Who’s Involved?

Before we get to what system discovery is, we first need to understand who is involved. Oftentimes we have one company order an inventory and a whole host of attachees in the area will participate in it. This leads to better data for all involved parties and a much better starting point for our field team. We work with all involved parties, whether directly involved or not, to collect the most up to date information on where the poles in the area are located, who’s attached to them, and any other pertinent information. The more complete the preliminary data is, the smoother the inventory goes. Before we begin, we will collect all of the information that we can from the ordering company and the other companies in the area to generate the preliminary maps. We also hold a kickoff meeting with all pole owners and attachees to go over who we are, what we will be doing, how they can be involved, and answer any questions before we begin the inventory. These steps help us to establish trust in our company and our work so negotiations after an inventory are as effortless as possible.

System discovery is the process of mapping the ordering company’s system across the poles they own and the poles they rent, along with the discovery of every other system that is attached to the owned poles. During this process, our field team identifies every attachment in the system to allow the company to better serve their clients. A few examples of why a company may utilize the system discovery process include:

1. The company’s system map needs updating with the most current information for all or part of their service area.
2. Identifying connected systems to the ordering company’s owned poles to ensure correct rents are charged to each attaching company.
3. Pinpointing each system connection to poles owned by other companies to ensure correct rents are reported as due.
4. Discovering unauthorized attachments on owned poles and inventorying the number of unauthorized system attachments.

There are a number of tricks of the trade we use to identify what systems are attached to owned poles. Sometimes it’s as simple as reading the label on the wire, while other times it takes following an attachment all the way to where it enters into the ground to determine the system owner.

• Before we begin an inventory, our team works with the requesting company and any cooperating vendors in the area to upload existing maps (if any) to create a starting point for our field team. Once in the field, we cover the entire service area, identifying the poles and attachees that need to be added to the system maps.
• During the system discovery phase, we often find unlabeled mystery fibers and work to identify the owners, how long the attachments have been on the poles, and help with determining the amount of back rent owed.
• Once the system discovery is complete, we then extend our assistance with inventory negotiations with any attachees, if applicable or desired.