Home > Articles > Software Development & Management

Like this article? We recommend

The Advantages of Collocation

We've included this little story about Cytel in order to beat the drum again about the importance of 4Ci (command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence) in any disaster. If you cannot communicate with your responders, you cannot recover. Moreover, nobody ever knows which communications media will survive after a given event. One sound bet, therefore, is to cozy up to a good, reputable collocation provider.

A collocation ("collo" for short), sometimes called a "carrier hotel," is exactly what the name implies. These facilities are generally well-hardened; almost without exception, they allow carriers to connect with one another under both day-to-day and emergency operations. In a disaster, a collo can be indispensable. A typical collocation can house connections to one or more of the following kinds of technologies:

  • Incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) such as AT&T or Verizon
  • Major long-distance companies
  • Competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs)
  • Metropolitan area networks (MANs)
  • Wireless providers
  • Wireless Internet service providers (WISPs)
  • Voice over IP (VoIP) carriers
  • Satellite communication providers

Because it's difficult to say in advance which of these technologies will survive a widespread disaster such as a hurricane, it's prudent to position your organization in advance to take advantage of any of these technologies, depending on the circumstances. If connections to the ILEC go down, for example, connections could be purveyed quickly from a facilities-based CLEC or MAN. If everything goes to a hot place in a hand basket (so to speak), satellite and VoIP still might survive. In fact, after major disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or tsunamis, satellite communication is often the only link left to a 21st century communications infrastructure.

By the same token, the Internet protocol (IP) dates back to a time when U.S. war planners envisioned scenarios in which every AT&T primary central office would be in the upper atmosphere in case of a nuclear attack. IP was designed so that packets of information could bypass these lost hubs and get through on the facilities that survived in outlying areas. This technology is equally useful today when major communications hubs are affected by disasters or even terrorism. Even better, the technology allows voice to be carried (hence the term voice over IP). When you sum it all up, it's possible to maintain 4Ci on both a data and voice basis by cobbling together surviving transport communication facilities, and then employing IP. There's no better place to do this than in a collo. (This is precisely how the military planners of the past envisioned it, except now civilian organizations demand the same capabilities!)

In the spirit of service, here's a quick hurricane checklist of considerations for what to expect after a large disaster affects you. Pay particular attention to the services that can be accessed in a collocation:

  • Paging systems, including two-way paging, should work because they're satellite based. This includes BlackBerry systems. Use them, and refer to them in your plan.
  • Satellite communications shouldn't be affected. You should at least know where to connect to a satellite carrier (for example, in a collo) if you don't use this technology day to day. Of course, if satellite is your primary technology (for instance, if your organization is a TV network), you must plan for a backup in the event of a satellite outage.
  • Wireless Internet service providers should be back on the air relatively quickly. Because there's no licensing requirement and the equipment is inexpensive and portable, WISPs often beat the phone companies in establishing Internet connectivity to affected areas. If you have access to the Internet, you have access to IP. If you have access to IP, you can restore 4Ci in terms of voice and data.
  • Anything traversing a cable (aerial or buried) has a strong probability of being affected. Check into route diversity on cable facilities.
  • If New Orleans and Houston are any indication, electric power may be lost and require some time to restore. Plan for backup power, including -48 volts for telephone and PBX equipment. Also plan for a reliable fuel supply for your generator. Remember, if you run out of diesel fuel, it takes electricity to pump more at a service station!
  • Repair crews will have trouble getting into affected areas due to mobility and security concerns. Help may not be forthcoming immediately. Security often is inadequate in affected areas, so repair crews may be reluctant to service those areas.
  • If you provide an essential service (hospital, government, etc.), look into Government Emergency Telephone Service (GETS), Wireless Priority Service (WPS), and Telecommunications Service Priority (TSP). These government-sponsored programs allow for priority when phone lines are saturated and wireless frequencies fill up after a major disaster. Again, this capability helps you to maintain 4Ci.

Some final tips:

  • Arrange for flashlights and identifying vests for your own responders, so that they can be identified immediately and not mistaken for looters.
  • Buy two-way radios for use in the immediate response area.
  • Keep extra batteries for wireless phones and two-way radios.
  • Keep a roll of quarters close by. Although they're tough to find these days, pay phones often are restored first by the phone company.
  • Arrange in advance for your people to have access to cash. ATMs may not work for awhile, and lack of cash could hamper your response.
  • Use an outbound notification and inbound call-recovery service such as Telecom Recovery or Velleros.

InformIT Promotional Mailings & Special Offers

I would like to receive exclusive offers and hear about products from InformIT and its family of brands. I can unsubscribe at any time.

Overview


Pearson Education, Inc., 221 River Street, Hoboken, New Jersey 07030, (Pearson) presents this site to provide information about products and services that can be purchased through this site.

This privacy notice provides an overview of our commitment to privacy and describes how we collect, protect, use and share personal information collected through this site. Please note that other Pearson websites and online products and services have their own separate privacy policies.

Collection and Use of Information


To conduct business and deliver products and services, Pearson collects and uses personal information in several ways in connection with this site, including:

Questions and Inquiries

For inquiries and questions, we collect the inquiry or question, together with name, contact details (email address, phone number and mailing address) and any other additional information voluntarily submitted to us through a Contact Us form or an email. We use this information to address the inquiry and respond to the question.

Online Store

For orders and purchases placed through our online store on this site, we collect order details, name, institution name and address (if applicable), email address, phone number, shipping and billing addresses, credit/debit card information, shipping options and any instructions. We use this information to complete transactions, fulfill orders, communicate with individuals placing orders or visiting the online store, and for related purposes.

Surveys

Pearson may offer opportunities to provide feedback or participate in surveys, including surveys evaluating Pearson products, services or sites. Participation is voluntary. Pearson collects information requested in the survey questions and uses the information to evaluate, support, maintain and improve products, services or sites, develop new products and services, conduct educational research and for other purposes specified in the survey.

Contests and Drawings

Occasionally, we may sponsor a contest or drawing. Participation is optional. Pearson collects name, contact information and other information specified on the entry form for the contest or drawing to conduct the contest or drawing. Pearson may collect additional personal information from the winners of a contest or drawing in order to award the prize and for tax reporting purposes, as required by law.

Newsletters

If you have elected to receive email newsletters or promotional mailings and special offers but want to unsubscribe, simply email information@informit.com.

Service Announcements

On rare occasions it is necessary to send out a strictly service related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account information. However, these communications are not promotional in nature.

Customer Service

We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and in regard to issues relating to their account we reply via email or phone in accordance with the users' wishes when a user submits their information through our Contact Us form.

Other Collection and Use of Information


Application and System Logs

Pearson automatically collects log data to help ensure the delivery, availability and security of this site. Log data may include technical information about how a user or visitor connected to this site, such as browser type, type of computer/device, operating system, internet service provider and IP address. We use this information for support purposes and to monitor the health of the site, identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents and appropriately scale computing resources.

Web Analytics

Pearson may use third party web trend analytical services, including Google Analytics, to collect visitor information, such as IP addresses, browser types, referring pages, pages visited and time spent on a particular site. While these analytical services collect and report information on an anonymous basis, they may use cookies to gather web trend information. The information gathered may enable Pearson (but not the third party web trend services) to link information with application and system log data. Pearson uses this information for system administration and to identify problems, improve service, detect unauthorized access and fraudulent activity, prevent and respond to security incidents, appropriately scale computing resources and otherwise support and deliver this site and its services.

Cookies and Related Technologies

This site uses cookies and similar technologies to personalize content, measure traffic patterns, control security, track use and access of information on this site, and provide interest-based messages and advertising. Users can manage and block the use of cookies through their browser. Disabling or blocking certain cookies may limit the functionality of this site.

Do Not Track

This site currently does not respond to Do Not Track signals.

Security


Pearson uses appropriate physical, administrative and technical security measures to protect personal information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure.

Children


This site is not directed to children under the age of 13.

Marketing


Pearson may send or direct marketing communications to users, provided that

  • Pearson will not use personal information collected or processed as a K-12 school service provider for the purpose of directed or targeted advertising.
  • Such marketing is consistent with applicable law and Pearson's legal obligations.
  • Pearson will not knowingly direct or send marketing communications to an individual who has expressed a preference not to receive marketing.
  • Where required by applicable law, express or implied consent to marketing exists and has not been withdrawn.

Pearson may provide personal information to a third party service provider on a restricted basis to provide marketing solely on behalf of Pearson or an affiliate or customer for whom Pearson is a service provider. Marketing preferences may be changed at any time.

Correcting/Updating Personal Information


If a user's personally identifiable information changes (such as your postal address or email address), we provide a way to correct or update that user's personal data provided to us. This can be done on the Account page. If a user no longer desires our service and desires to delete his or her account, please contact us at customer-service@informit.com and we will process the deletion of a user's account.

Choice/Opt-out


Users can always make an informed choice as to whether they should proceed with certain services offered by InformIT. If you choose to remove yourself from our mailing list(s) simply visit the following page and uncheck any communication you no longer want to receive: www.informit.com/u.aspx.

Sale of Personal Information


Pearson does not rent or sell personal information in exchange for any payment of money.

While Pearson does not sell personal information, as defined in Nevada law, Nevada residents may email a request for no sale of their personal information to NevadaDesignatedRequest@pearson.com.

Supplemental Privacy Statement for California Residents


California residents should read our Supplemental privacy statement for California residents in conjunction with this Privacy Notice. The Supplemental privacy statement for California residents explains Pearson's commitment to comply with California law and applies to personal information of California residents collected in connection with this site and the Services.

Sharing and Disclosure


Pearson may disclose personal information, as follows:

  • As required by law.
  • With the consent of the individual (or their parent, if the individual is a minor)
  • In response to a subpoena, court order or legal process, to the extent permitted or required by law
  • To protect the security and safety of individuals, data, assets and systems, consistent with applicable law
  • In connection the sale, joint venture or other transfer of some or all of its company or assets, subject to the provisions of this Privacy Notice
  • To investigate or address actual or suspected fraud or other illegal activities
  • To exercise its legal rights, including enforcement of the Terms of Use for this site or another contract
  • To affiliated Pearson companies and other companies and organizations who perform work for Pearson and are obligated to protect the privacy of personal information consistent with this Privacy Notice
  • To a school, organization, company or government agency, where Pearson collects or processes the personal information in a school setting or on behalf of such organization, company or government agency.

Links


This web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects Personal Information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this web site.

Requests and Contact


Please contact us about this Privacy Notice or if you have any requests or questions relating to the privacy of your personal information.

Changes to this Privacy Notice


We may revise this Privacy Notice through an updated posting. We will identify the effective date of the revision in the posting. Often, updates are made to provide greater clarity or to comply with changes in regulatory requirements. If the updates involve material changes to the collection, protection, use or disclosure of Personal Information, Pearson will provide notice of the change through a conspicuous notice on this site or other appropriate way. Continued use of the site after the effective date of a posted revision evidences acceptance. Please contact us if you have questions or concerns about the Privacy Notice or any objection to any revisions.

Last Update: November 17, 2020