In business school, we were told a story about the CEO of a large manufacturer in the Twin Cities. In his office was a placard that read “Price, Quality and Lead Time…Pick Two.” This always made sense to me because you cannot be all things to all people.
If you look hard enough, you can buy a fiber patch cord for 65 cents. 65 cents! Would you really want to plug a 65-cent patch cord into a transceiver that may cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars?
Let’s follow that logic a little further and talk about patch panels and cabinets. Each connector end face in your network can be a failure point if it is poorly constructed and not tested to the temperature extremes associated with Telcordia standards. Most bargain basement products are not tested to these standards. Who knows if they will stand up to the salt spray of the ocean, cold and hot weather cycles and other conditions in the OSP?
I often hear from my customers that while my products are not the least expensive, they are the best quality and more readily available than others. Honestly, I don’t want to have the cheapest products out there, because if I did, I would not provide Clearfield®’s well-known quality. Our products are designed to be the strongest part of your network, not the weakest. Any component purchased from Clearfield will also be supported by our expert team of Applications Engineers and Technicians. Try getting support on that 65-cent patch cord and let me know how it goes.
The next time you examine your costs, consider the total cost of ownership (TCO)…and whether saving a bit now is worth the more expensive risk of later network failure.
If you have any questions, please reach out to Clearfield. We’re happy to help.
By Tom Warren
For over 25 years, Tom Warren (CFHP, CFOT) has worked with Clearfield in the world of telecommunications. A Regional Sales Manager, Tom works with customers in Florida. Tom’s expertise includes in-depth knowledge of WDMs, FTTx, Small Cell and DAS Fiber applications.