Labor constraints have spawned other interesting solutions. Former General Instrument exec Lewis Solomon and former TCI president J.C. Sparkman launched Broadband Services Inc. with the goal of creating a pool of some 2,500 digital technicians who can perform outsourced installations for cable operators. Part of FatPipeU s solution involves a self-paced training technology that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard developed and which Cisco uses in its worldwide manufacturing operations. Endorsing this venture as a board member is Dr. Walter Ciciora, co-author of the book Modern Cable Television Technology. Searching for Super Tech Worldbridge s own scheme bears emulation.
Candidates then get four weeks, tops, to prove themselves in the field.
Another technician incubator is ViaSource, a company with 2,500 employees in multiple sites across the country. One challenge for outsourcers is teaching its employees how a client s system works. Earl Bennet, ViaSource director of training, safety and quality, says the company has access to the RoadRunner network operations in New York, but that s not always the case. His training scheme is a mixture of checks and balances and practice. But other operators want the super tech, or uni-tech, who can handle anything.