Network Rail: City Exchange, Leeds 

As part of an ongoing programme of improvement, Network Rail opened a new Training Facility at their site based at City Exchange in Leeds. 

This project consisted of the installation of a new Cat 5e cabling infrastructure throughout the Fifth and Sixth Floors to support the data and voice services within the new area.

This large project was completed in two consecutive phases by floor and consisted of the following works:

• A total of 1,100 Cat 5e outlets were supplied and installed throughout the new Training Area
• The supply and installation of 8 x full sized comms cabinets
• An 8-core, multimode (62.5/125µm) fibre optic link was supplied and installed between the Fifth and Sixth Floor Comms Rooms
• A 50-pair voice grade cable link was supplied and installed between the Fifth and Sixth Floor Comms Rooms

The Comms Room on each floor formed the centre of the horizontal cabling system for that level.  The network was completed with fibre optic and voice grade cables, which linked the two Comms Room.

Once installed and terminated the cable were fully tested for performance and functionality to ensure compatibility with all relevant industry standards.  A light source and power meter was used to test for polarity and dB loss.  An OTDR test of every core was also completed, in both directions and at 850µm and 1310µm frequencies for multimode cable.

Panacea: Whitgift Shopping Centre

Whitgift Centre Management wanted voice and data services to be provided to a number of information kiosks within the Centre.

Ponte Comm was asked by Panacea to tackle this deceptively simple project.  Our site survey made clear that the existing infrastructure would not support the new requirements.  We recommended a new voice and optical fibre data cable backbone infrastructure, with 4 new cabinets and horizontal Category 5e cables from here to the new port locations.

This design would offer several benefits to WCM:

• A standards-based, fully warrantied cabling system
• A resilient network
• Spare capacity allowing WCM future proofing for potential increased requirements, and the opportunity to offer voice and data services to its customers

Works were completed within the Service Area, an extremely challenging environment: working at high level, underground and enclosed, and housing a busy service road with delivery lorries constantly arriving.

The underground and enclosed nature of the environment meant a large build up of dirt including pigeon guano, meaning protective clothing and masks had to be worn.

The service road had to be properly barriered off and extreme care taken to ensure safety of personnel on the project.  A specialist access scissor-lift was employed to gain access to the high level areas.

In addition, the team were working under tight time constraints to ensure the works were finished prior to the peak Christmas trading period.

The project was successfully completed to the full satisfaction of the customer.

Misys: Cabling Upgrade

Misys Banking Systems’ Wimbledon premises was found to have a complete mixture of cabling types, systems and manufacturers when it was first surveyed by Ponte Comm.

Initial works included the removal of obsolete and redundant cables to free-up much needed space in risers and containment and within the very tight floor void.  This facilitated the installation of urgently needed extra data points throughout the building.

The phased upgrade of the entire building’s cabling system was then undertaken.  The high occupancy level complicated the works, and ‘decant’ areas had to be carefully planned and communicated to staff to ensure minimum disruption.

Multimode fibre optic cable and voice cable backbones together with a 1200-point Cat 5e horizontal cabling system was supplied, installed, tested and warranted.  

With the refurbishment of the ICT Suite, Misys had the quality network that their mission-critical 24/7 Banking Systems operation needed.