13 Jan 2012

CommScope offers copper-alternative grounding wire for telecoms

CommScope has developed a copper-alternative grounding wire designed to deter copper theft and lower maintenance costs for telecoms and data applications.

The ongoing volatility of copper pricing has created a major concern for the telecommunications industry. Rising copper prices have seen wire and maintenance costs increasing.

These price issues are only compounded as theft levels rise, with the wire being stolen for later sale to recyclers. In the US, the Department of Homeland Security has issued a warning stating that copper theft is a threat to critical homeland infrastructure.

Meanwhile, a 2009 survey published by the US Electrical Safety Foundation International, reported that US utilities lose approximately $60 million and 450,000 minutes of outage time annually because of copper theft.

As an alternative to copper wire, CommScope's so-called GroundSmart Copper Clad Steel solution has been designed for use in subsurface grounding grids, as well as inside and outside plant bonding applications.

"Companies trying to protect their copper infrastructure have been going to extreme measures to deter theft, many of which are neither successful nor cost effective," says Doug Wells, vice president, Outside Plant Solutions, Broadband, CommScope. "Companies have increased security around their plants, going as far as laser etching their cables so they can be traced when they are stolen. Others have coated cables with a special liquid that leaves a stain detectable under ultraviolet light."

"Despite efforts like these, thieves continue to steal copper because of its rising value. The result is costly damage to networks and growing service disruptions," he adds.

The Copper Clad Steel is specifically designed to disperse fault currents and lightning strikes at a lower total cost of ownership compared to pure copper.

It is an electrical conductor that has copper metallurgically bonded to a solid steel core. This solution also makes it less susceptible to theft by increasing the resistance to cutting and drastically decreasing the scrap value.

The copper wire alternative can be jacketed with a polyethylene coating and printed to disguise and distinguish the wire from solid copper alternatives.

• For inside plant bonding and grounding applications CommScope produces a Copper Clad Aluminum version.

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