WEST CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., June 26 -- ASTM International has formed a new committee to create standards for optical fiber cable installations in underground utilities. The committee is comprised of a diverse range of international stakeholders, including telecommunications companies, underground utility owners, state regulators, optical fiber cable manufacturers, members of the civil engineering community and many other representatives from the public and private sectors as well as academia. The committee -- F36 on Technology and Underground Utilities -- comes together at a time when the telecommunications industry is pursuing new strategies to solve the "last mile" problem in the deployment of metropolitan optical fiber networks. ASTM Committee F36 has already attracted over 200 members representing 25 countries.