axiom engineering (416) 410-5967 - telecommunications infrastructure design

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Telecommunications Infrastructure Systems

Types of Applications:

Office Buildings and Shopping Centres
Residential Buildings and Homes
Computer and TeleComm Centres
Stand-Alone Strip Malls
Educational and Institutional Facilities
Retail Tenant Applications
Factories and Warehouses

In order to support today's automated business operations, a new type of incoming service utility has become just as important as power and water services - telecommunications systems.

The ability to send and receive large amounts of information with high speed and reliability is paramount to any successful business. Since this technology section is in continuous evolution, the type of structured cabling installed in a building is critical - it must be carefully planned to provide efficient communications in a cost-effective manner. Axiom Engineering can provide your project with a structured cabling system design that is able to withstand several generations of technological advancement with minimal expense to your client.

A typical structured cabling system typically consists of a combination of optical fibre and/or copper cabling media to achieve a flexible and robust communications solution capable of high-speed data transfer. Due to cost, fibre optic cabling is usually reserved for main backbone (or vertical) distribution runs, whereas copper serves well for both vertical and horizontal cabling systems. As part of our design, we will provide your client with working drawings and specifications indicating the quantity and types of cabling to satisfy project and future growth requirements. This allows your client to obtain budget costs and gives him the option of either proceeding immediately with the cabling, or to install the empty conduit system only - installing the cabling when it is economically feasible for him.

Axiom Engineering follows building communications infrastructure guidelines as published by the Canadian Standard Association (CSA), Electronics/Telecommunications Industry Associations (EIA/TIA), and the design standards published by the Building Industry Consulting Service International (BICSI). By following these standards and design guidelines, we can provide your client with a structural cabling system that is neither vendor or product-specific. This results in the most flexible telecom solution.

Although every solution is project-specific, a structured cabling installation usually consists of several common elements.

1. Main Service Entrance

This is where all the external telecom services enter the building and are distributed to the different floors and rooms. Where loss of service is not acceptable, we provide two separate service entrances for redundancy that typically have a different type of media for each - copper or fibre-optic cabling. We will coordinate with your building floor plans to determine the best location and to provide you with minimum room size(s) requirements. The location of the Main Service Entrance(s) is also important for future expansion or system upgrades.

2. Satellite Telecommunications Closets

In addition to the Main Service Entrance, we will specify stacked Satellite Telecommunications Closet(s) on each level of the project to provide a safe path for vertical cable risers, and a convenient location to feed the data outlets on each level. The quantity of closets required per floor depends on data outlet density requirements, and the distance from the furthest outlet to the closet. These closets also house the patch panels which provide the physical link between the data outlets and the LAN/WAN equipment. Where more than one closet is required, we provide interconnecting conduits between them for maximum future versatility.

3. Backbone Distribution System (Vertical Riser)

The Backbone Distribution System takes the incoming service cabling up to each floor of the building through the Satellite Telecommunications Closets, typically providing multiple paths for redundancy. This portion of the cabling system should have the most capacity for data transfer to allow for future expansion and technological advances. Of all the components that comprise a telecommunications infrastructure, the Backbone Distribution System is the most important. There are a variety of different network topologies available to us as designers. We can help your client develop a topology strategy based on his application(s).

4. Horizontal Distribution System

Data cabling from each Telecommunications Closet out to the individual data outlets is known as horizontal cabling. Although this is predominantly accomplished using copper media, some applications that have no cost restrictions utilize fibre-optic cabling. Typically, each data outlet receives a continuous run of cabling, or home-run, without any other connections in-between. Thus, if a data outlet is relocated to a farther position from the Telecommunications Closet, the existing cable must be removed and replaced with a new one of sufficient length to reach the relocated outlet. In larger projects where relocation is commonplace, a modular system is adapted that utilizes zone modules at regular intervals throughout the floor. Cabling is then patched from a zone module to each data outlet. The spacing of modules is such that every data outlet can be connected using a standard length of cable. Although the initial cost is high, the zonal method provides maximum versatility and minimal outlet relocation/addition costs.

5. End-to-End Certification

The physical act of installing empty conduit and running data cabling through it may seem simple. However, installing and terminating the cables at each end requires skill and should be left only to those individuals certified to do so. Once a system is wired and terminated, it must be tested and certified as being compliant to Category 3 or Category 5 data-transmission standards. Certification is an assurance from the testing authority that the installed system is capable of transferring data at the specified rates.

Category 3 cabling has a rated bandwidth of 16MHz and can support data rates of 10Mbytes/second for a distance of up to 100meters.

Category 5 cabling has a rated bandwidth of 100MHz and can support data rates of up to 100Mbytes/second for a distance of up to 100meters. Category 5e (enhanced) is already in widespread use and supports 10 times the data rates listed for Category 5.

It may seem logical that if all the components in a system are Category 5 compliant that the complete installation is Category 5 compliant. However, Category compliance operates within given tolerances. If two or more connected components in a system are at the low-end of tolerance, then the assembly may not be - failing the transmission rate and other tests.

Certification also includes cross-talk and other noise and distortion tests to ensure that data isn't lost or corrupted while being transferred between hubs. When a system passes ALL the Category 5 tests, it is End-to-End certified and guaranteed. This is when your client has a telecommunications distribution system.

Click the menubar links to the left under "Services Contents" to obtain detailed information on each of the services we provide. If you'd like us to submit a Fee Proposal for your project, please go to the Fee Request Form.We look forward to working with you.

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