A higher power

Despite the sales slumps plaguing some of the industry's biggest vendors (read: Lucent), at least one equipment manufacturing sector is experiencing a boom the likes of which its players have never seen. I'm not talking about the makers of terabit routers or softswitches. I'm referring to power infrastructure - good old rectifiers, UPSs and batteries. Especially batteries.

Surprised? You shouldn't be. As service providers, you are the ones propelling the power sector toward record-high growth. Your orders have forced power vendors to delay shipments of their equipment because they can't keep up with demand. Your customers' unstoppable demand for bandwidth - and your subsequent inability to even hazard a guess as to where that demand will plateau - has power people scrambling to develop more robust solutions, all on your time table.

Indeed, service providers of every ilk can't seem to get enough of power these days. Many larger carriers such as Williams, Qwest and Level 3 are taking no chances, dropping 9000- to 10,000-amp plants at major hubs and switching sites in an effort to stay on top of the erupting broadband volcano.

Then there are all the telecom hotels popping up faster than those shake-and-bake condos in trendy neighborhoods. These broadband monstrosities suck up power like it's Kool-Aid, and it's putting a lot of strain on the power equipment industry to respond.

And though they've responded as best they can, there are limits to how fast they can churn out product. To wit: Many power equipment vendors can't promise product delivery for 10 to 12 weeks. The battery manufacturers have it even worse; some companies at the Supercomm show in Atlanta last month reported 30-week delivery cycles - the telecom equivalent of an eternity. Other companies such as Peco II are expanding plant capacity in several locations to shorten delivery times.

So why has this captivating tale of supply and demand - and demand and demand - gone relatively unnoticed and under-covered? One word: respect. Power needs some - and pronto.

Power, it is safe to say, has traditionally been the industry equivalent of the ugly stepsister. It's not so much that power has a bad rap, but that it gets no rap at all.

Don't take my word for it. Spend five minutes talking to power people at any major trade show, and you'll inevitably hear things like this: "Everyone takes power for granted." Or this: "Power is the last thing people think of." Or even this: "Their revenue generating equipment is where carriers really want to spend time, not power."

Indeed, the power engineer occupies one of the lowest positions on the telecom totem pole. "Unfortunately, they are a lot like the Rodney Dangerfield of telecom - they get no respect." So says John Celentano, president of Skyline Marketing Group, who has been following this sector of the industry for years.

OK, so power isn't as sexy as all-optical networks or voice over IP. Perhaps part of the reason is that, unlike the technology it supports, power infrastructure doesn't seem to change all that much. Sure, footprints keep getting smaller and solutions more efficient, but in the end, it's all about keeping the lights on, so to speak.

Nonetheless, the service provider that relegates power to a mere item on a checklist is sure to get a rude awakening. The finer points of co-location dictate that you can't just drop a power system any old place you please. For start-up carriers that are either too small to have an on-staff power expert or too inexperienced to know what they're doing, the power supplier is their new best friend. And as more of the old-school power engineers start to retire, those that remain will have no trouble finding work.

Now I'm not suggesting that you go out and hug a power engineer. But just keep this in mind: Will you know what to do when the lights go out?