Aug 07, 2023

Data Center

After beginning a fiber placement project in a massive data center, National Technologies (NTI), a Network Connex company, discovered and resolved a major engineering oversight to save the operator time, money, and resources for their future fiber connectivity.

SITUATION

Over the years, NTI has developed a strong reputation for fiber placement to support connectivity for major data centers and hyperscalers. From inside plant and outside plant, to infrastructure engineering projects, their teams have successfully completed high-profile work around the country on time and within budget. NTI’s long-term relationship with a large, global data center and colocation provider is based upon this reputation. During a typical ISP fiber engagement with this customer, NTI learned of a planned future project that would greatly extend connectivity on the campus.

The Data Center consulted NTI for solution engineering support, where the team brought a critical flaw to the attention of the customer’s infrastructure engineers. The Data Center’s private underground duct space was overpopulated with smaller count cables. This meant that there was limited space for the high-capacity fiber NTI would need to install in the upcoming project. Once the interconnection team sounded the alarm about the spatial concerns, NTI was asked to sift through the cables and find the solution.

The Data Center Campus extended across an array of buildings along a one-mile stretch and NTI began an audit of the existing underground connectivity ducts along the path. Along with Data Center engineers, the NTI team also identified poor cable management conditions in the utility holes throughout the campus.

With massive amounts of connectivity needed to power the campus, the limited underground duct space put the Data Center in a bind. A solution would surely be labor intensive and require substantial retooling of the underground fiber spaces. Through their assessment, NTI confirmed that these space limitations would indeed impact future deployment plans.

CHALLENGES

Once the Data Center and NTI finished their assessment, there were three key challenges to overcome:

The Data Center’s earmarked underground duct spaces were severely overpopulated with smaller count cables. There was nowhere for all of the planned fiber lines to go.

Over the course of a mile on the Data Center campus, the cable organization inside utility holes was troubling at best. None of the holes were safe enough for technicians to place new fiber in the existing underground connectivity ducts.

Initial ideas to retool and freshly build these spaces looked cost-intensive. How could the Data Center stay ahead of the deadline and under budget while getting ready for future deployment?

The Data Center was on track to expand connectivity before an engineering hurdle arose. With only so much space available, NTI was tasked with designing a solution that would hold all of the fiber needed to grow capacity.

SOLUTION

Once NTI considered the existing fiber ducts, infrastructure, and anticipated deployment timeline, they found the best solution. They approached the Data Center operator with a fully re-imagined approach: what if the existing small-count fiber was replaced with high-capacity fiber? That way, the existing duct system could still be fully utilized, but capacity would be greatly increased.

The Data Center operator was fully onboard with the strategic choice to re-imagine resources, not reconstruct them. With approval from the customer, NTI re-engineered the connections between every campus building to phase out small-count fiber and replace it with high-count fiber. Once this upgrade was complete, all of the fiber was under a single managed infrastructure. While in each utility hole, NTI also addressed cable management so that the spaces were neat and organized, and safer for technicians to get in and out.

The revamped project strategy delivered even more perks for the Data Center team. Fresh, high-capacity fiber empowered customers to submit orders through the Data Center’s internal portals. It also helped the team leverage customer insights to design optimal internal networks. On the ground, the Data Center could even reroute the traffic throughout the campus to protect vital fiber junctions.

The insight that NTI provided helped enable the Data Center to use what they already had to build for the future. They didn’t have to take on costly underground cabling or tear apart sections of the physical campus in the process. Because of the strategic recommendation to prioritize re-engineering over reconstruction, NTI solved a pressing problem that enabled future interconnection capabilities for years to come.

To keep the Data Center project on time and on budget, NTI’s wealth of experience in turnkey solutions helped the Data Center find a solution that re-used existing resources.

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

MISSION

One of the key partnership results of re-engineering the fiber connections on the Data Center Campus was that NTI established the standard construction model for the company for years to come. The turnkey solution saved countless hours and resources while bringing the vision for high-capacity fiber into reality.

HIGHLIGHTS

NTI’s idea to pivot instead of re-build brought big returns and became the cornerstone of the Data Center’s infrastructure enhancement strategy moving forward.
In fact, NTI still uses this model today. Since the initial project, they’ve quickly and efficiently built five new Data Center Campuses for the same customer using this future-proof solution for high-capacity fiber. And, each upcoming build is expected to use the proven playbook model with only slight modifications.
To learn more about NTI and its full suite of network design, engineering, wireless/fiber
construction, maintenance, integration, and turnkey solutions capabilities, please visit ntitech.com.

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Aug 07, 2023

FTTH

One legacy service provider sought a partner to execute on their new Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network. The support they found in Network Connex turned their ambitious goals into reality.

SITUATION

Fiber internet, when available, offers more reliable bandwidth at an affordable price to meet demand not just for today, but for decades to come. But historically, broadband connectivity in rural swaths of the U.S. has been either unreliable or simply unavailable. In the modern moment when many employers offer a work from home option and an internet connection can be the sole prerequisite for job opportunities, a lack of dependable, statewide broadband threatens personal and business economics.

Recent legislation in states with expansive rural areas has jumpstarted plans to deploy broadband service for large segments of their citizens. In one southern state, FTTH providers submitted proposals to meet a state-sanctioned broadband goal. Our customer has historically been one of the key FTTH providers statewide. With their roots established in-state in the early 20th century, today their product suite includes highspeed internet, data and cloud connectivity, and voiceover internet telephone solutions.

With this expertise, the internet provider was successful in winning key contracts from the state to expand fiber access. But with hefty network expansion goals and a tight turnaround time, the team needed a partner that could help them expedite the build process. Network Connex’s South Region already had a strong relationship with the provider, and possessed the permitting, internal testing, and equipment installation expertise required for the projects.

CHALLENGES

Once the fiber internet provider was awarded state broadband projects, there were five key challenges to work through with Network Connex:

Our customer was hungry to be the first FTTH provider in new markets, so Network Connex had to agree to a rigorous deployment timeline with little room for error along the way.

Network Connex was tasked with completing typically inflexible parts of the work, like permitting and engineering plans, within incredibly limited timeframes.

Construction in new geographies always includes a learning curve to find optimal local vendors. Network Connex had to know where to locate those resources, fast.

Since the internet provider was working under an aggressive deadline, Network Connex had to submit accurate, high-level designs with no room for error.

Throughout the project construction, supply chain challenges were rampant around the nation.

The partnership between Network Connex and our customer was integral to expanding residential FTTH service and broadband reach across the state. Network Connex had to tap into their legacy knowledge of planning and installation to thrive under strict deadlines.

SOLUTION

Network Connex jumped all in with the rapid pace set for deployment. First, the team focused on delivering accurate, high-level, quality designs which expedited the testing and turn-up portions of projects immensely. The team also had to locate the best vendors in small, rural towns, and maximize existing partnerships with suppliers. All of this was in the midst of national supply chain chaos and shortages. With strong, long-term vendor relationships, Network Connex was able to obtain all materials in good time to meet project deadlines.

Network Connex met our customer where they were to execute on their first-to-market vision. Between permitting and developing engineering plans, the pressure was on, yet the team still excelled. Network Connex helped this rural internet provider to deliver their vision and surpass their quarterly goals.

Today, our customer and Network Connex continue a solid partnership. Since the fiber networks are designed, deployed, and managed by Network Connex, our company knows the network, routing, and access points inside and out and can quickly help with new implementation or maintenance in the areas.