Sparkplug Learns How to Leverage its RTUs and Discovers a Superior Alarm Master

Sparkplug is a leading wireless broadband Internet service provider with carrier-grade networks across eight states, including Illinois, Arizona, Iowa, Tennessee, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado and California. Their wireless broadband networks provide business, carrier, government and education customers with a redundant connection from traditional wired networks. Sparkplug delivers reliable and secure business broadband, high speed business Internet and transport services that are affordable and easy to install. Sparkplug also provides government and education access and networking solutions in Chicago, Des Moines, Phoenix, Nashville, and Las Vegas. process as hassle-free as possible. To achieve a successful deployment, adhere to these best practices when preparing for your legacy migration:

Sparkplug Relies on Alarm Monitoring to Provide Consistent Client Service
For Sparkplug's clients, service reliability is critical to success. To provide clients with the consistent network communications they demand, Sparkplug relies on their network monitoring system to alert them of critical transmission failures. By deploying a fleet of remote telemetry units (RTUs), Sparkplug technicians are instantly notified whenever these outages occur.

Assistant Network Optimization Engineer Gilbert Clapp is responsible for working with these remotes at many of Sparkplug's sites in California and Arizona. As much of his job entails working with these remotes, Clapp knew that monitoring training would allow Sparkplug technicians to work more effectively in the field.

Sparkplug Hoped to Master Monitoring Remote Operation at Factory Training
Clapp came to DPS Telecom headquarters in Fresno, California with Sparkplug O & M Field Technician Germaine Thompson to get that training. Through the four-day training event, Clapp hoped to learn how to optimize his monitoring using visibility-maximizing techniques taught by DPS Engineers. He also planned to learn more about the operation of his Remote Alarm Blocks and NetGuardian RTUs. "I came here to learn how to log in to the NetGuardian's web interface remotely through my IP address system," Clapp said of one of his initial goals for take-aways from his week of training.

"The training class that I attended at your facility was by far the best of many of the trainings that I have attended"

While Clapp's day of NetGuardian training taught him how to do just that, he also learned about other solutions to Sparkplug's visibility problems. "Right now we're working on trying to bring all of our sites into a monitoring capability," said Clapp. "We have IP throughout most of our system, but there are a few sites that we can't monitor because they're remote and we have no IP there." Training taught Clapp how he could obtain that needed visibility using the T/Mon NOC.

Control Relays Provided a Network Management Option for Sparkplug
"I think T/Mon would work very well for us," Clapp said. He was particularly impressed with the control relays and derived control functionality within T/Mon, which could prove very useful in controlling equipment at Sparkplugs numerous remote sites. "If we get a generator or an AC power fail, and we don't get a generator running, then we can send a generator start to remotely start that generator," he said of the T/Mon applications he learned at training.

"The whole DPS Telecom company was like a family working together to accomplish the tasks at hand"

Family Atmosphere Makes for Superior Training Experience
Clapp also found other aspects of the course particularly helpful. "Before training, I had never learned what ASCII or SNMP were all about," Clapp said of the new knowledge he gained at DPS. "The training class that I attended at your facility was by far the best of many of the trainings that I have attended. The whole DPS Telecom company was like a family working together to accomplish the tasks at hand. I have encouraged my supervisor and others to attend this course."