Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1156106
50 I ICT TODAY Width Width Width Width Width Rip Cord Rip Cord x2 Rip Cord x2 Rip Cord x2 Rip Cord x2 Oversheath Oversheath Oversheath Oversheath Oversheath HDPE MicroDuct x2 HDPE MicroDuct x4 HDPE MicroDuct x7 HDPE MicroDuct x19 HDPE MicroDuct x24 Height Height Height 2-Way 7-Way 24-Way 4-Way 19-Way NEW TECHNOLOGIES: BACKBONE, IoT NETWORK, PoE, AND MORE New technology was added and current technology was evaluated—everything from equipping employees to work from various environments to creating consistent technology inside conference spaces. The wireless network, which employees reported did not always work, was also re-engineered. Wi-Fi coverage was enhanced with three times the number of wireless access points (WAPs) to eliminate areas without coverage. The speed of the wireless network was dramatically increased, support for the latest mobile devices was added and a cellular DAS system was installed to ensure coverage for cellular phone calls. ANSI/BICSI 006, Distributed Antenna System (DAS) Design and Implementation Best Practices provides valuable information for the design and installation of a DAS system. A major emphasis of the project was upgrading the company's technology infrastructure to enable mobile computing and wireless operation of many work tools. The core network backbone running up the building was replaced with blown cable (also referred to as air-jetted fiber) technology, and key networking equipment was replaced to support the faster speeds required for a busi- ness now heavily focused on advanced analytics. GP's old riser backbone, a mixture of singlemode and multimode optical fiber deployed with armored jacketed cables in innerduct, filled most of the available core space. The new air-jetted backbone consisted of laying 2, 4, 7, 19, and 24-way riser and plenum microducts to form the fiber pathways (Figures 2 and 3). The installation of the microduct permanent fiber pathway is the only time that GP incurred and will incur physical disruption to its building for fiber-related FIGURE 2: Providing flexibility in network infrastructure design, the microducts come in various bundled configurations containing 1 to 24 empty 8.5mm x 6mm inner microducts and include high density polyethylene (HDPE) OSP, riser, plenum, and low-smoke zero halogen options as dictated by the location in the network. 1 FIGURE 3: Microducts form permanent fiber pathways through which any type microcable (e.g., OS2, OM3, OM4, OM5, bend-insensitive) can be jetted or blown in a continuous splice-free (zero point of network failure) fiber run in and out of the network at typical speeds of up to 250 feet per minute using only two installers, thereby eliminating the high cost and time of large installation crews that would "pull fiber." 2 The new GP Center would be designed and equipped to accommodate the way people are working now and will work in the future.