Broadband Electrical Protection Technical Reports This ATIS Standard series provides requirements and guidance for the use of electrical protectors in various technology architectures. This document (ATIS-0600012) is the general foreword to subtending ATIS Standards that will follow. These documents include specific requirements and applications for broadband architectures@ such as xDSL@ Ethernet@ Power Over Ethernet (PoE)@ G.fast@ etc. The purpose of this series of documents is to assist the service provider in choosing appropriate primary protection methods for the communications circuit. These documents describe the protector attributes that may impact broadband systems for outside plant@ and inter-building applications and the services running over these links. These protectors are categorized by technology type and configurations. This series of documents describe protectors in their non-operating state and their effect on these services@ consider the effects of protector response to a surge event@ and how that operation may affect these services. In addition@ the associated subtending standards provide information and education with regard to secondary protection@ design techniques@ and appropriate tests for the equipment. Equipment Covered This suite of ATIS Standards applies to the electrical protection of all broadband network equipment locations@ examples include: broadband equipment at the headend@ Central Office (CO) site@ remote sites@ and at the customer location -- including the entrance or interface point and Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). This equipment may interface with various types of cable media@ such as coaxial cable or twisted pair that provides the broadband signal and any associated power. Although a variety of existing and proposed broadband equipment types are considered@ the merits of the different technologies@ and/or architecture types@ are not covered. The following are examples of equipment/items covered in this series of ATIS standards: Primary and secondary protectors. CO equipment. Remote equipment. Cell Site equipment. Network Interface Devices (NIDs)@ Intelligent Network Interface Devices (iNIDs)@ Network Interface Units (NIUs)@ Optical Network Terminals (ONTs)@ Building Entrance Terminals (BETs)@ and other points of demarcation. CPE such as Set-Top Box (STB)@ xDSL splitters@ telephones@ modems@ etc.