Understanding Key Issues with the Local Access Network

What is the local access network?

The local access network is essentially the “last mile” connection, which is the communications infrastructure (equipment and links) within a facility that carries traffic and terminates at a Central Office (CO) or Point of Presence (POP).

Why be concerned about the local access network?

An agency that depends on communications for its operations should be particularly concerned about the local access network; if an event or disaster affected the local access network, communications may be entirely lost.

What is route diversity?

Route diversity is having two or more separate communications paths with no points in common, thereby preventing single points of failure. In practice, route diversity can involve very little separation between paths (as shown in Example 2 below) or significant separation (as shown in Example 1 below). Greater separation is preferable because it significantly decreases the likelihood that an event will affect both paths.

What Is Resiliency?

A resilient local access network is a network that is robust and able to withstand damages thereby minimizing the likelihood of an outage. Resiliency includes three elements:

• Route diversity: route diversity with significant separation makes a network more resilient
• Redundancy: the more redundancy built into the network (e.g., redundant service provider facilities, redundant equipment), the more resilient
• Protective measures: Protective measures decrease the likelihood that a threat will affect the network and enable rapid restoration if services are lost; NCS priority programs can help bypass congestion and ensure rapid restoration of damaged circuits

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