Probable Equipment Failure (MPEF) report to identify the pieces of equipment that are both most common between the traces, and most likely to fail (by their equipment type and hit frequency in the connectivity traces). Dynamic Query builder to build query conditions and run them against the entirety of the mapping. A report is produced in tabular or map format. Print maps directly from the system or copy and paste views of them into other windows applications (e.g., paste a neighborhood where an extension is proposed that includes the end of the closest buss and parcel mapping for the extension into Microsoft Word where you also have a table showing a list of residents that have expressed interest in service). Automated Addressing Automated Addressing brings multiple raw address databases together with County parcel mapping to create a standards-compliant base map that includes the addressing from all the data sources. This application saves innumerable person hours in address walkout and manual address block population. Only a single source with spatially known addresses need be supplied, the rest of the addressing databases can simply be raw addressing without any coordinates. Automated addressing would allow the client company to get the similar product that results from addressing walkout at a cost of less than 5% the cost of conducting walkout! Automated addressing is much more accurate that street centerline based geocoding of addressing. One will typically find that street centerline geocoding is anywhere from 100 to 2500 inaccurate. Automated addressing will place address within 50 in urban areas where a reasonably good spatially correct source can be procured to serve as our starting point. CommNets Fiber The Communication Networks Fiber Engineering and Drafting (CommNets Fiber) application provides a unified interface to simultaneously complete the engineering of fiber outside plant, draft the fiber outside plant, and capture fiber outside plant source data for mass distribution of fiber infrastructure. The application uses a single line model methodology to minimize drafting time and drawing clutter (all fiber sheaths that occupy the same support are represented by a single line). Users can generate a myriad of reports, including a fully automatic multi-line representation of the fiber outside plant and support infrastructure. While drafting the path of the fiber, you are building a detailed attached database holding ALL the information about the fiber infrastructure: sheaths, individual fibers with their color, tube colors, fiber user, lit/dark status, project ID, fiber owner, and connection information. Reporting is extensive and covers the needs of the Fiber Designer, the construction contractor, and those responsible for maintenance/troubleshooting. CommNets Fiber uses the same core as CommNets Drafting, meaning that the block and layer standards are database controlled company Standards Administration can modify the implementation of standards by modifying the control database, whether they want to support another type of HFC node or make an additional attribute required in order for maps to pass Quality Assurance.

3 All the benefits of CommNets Drafting are inherent in CommNets Fiber, including automated quality assurance and the configurable control database. Communication Networks Infrastructure Management System for Fiber Outside Plant (CommNets IMS+Fiber) The fiber enhancements to the Infrastructure Management System allow large numbers of users to retrieve the information relevant to fiber from the mapping and databases that house the information. Users can view multiple reports, print these reports, and initiate other reporting mechanisms that temporarily alter the appearance of the fiber map objects. This application integrates seamlessly into the CommNets IMS application. Users will require 1/2 day or less of training and will be able to run the application from anywhere on the client company Intranet. Features include, but are not limited to: Everything that CommNets IMS does, as this application embeds within IMS and shares a unified user interface. Quickly and easily navigate to projects, fiber outside plant assets, and sheaths using a tree-based browser. View detailed information on what sheaths enter and leave any fiber outside plant asset, along with information about the next asset they enter. View information about sheaths down to the individual user of each fiber, its tube and color, owner, and the lit/dark status of that fiber. See this information using color coded charts and matching color coded links in the map. View the detailed splice docs for any splice case or terminating event. View the link-to-node-reel (LNR) report or loss budget worksheet (LBW) for any headend. View the splicing information from one point in the network to another including all splicing points in-between in any of three different levels of detail. View the multi-line construction report that was generated for any part of the fiber outside plant in CommNets Fiber. Administrators can attach ANY computer file to any fiber outside plant asset. All users can then browse to and view these files (as long as they have software on their machine capable of opening the file format in question). For example, one could attach a scan of a headend floor plan to each headend, or a digital photo of the exact location of the splice enclosure to each splice case. Trace a light path from any point in the network to any other point that has a complete light path to the first point. Trace the path of a sheath through the network. Trace all the assets (sheath and other) that are part of a particular project. Trace from customer point of service up through the RF serving them, to the HFC node, and then up through the fiber outside plant to the headend servicing that HFC node. Trace one or many light paths and get a fiber outside plant Most Probable Equipment Failure (MPEF) report. Trace customer outages from customer point of service up through the RF serving them, to the HFC node, and then up through the fiber outside plant to the headend servicing that HFC node and get a fiber outside plant Most Probable Equipment Failure (MPEF) report. Trace an Optical Time Domain Reflectometer shoot through the fiber outside plant and be shown with a red circle the location in the network where the trace ended. Performa Capacity Analysis Report for determining if the current fiber infrastructure can accommodate the addition of new service locations. View the internal connectivity of each node to see which fibers are servicing each of the forward and return paths for each buss in an HFC Node. Automated Conversion (Kanotech Konversion) The enforcement of standards in the creation of new data is only the tip of the iceberg upgrading the legacy mapping already in use is by far more resource intensive. We estimate that manual redraft of 1000 miles of HFC plant to full compliance of standards as implemented by broadband companies requires person hours. The typical cost of a job of this magnitude is over $100,000. The cost of making legacy data compliant to standards becomes astronomical when one considers that broadband companies typically have 100s of thousands of miles of infrastructure. Depending on the exact condition of the source data, Kanotech Konversion can achieve up to 80% of the work required for redrafting mapping to new standards, all of which used to be manual. From the redrafting of blocks, layers, and attribute data to the verification and correction of connectivity, Kanotech Konversion saves millions of CAD operator keystrokes and mouse clicks by automating repetitive tasks. Savings nationwide can thus be over $10 million from the use of this application for mapping standardization. Mapping that is a good candidate for automated Kanotech Konversion needs to comply reasonably well with a standard or small number of standards (e.g., if every nodes were drafted using the same rules and conform reasonably well to those rules.)

4 CommNets Construction Activity (CommNets IMS+CA) The Construction Activity application allows construction contractors and company representatives to schedule and manage work on the plant in detail. It provides customer service representatives with the ability to give clients information on what is going on in their area and when the work will be completed. Contractors log in to manage their jobs status updates are immediately shown to all users of the application. Nodes, busses, and MDUs that have activity ongoing are shown red whereas if they had construction activity today but it has been completed, they are shown green. Users can also turn on colorization that indicates where there were past jobs and where future jobs are scheduled, based on a length of looking ahead time and looking back time that they choose. Advanced users can also alter their date/time for the period of time in which they are viewing the map, thus looking at node/buss/mdu status as they were or shall be! Automated reports to feed activity reports by Zip+2 or Zip+4 to interactive voice response systems or automated calling systems can be generated with a couple of mouse clicks. This application is intended to share information of the immediate future variety (i.e., today and within the next 2-3 weeks). Service Levels and Project Tracking complement it. Communication Networks Service Levels (CommNets Service Levels) The Communication Networks Service Levels application reports on current service levels available per service area and the planned service additions for each service area. This information system is useful for both internal and external users (i.e., clients). CommNets Service Levels provides users with line of business information for each node of their infrastructure. Users see at-a-glance symbology representing current services available in a node, and representation of future service availability. Detailed information with service launch dates and prior stage dates can be retrieved by clicking on the node or the service symbols. Service Levels ships with support for analog video, digital video, high-speed data, video on demand, high definition, and telephony. It was built to be extensible, so can support many other services by having an application administrator make some changes no developer required! Thus, symbology and tracking for services like digital gaming is at your discretion to add. This application is intended to share information of the 3 month to years in the future variety. Construction Activity and Project Tracking complement it. DEVELOPMENT IN PROGRESS TO ENHANCE THE SUITE Communication Networks HFC Design and Drafting (CommNets RF Design) This application will integrate Radio Frequency (RF) design functionality into CommNets Drafting thus, RF design and drafting will occur in a single step. Most broadband companies at this time remain standardized on a stand-alone RF design package that is purchased from a software company on a per seat basis. Designers must design their network in this software and then draft the same network in CAD, duplicating their effort and introducing an opportunity for transcription errors. File management of separate design specifications and design files for each node also create additional administrative load and risk of data disconnect. Thus, there are material economic and efficiency gains to be had by integrating RF Design into the existing CommNets Drafting program. Completion of this application will allow for discontinuance of maintenance costs and new seat costs for all RF Design software currently being run (e.g., Lode Data, CableTools). We are certain that the release of this tool will do the same thing for design cost as CommNets Drafting did for redraft cost push it down by a material amount! As of November 2002, there is a working prototype to show of this application. We expect final release in Q2-Q3 of CommNets Inside Plant Inside Plant fiber infrastructure needs to be addressed in terms of data modeling, graphic representation, the engineering process, mapping creation for reports, documentation generation, and Intranet distribution of the information. CommNets Inside Plant will consist of graphic user interface tools and an integrated database to support conceptual and final design, preparation of drawings, and management of the inside plant components of the network. The application will allow users to create and manage data that will complete the end-to-end connectivity from customer point of service all the way up to signal origin. An Inside Plant information distribution application, tied into CommNets IMS will allow non-technical users to easily view the Inside Plant assets and pertinent information regarding those assets. As of January 2003, there is a late stage prototype. We expect final release in Q2 of 2003.

5 CommNets Project Tracking Communication Networks Project Tracking will provide tracking and progress reporting for constructions projects. The Project Tracking application allows monitoring and distribution of project progress information between contractor/subcontractors and all employees thereof. Contractors will maintain their project status information through a web interface. Users of the application will have symbology to let them know where work is proceeding and what type of work is ongoing. They will be able to get detailed information about the job and its timelines by clicking on the area where work is happening (e.g., a node boundary or MDU symbol) or by clicking the symbol representing the work. This application is intended to share information of the near future variety (i.e. next 2-3 weeks out to a few months). Service Levels and Construction Activity complement it. Completion is expected in Q2-Q Kanotech Enterprise Data Warehouse and Access Solution (EDAWS) Leverage off proven relational database technology to store infrastructure data in a single highly secure and scalable repository. Kanotech recognizes that a unified and efficient method is needed to store the infrastructure data of its clients and complement the robust user applications that Kanotech has built for capturing and maintaining broadband infrastructure data. We are aware that there are a couple of products available to meet these needs in an Autodesk environment already, but are concerned with the cost per seat and age of both of the current solutions. Both of the currently available solutions increase the cost of a user s seat by at least $4,000 initially, and incur ongoing maintenance costs. This is for basic object handling functionality value-adds like fiber outside plant or inside plant further increases the cost. Both of the current solutions have been around for over 10 years which equates to 70 years in the information technology industry! Modular to minimize component upgrade ripple and thus facilitate ongoing use of best-of-breed technology. Kanotech will be proceeding with the development of a system, called EDAWS, to serve as the interaction manager between AutoCAD desktop applications, MapGuide browser applications and an RDBMS (i.e., Oracle). This system will be modular in nature, allowing for components to be replaced or upgraded as required without affecting other components. For example, if CORBA messaging is implemented in version one and SOAP messaging is required for a particular application, only the messaging will need to be replaced, as all components will interact on a black box basis. Yields increased flexibility, speed, and usability while drastically reducing drawing administration requirements; also negates time and data lost due to file versioning and deletion errors. Kanotech believes that building an Enterprise Data Access and Warehouse Solution (EDAWS) with new technology will yield increased flexibility, speed, and usability versus the legacy solutions currently available. The use of new technology will result in a longer possible life cycle for the solution. By building the solution using current messaging technology, the options of remote interaction via Intranet/Internet become viable. We will also be able to attain better interoperability with other current applications by utilizing same or similar technologies to them (i.e., Oracle Spatial). Kanotech is no stranger to using a database as the primary repository for spatial objects manipulated by desktop CAD applications. Approximately 10 years ago we implemented a Kanotech Spatialist database storage back-end for Manitoba Hydro. Although they are now looking to replace the system, it is still in place as the primary repository of their electrical infrastructure and is expected to continue to operate as such for another year or two! As of November 2002, preliminary scoping and research has started on this project. GETTING MORE INFORMATION Please contact us if you would like to discuss any of the applications or arrange for trials of them. We are available standard business hours at Try our broadband specialist (Dean Whitford, dwhitford@kanotech.com) at extension 2, or talk to our Marketing Manager (Megan Marrie, mmarrie@kanotech.com) at extension 1.