ATIS Announces New ANSI Standard on Wood Poles

February 20, 2009, Washington, DC - The Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS) announces the release of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard O5.1.2008: Wood Poles – Specifications and Dimensions. Developed by the ATIS-administered Accredited Standards Committee O5, this standard will be of vital interest to telephone companies of all sizes, utility companies and municipalities that are responsible for providing communications, and other public utilities across the country.

As a material specification, ANSI O5.1.2008 updates a previous version issued in 2002, clarifies ambiguities and amends past inaccuracies. Specifically, the standard incorporates a provision outlining specific Pantone Matching System (PMS) color-coded identification tags for each pole class. The tags’ easy visibility promotes ease of purchasing, additional pole information and inventory control. The standard also includes a more complete, robust explanation of the maximum stress points of utility poles. Further, Accredited Standards Committee O5, the body that developed the standard, has added an annex that provides information regarding design issues to help users apply wood poles correctly in line designs.

“The publication of ANSI O5.1-2008 follows a significant effort by manufacturers, users and technical consultants to improve the standard from its previous version.  The changes result in more efficient application of treated softwood utility poles and both the telecommunications and electric utility industries will benefit from lower costs in this standard’s implementation.” said Nelson Bingel, Osmose Utilities Services, Inc., Vice President for Engineering and Chairman of Accredited Standards Committee O5.

About ATIS
ATIS is the leading technical planning and standards development organization committed to the rapid development of global, market-driven standards for the information, entertainment and communications industry. More than 300 companies actively formulate standards in ATIS’ 20 Committees, covering issues including: IPTV, Service Oriented Networks, Home Networking, Energy Efficiency, IP-Based and Wireless Technologies, Quality of Service, Billing and Operational Support. In addition, numerous Incubators, Focus and Exploratory Groups address emerging industry priorities including “Green”, IP Downloadable Security, Next Generation Carrier Interconnect, IPv6 and Convergence.

ATIS is the North American Organizational Partner for the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a member and major U.S. contributor to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio and Telecommunications’ Sectors, and a member of the Inter-American Telecommunication Commission (CITEL). For more information, please visit www.atis.org