Abstract:
The present invention provides a system and method for maintaining and displaying information regarding high bandwidth telecommunication cables in metropolitan areas. The present invention allows a user to select a metropolitan area for display. The user may thereafter select one or more vendors who own high bandwidth telecommunication cables in the selected metropolitan area. A user may control the prominence of displayed cables by designating selected vendors in a prioritized list.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   None. 
   STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
   None. 
   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   This invention is related to the field of high bandwidth telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to the maintenance and display of information regarding the location, ownership, and other characteristics of high bandwidth telecommunications cable within a metropolitan area. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to the design and implementation of high speed metropolitan area networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to the computerized mapping of the high bandwidth telecommunication cables used in metropolitan area networks to assist in the design, planning, and implementation of future cable installation and customer connections. 
   Connectivity has become a critical part of business and personal life in the modern world. Voice telephone connections, often in very large volumes, are essential to conduct business and other activities today. In addition to voice connections, data connections such as those used for computer networks like the Internet require high bandwidth connections for optimal operation. Voice and data connections often use the same high bandwidth telecommunications cable to carry their signals. Signals from multiple sources are often combined for efficient transport over an infrastructure of high bandwidth telecommunications cable. The infrastructure of high bandwidth telecommunications cable includes miles of cable, particularly fiber optic cable, installed in most cities across the United States and abroad. The high bandwidth telecommunications cable installed in a metropolitan area creates a high bandwidth metropolitan area network. 
   A telecommunication customer desiring a high bandwidth connection, for whatever purpose, must be linked to one of the high bandwidth cables installed in their metropolitan area, or a new cable to accommodate them must be installed. As the telecommunications infrastructure expands, the present location of high bandwidth telecommunications must be considered as part of planning for the installation of additional high bandwidth telecommunications cable. Thus, the location of installed high bandwidth telecommunications cables is important information for companies providing high bandwidth connectivity to customers, as well as companies that install high bandwidth infrastructure. Often, a single company performs both the function of installing the high bandwidth telecommunications infrastructure and the function of connecting telecommunications customers to that infrastructure. 
   Most metropolitan areas include cable owned by a wide variety of different entities. Generally, cable owners shall be referred to as “vendors” herein. Typically, vendors lease access to their cable to others, including competitors. At present, some metropolitan areas have sixty or more vendors with high bandwidth telecommunications cable installed. Maintaining records of such a large number of vendors can be extremely difficult. Making matters even more difficult, the ownership status of various cables can change frequently. Acquisitions, mergers, and other business transactions often change the ownership of particular cables. New cable also continues to be installed. Because of the installation of additional cable and the transfer of existing cable, maintaining records as to the location and ownership of high bandwidth telecommunication cables in a metropolitan area network can be a challenging task. 
   Simply maintaining the location and ownership of high bandwidth cable is not enough to plan a connection to the cable system. Not all locations along a high bandwidth telecommunication cable are appropriate for forming a connection. To connect to a cable, a node must be accessed. A node may take a variety of forms, some more suitable for connection than others. For example, a carrier hotel is a physical structure used to connect to a high bandwidth cable. Other forms of nodes, such as switches, may provide some ability to connect to a cable. To connect to a particular cable, some form of node must exist or be created to allow the connection to be established. 
   Maintaining and accessing records of the location of high bandwidth cable, the vendors who own the cable, and the location and type of node for each cable can be an extraordinarily challenging task. Because of the geographical nature of the information, the use of a map to display the relevant data is typical. However, placing all of the information regarding the high bandwidth telecommunication cable network for a metropolitan area upon one or more hard copy maps presents problems for users. First, the dynamic nature of a metropolitan area network will render a static hard copy map obsolete quickly. Moreover, the high quantity of information to be displayed on the map can be overwhelming. Additionally, depending upon the particular use of a map, not all possible information may be necessary. For example, if a company is seeking to establish a connection for a customer, that company may prefer to connect to one of a handful of vendors with which it has made special business arrangements to access their cables. In such a case, the company may wish to obtain information about other vendors only if their priority vendors do not have a cable within a predetermined distance of the customer. Displaying information regarding the location of other vendors&#39; cables might not be desired unless it is necessary due to the absence of the preferred vendors&#39; cables. 
   Of course, the maintenance of metropolitan area network maps has moved to a digital format. However, the common practice of maintaining metropolitan area network maps on a particular workstation, while superior in many regards to maintenance of hard copy maps, does not adequately address the needs of companies installing high bandwidth telecommunications cable providing connectivity to telecommunications customers. Information maintained on a single workstation can be difficult to access. Further, simply converting maps of metropolitan area high bandwidth telecommunications from a hard copy format to a digital format does not necessarily facilitate the maintenance and display of information. 
   The present invention addresses the need of companies installing high bandwidth telecommunications cable and providing data connectivity using high bandwidth metropolitan area networks to maintain information regarding the ownership cables, the location of cables, and the location of nodes within a metropolitan area. The present invention allows the user to preferentially display information relating to the vendors availability in a particular area, and allows the user to determine what information should be displayed for a particular purpose. The present invention also allows a user to query the system to obtain particular information, such as the presence or absence of nodes, within a particular portion of a geographical area. These and other attributes of the present invention shall be described more fully below. 
   BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention maintains and displays information regarding metropolitan area high bandwidth telecommunications cable networks. The present invention maintains geographical information regarding metropolitan areas and maintains information regarding the location of high bandwidth telecommunications cables within those metropolitan areas. The present invention allows for the use of information regarding the ownership of the telecommunications cables in a metropolitan area, the location of nodes associated with those telecommunications cables, and the ownership of particular cables in the planning of customer connections and telecommunications infrastructure installation. Further, the present invention allows a user to define buffer zones around particular telecommunications cables, and to query the system regarding the contents of the buffer zones. The present invention further provides for the prioritized display of high bandwidth telecommunications cables in a preferential order based upon the vendor owning or responsible for those cables. Through these and other functions, the present invention facilitates the planning and implementation of high bandwidth connections and high bandwidth cabling within a metropolitan area. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING 
     The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, wherein: 
       FIG. 1  illustrates an overview of the user interface of computer software in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 2  illustrates the logical structure of software in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 3  illustrates display layers used in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 4  illustrates the selection of a metropolitan area in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 5  illustrates the selection of a vendor in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 6  illustrates the display of a vendor&#39;s cable within a selected metropolitan area; and 
       FIG. 7  illustrates the display of cable belonging to multiple vendors within a selected metropolitan area; and 
       FIG. 8  illustrates the definition of a buffer in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 9  illustrates the display of a buffer in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 10  illustrates the construction of a buffer query in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 11  illustrates the response to a buffer query in accordance with the present invention; and 
       FIG. 12  illustrates the detailed response to a buffer query in accordance with the present invention. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention employs computer software to maintain and display information regarding metropolitan area high bandwidth telecommunications networks. Software implementing this invention may be placed in computer readable media such as disk drives, hard drives, magnetic tape, or any other computer readable format. While software designed in accordance with the present invention may be maintained on a single workstation, it is particularly suited for use in a networked computing environment, thereby allowing a plurality of users to easily access its capabilities. 
     FIG. 1  illustrates a user interface  100  in accordance with the present invention. Within the user interface  100 , a map view  110  displays geographical information regarding a metropolitan area. As shall be further illustrated, map view  110  may further display information relating to the location of high bandwidth cable, as well as other information as requested by a user. The market display  120  compactly illustrates the selected metropolitan area, if any. A map tool bar  130  is provided to allow a user to manipulate the image displayed in the map view  110 . The map tool bar  130  allows the user to perform typical functions, such as magnification, demagnification, and other operations. A user may specify a specific geographic location using the coordinate entry fields  140 , which permit a user to enter a latitude and longitude either in degrees, minutes, and seconds, or in decimal degrees. Alternatively, the user may enter a street address in the address entry fields  150 . If the street address entered in the address entry fields  150  corresponds to an address included in the geographic information maintained by the software, as shall be further described below, that street address may be converted to a latitude and longitude for use by the software. A user positionable cursor may also be used to designate a particular geographical location as an alternative to the coordinate entry fields  140  and the address entry fields. Menu  160  allows the user to interact with the software and the displayed metropolitan area and the map view  110  to perform functions such as printing a map, creating a duplicate electronic copy, or other functions. Information pertaining to the display of the map view  110  is included in the status bar  170 . A user may select a metropolitan area using the market selection menu  180 . In such an embodiment, the user would position and click a cursor over the desired region or metropolitan area listed in the market selection menu  180 . A user may also select a metropolitan area by selecting that metropolitan area with the user positionable cursor within the map view  110  while the map view  110  displays a region, such as the entire United States as in  FIG. 1 , that includes the desired metropolitan area. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the data structure used in accordance with the present invention is illustrated.  FIG. 2  illustrates a simplified data structure  200  in accordance with the present invention. A user accesses and manipulates the information in the data structure  200  using the user interface  100 . Data structure  200  includes a first metropolitan area  210 , a second metropolitan area  220 , a third metropolitan area  230 , and a fourth metropolitan area  240 . In actual usage, the present invention would likely be employed with far more metropolitan areas than the four illustrated in  FIG. 2 . A metropolitan area, such as the first metropolitan area  210 , represents a specifically identified market as defined by the user. Typically, a metropolitan area, such as the first metropolitan area  210 , will include a central city and suburbs. However, a user may, in some situations, desire to define a metropolitan area to cover a smaller or a larger geographical scope. 
   The data for the first metropolitan area  210 , the second metropolitan area  220 , the third metropolitan area  230 , and the fourth metropolitan area  240  includes information needed to create a computer map of each metropolitan area, such as the locations, names, and types of streets and roads within those defined areas. This information may include details such as the geographical location of particular street addresses. While the detail of the metropolitan area data may vary for different embodiments of the invention, the metropolitan area information should be sufficient to generate a computer map of the metropolitan area. While a variety of formats may be used to maintain and display the metropolitan area information, one such form contemplated by the inventor is commercially available web-based mapping software known as Autodesk MapGuide®. Metropolitan area geographical information may be received in a variety of ways. Metropolitan area geographical information for use in generating a computerized map are commercially available and are suitable for use with the present invention. Such commercially available metropolitan area geographical information can often be received in a format for immediate use with the present invention. Alternatively, geographical information may be gathered from public domain sources by the user. If necessary, metropolitan area geographical information may be converted to a format and/or medium suitable for use with the present invention. The procedure used to receive the geographical information is immaterial to the present invention. 
   Within each metropolitan area, a variety of high bandwidth telecommunications cable will be present. Typically, a variety of vendors own the installed telecommunications cable. Information relating to the location of the telecommunications cable belonging to each vendor can often be obtained directly from that vendor. Ideally, such information should be obtained in a format compatible with the software used in accordance with the present invention. Alternatively, information regarding a vendor&#39;s cable and nodes may be obtained from other sources. If necessary, vendor information may be converted to a format and/or medium suitable for use with the present invention. The procedure used to receive the vendor information is immaterial to the present invention. As shown in  FIG. 2 , the first metropolitan area  210  includes a first vendor  211 , a second vendor  212 , a third vendor  213 , a fourth vendor  214 , a fifth vendor  215 , and a sixth vendor  216 . Likewise, the second metropolitan area  220 , the third metropolitan area  230 , and the fourth metropolitan area  240  contain a plurality of vendors. While a total of six vendors are illustrated in  FIG. 2  for each metropolitan area, it should be understood that the actual number of vendors within a metropolitan area may vary, and that that number may be less than six, and, frequently, may considerably exceed the six illustrated in  FIG. 2 . 
   A user accesses information regarding the location of high bandwidth telecommunications cable in a metropolitan area through the user interface  100 . Using the user interface  100 , a user selects one of the available metropolitan areas. For example, a user may select the third metropolitan area  230 . Geographical information regarding the third metropolitan area  230  may then be displayed to the user via the user interface  100 , by, for example, using the map view  110 . The user will then have the option of selecting via the user interface  100  by, for example, using the market selection menu  180  one or more vendors with cable located within the third metropolitan area  230 . Vendor information, which may include the location of cables, the location of nodes, the type of cables, and the types of nodes, is received and maintained for each vendor. In the example illustrated in  FIG. 2 , the vendor information available for selection would be information for the first vendor  231 , the second vendor  232 , the third vendor  233 , the fourth vendor  234 , the fifth vendor  235 , and the sixth vendor  236 . After a user selects one or more vendors from the list of possible vendors, the location of telecommunications cable associated with the selected vendors are displayed to the user via the user interface  100 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 3 , a display  300  comprising layers of selected information is illustrated. The display  300  may be generated for display in the map view  110  of the user interface  100 . The first layer  310  is geographical information regarding the metropolitan area selected by the user. The first layer  310  includes geographical information such as street locations. Next comes the first selected vendor information displayed in layer  311 . The next layer  312  may comprise the second selected vendor information. A further layer  313  may be the third selected vendor information. A large number of layers comprising selected vendor information may be included in a single display  300 . Vendor information displayed may include the geographical location of high bandwidth telecommunications cable and any nodes associated with that cable. The number of layers required to display vendor information will, of course, depend upon the number of vendors selected by a user for display. A display  300  may further include a layer  350  of user customization information. Such information may be a buffer, which will be described more fully herein, or points, lines, or other figures placed by a user to create a customized map. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 4 , the selection of a metropolitan area for display is further illustrated. A user has accessed the market selection menu  180 , which includes a listing of metropolitan areas for possible display. Geographical information regarding the selected metropolitan area will be displayed in the map view  110 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 5 , the present invention is illustrated after a metropolitan area has been selected. The market overview  120  illustrates a particular metropolitan area, in this example Chicago, that has been selected using the metropolitan area selection menu  180 . The map view  110  displays a magnified computer generated geographical map of the larger metropolitan area. As will be appreciated in reference  FIG. 5 , the map display  110  shows a wide geographical area. The geographical area displayed in conjunction with each metropolitan area may be varied using the tool bar  130 . A user may select vendors from a vendor menu  510 . Vendor menu  510  displays a list of vendors with high bandwidth telecommunications cable within the selected metropolitan area. A user may select a particular vendor&#39;s cable from that available in the metropolitan area by placing a user positionable cursor over that vendor name and clicking to highlight the vendor name, and using the user positionable cursor to click the on button  536 . Likewise, the user can turn off the display of a particular vendor&#39;s cable by selecting that vendor from vendor menu  510  and selecting the off button  538 . The view route button  540  can be used to display a magnified map showing the selected vendor&#39;s cable in the map view  110 . Vendor display hierarchy controls  530  allows a user to control the prioritized display of available cable based upon the vendor that owns that cable. For example, up-arrow  532  allows a particular vendor to be moved up in priority selection, while down-arrow  534  allows a particular vendor to be moved down in priority. In this fashion, a prioritized list of selected vendors may be created by a user. This prioritized list of vendors determines the display hierarchy used in displaying cable in the map view  110 . As shall be further described subsequently, a selected vendor&#39;s cable may be displayed in the map view  110  with varying degrees of prominence, with the highest priority vendors being displayed with the greatest prominence. Alternatively, the prioritization of vendors may be used to determine which vendor&#39;s cable to display when cable from more than one selected vendor occupies the same route. In such a case, the cable of the higher priority vendor would be displayed instead of the cable of the lower priority vendor. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 6 , a selected vendor&#39;s cable  610  is illustrated. Also illustrated are nodes, such as node  620 , associated with the selected vendor&#39;s cable. A node, such as node  620 , is a location where a connection to the vendor&#39;s cable may be made. Different graphical representations may be used to display different types of nodes. Nodes may be switches of different varieties, a point of presence for a particular vendor, a data center, a carrier hotel, a local carrier end office, a local carrier central office, or any other structure or location permitting an interface with the cable to be established. For example, a carrier hotel may be represented using a dot, while a switch may be illustrated using a star shaped symbol. Other ways of varying the graphical representation of nodes of different types will be apparent to one skilled in the art. A user may choose to display only the cable, only the nodes, or cable and nodes using display controls  630 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 7 , cable from multiple vendors is illustrated. It should be observed that map view  110  now displays a more detailed view of a portion of the selected metropolitan area. A user may control the magnification of the map view  110  using tool bar  130 . A first vendor&#39;s cable  710  is shown with a first graphical depiction. A second vendor&#39;s cable  720  is shown with a second graphical depiction. Using different graphical depictions allows a user to visually discern between the vendors who own different displayed cables. Different graphical depictions may be simply using different colors in the display, or may also involve the use of different display formats, such as solid, broken, or dashed lines. As with the graphical representation of nodes, one skilled in the art will appreciate that a variety of different graphical representations may be used to differentiate between cables belonging to different vendors. Different graphical representations may also be used to correspond with the priority ranking of a particular vendor. For example, if the first vendor&#39;s cable  710  has been designated a higher priority, the line weight of the graphical representation of the first vendor&#39;s cable  710  may be heavier or otherwise bolder and more prominent than the graphical representation of the second vendor&#39;s cable  720 , which has a lower priority. A wide variety of prominences may be used to allow the prioritized visual display of information for a user. Different graphical representations may also be used to differentiate between different types of cable, such as cables with varying bandwidth capacities, cables installed in different fashions, such as above ground versus underground, or to distinguish planned cable installations from presently available cable installations. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 8 , the definition of a buffer in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. A buffer is a region extending a user defined linear distance from a particular feature displayed in the map view  110 . For example, a user may select a particular cable and then establish a buffer around that cable. Buffer dialog box  800  allows a user to set the parameters of that buffer. For example, a user may establish the distance amount using menu  810  and the units of distance using menu  820 . A user may also control the graphical display of the buffer in the map view  110  using display controls  830 . 
   Referring now to  FIG. 9 , a buffer zone  930  is illustrated around cable  910  extending to an exterior perimeter  920 . Such a buffer zone  930  may be useful for a variety of planning purposes, such as determining the amount of nodes present within that zone  930 , the amount of perspective customers within that zone  930 , other available telecommunications cable within that zone  930 , or other information as defined by a user. 
   Referring now to  FIG. 10 , the use of a buffer query in accordance with the present invention is illustrated. A buffer query button  1050  has been selected to generate a query dialog  1000 . As illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the user has selected to query for available nodes  1010  within the buffer  930 . 
     FIG. 11  illustrates the results of the user query. In this example, a query response  1100  responds that eight nodes fell within the user defined buffer  930 . 
     FIG. 12  illustrates a detailed query response  1200 . As can be seen in  FIG. 12 , a detailed query response  1200  may include information relating to geographical location, ownership, qualities and attributes, distance, or other information as defined by a user as a report. 
   As explained in the foregoing, the present invention allows for the maintenance and display of information relating to high bandwidth telecommunications cable networks within a variety of metropolitan areas. A plurality of metropolitan areas can be included in the present invention. The metropolitan areas may be within the United States or abroad. The present invention allows a user to select a metropolitan area for consideration. After a metropolitan area has been selected, vendors with high bandwidth telecommunications cable within that metropolitan area are displayed for selection by a user. The user may simply select vendors for display, or may create a prioritized selection of vendors and a vendor display hierarchy. If the user creates a prioritized selection of vendors, the cable associated with each vendor will be graphically displayed in a prominence corresponding with the priority assigned to a given vendor. A user may also define a buffer around a particular area, such as around a particular selected cable. The characteristics of a buffer, such as the distance that it extends from the selected cable, may be controlled by the user. After a buffer has been defined in accordance with the present invention, a buffer query may be generated to determine the presence of particular user defined items, such as nodes, within that buffer zone. It is further possible for a user to select a particular location, either by using the latitude and longitude corresponding to that location, a street address, or a user positionable cursor to designate that particular location within a metropolitan area. 
   While the present invention is not limited to any particular programming language or data format, it has been particularly implemented with Autodesk&#39;s MapGuide software, Macromedia&#39;s Cold Fusion software, and Java-Script programming language utilizing an Oracle Spatial database.