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Systems Engineering Structured
Wiring | Campus-Wide Infrastructure and Cabling
Campus-Wide Infrastructure and Cabling
Strategic planning
projects result in numerous types of studies, including feasibility studies,
master planning documents, cost/benefit analyses for prospective implementation
of new technologies, and network assessment reviews. These projects have
covered a wide variety of topics and aspects of telecommunications networks,
including PBX vs. Centrex analyses, data network status reviews, and campus-wide
master plans which address all three of the major aspects of telecommunications:
voice, data, and video.
Central Office / Remote Switching Systems
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Design of structured wiring systems has been
a major service provided by the Systems Engineering division for several
years. Structured wiring consists of distribution and riser cabling for
voice, data, and video systems. Typical media consists of fiber optic
cable, twisted pair cable, and coaxial cable. Sound engineering for structured
wiring systems also must include the pathways and spaces (i.e., raceways
and wiring closets) necessary to deliver the cables to the outlets. All
designs are completed using the guidance of widely accepted EIA/TIA standards
568, 569, 606, and 607 as well as the BICSI (Building Industry Consulting
Service International) Telecommunications Design Manual standards. An
especially challenging aspect of completing designs in university campus
environments is the necessity to adhere to these standards while designing
systems to be installed in existing buildings, many of which are not easily
adaptable to standards which are generally intended for cabling of new
buildings. 
We
have had extensive experience in campus-wide infrastructure projects,
including fiber optic, twisted pair, and coaxial cabling plants. Over
a 12-year period which included several projects for NASA at Kennedy Space
Center, Florida, we designed approximately 500 route-miles of underground
and direct buried fiber optic, voice, and coax cabling to virtually every
building on the massive property. This experience served us well in completing
similar projects for numerous universities. Many of these projects included
the design of the underground duct bank systems, which provide the pathways
for the new cabling.
Strategic
planning is a process in which many organizations:
Our
PBX projects have included detailed plans and specifications as well as
feasibility studies for new PBX installations. Using our extensive experience
in working for telephone companies, universities, and smaller commercial
customers, we are able to create detailed engineered project specifications
to form the basis of the RFP to install new PBX systems. Our PBX projects
vary in architecture from small, centralized systems serving single locations
to large, distributed campus environments configured in host-remote architectures.
Centrex
users typically operate on multiple-year contracts with their local exchange
carrier to provide central office-based PBX-like features to a multitude
of end users. Near the end of the contract, the owner often will request
a feasibility study or engineering study to help determine if it would
be more beneficial to renew the Centrex contract or to end the contract
and purchase a PBX. After detailed discussions to determine the requirements
of the new network, we would obtain technical design information and budgetary
pricing from the LEC and a variety of PBX vendors to use as inputs into
the engineering analysis. The analysis concludes with a recommendation
as to the most cost effective method, from both an engineering and financial
standpoint.
We
have designed several campus-wide video networks for college campuses.
Typically the networks include a mixture of fiber optic and coaxial cable
(i.e., hybrid fiber/coax or HFC) in the distribution backbone. We also
have the capability to design new headend facilities for the origination
of video distribution on campus and to provide system reviews and consulting
for existing video networks.
Over
the years we have completed numerous projects involving the installation,
upgrade, and replacement of central office equipment for telephone companies.
Our typical involvement starts at the very beginning of the project, when
we help the owner decide what features the new network will need to support.
After this step we typically create the detailed specifications which
form the basis of the RFP to furnish and install the new system. During
the bidding process we conduct a technical review meeting in which the
vendors have an opportunity to clarify aspects of the specifications.
After assisting in the award of the bid, we remain involved during the
installation of the system and usually conduct detailed acceptance testing
of the system prior to cutover. This process is typically performed for
both RUS (Rural Utilities Service) and non-RUS projects.
As
a result of extensive experience with independent telephone companies,
EAI has completed several SONET networking projects. Typically projects
include design, contractor qualification, and acceptance testing of the
new networks. System capacities have ranged from the simple (OC-1 and
OC-3 systems)
to the complex (OC-48 ring systems). Configurations have included point-to-point,
folded ring, BLSR (bi-directional line switched ring) and UPSR (unidirectional
path switched ring). In addition to SONET configurations, we have also
had international experience in Mexico with SDH (Synchronous Digital Hierarchy)
standards.
As
a prelude to the sales of several independent telephone companies, EAI
has assisted in due diligence studies, commissioned by the purchasing
company prior to finalizing the acquisition transaction. Typically the
purchasing company requests an on-site inspection of the equipment and
facilities of the company to be purchased. EAI’s involvement typically
includes a review of all aspects of the telephone company’s operations,
including outside plant facilities and procedures, records systems, central
office switching and transmission equipment, grounding procedures, etc.
After on-site reviews are completed, a detailed report is produced which
lists potential problem areas of which the purchasing company should be
aware prior to the purchase of the company.
The
Rural Utilities Service (formerly REA, Rural Electrification Administration)
acts as a source of low-interest government financing for independent
telephone companies. The RUS has always required that its telephone company
borrowers use the services of a registered professional engineering firm
in putting together designs for all additions to the telco networks. EAI
has been providing these services since our inception in 1954. Our expertise
in RUS contracts covers all aspects of a potential project, including
plans and specifications, the bidding process, contract award, implementation
coordination, acceptance testing, and final closeout of the project. RUS
has very rigid procedures which must be specifically followed in order
to keep the project on track, and EAI is very familiar with the steps
which must be taken to result in a successful project.