201 data and voice outlets for Anglican Cathedral

Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, the largest in the United Kingdom, has installed a structured network cabling system to facilitate communication between different departments and with the 'real' world

Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, the largest in the United Kingdom, has installed a structured network cabling system from AMP Netconnect to facilitate communication between different departments and with the 'real' world.

The Category 6 cabling system, installed by Lake Technology, provides access via a total of 201 data and voice outlets, and has a 25-year performance warranty.

The cathedral, built from local sandstone over a period of 74 years from the laying of the foundation stone in 1904, measures 201 m in length by 61 m across the two transepts.

In common with many similar institutions, it has been slow to get up to speed with the computer age and modern communications technology.

Until recently, staff were using stand-alone PCs in different parts of the building, with a small network between a handful of stations in the administrative offices.

The Cathedral Chapter, the administrative body of four clergy, was encouraged to modernise by one of their members who joined the Cathedral from BBC Religious Broadcasting and by Ray Maher, the Bursar, who had previously worked for a major accountancy firm.

They gave the go-ahead to scrap the 7-year old telephone system which needed replacing and to install a comprehensive system which would integrate both data and voice communications.

The plan was to link into a network parts of the Cathedral which had previously not been computerised or which had isolated systems.

The intention was to facilitate communication by internal e-mail and to make the Cathedral Diary available in an electronic form to everyone who needed it to save checks being made by telephone.

At the same time, an up-to-date telephone system with DDI numbers and individual voice mail facilities was planned to make communications more efficient and integrated.

The Chapter considered a wide range of options, drawing on experience from other Cathedrals such as York Minster and Chester, from IT professionals within the congregation and from other technical sources.

After an extensive tendering process, the Chapter engaged Lake Technology to take the project forward.

Lake, an AMP NDI (Netconnect Design and Installation contractor), recommended an AMP Netconnect Category 6 system.

This was to be installed in conjunction with active networking hardware from 3Com and a telephone system from Samsung.

The bid was accepted, and work on the installation began in June 2001.

A key factor which influenced the cathedral in favour of the Lake Technology/AMP Netconnect solution, apart from the 25-year guarantee, was that Lake employs its own installation staff, with no external contractors.

This was felt to have a significant effect on the quality of the finished job, as well as the ability to complete a contract on time.

From previous experience in accounting, the Bursar, Ray Maher, was aware that cabling forms a critical component in any system of this type, particularly in older buildings.

In all, the installation involves some ten miles of cable, and a great deal of effort went into optimising the cabling installation.

This took into account not only performance but the fact that - in the cathedral environment - it was also important to avoid visual intrusion in such an important building as far as possible.

In some ways, this was not as difficult as it might seem, since the cathedral has an extensive 'undercroft' below the main floor level and also a labyrinthine network of corridors, disused heating ducts and other passageways which in most cases are easily available for use as cable ducts.

In certain situations, sandstone blocks had to be cut or drilled to provide access.

Some cabling had to be hidden behind oak panelling, and one of the cabling cabinets was concealed in a customised enclosure with wood panelling built by the cathedral's in-house craftsmen to match its surroundings.

One of the most challenging locations was an outlet in the bell tower, which had to be installed from inside the lift shaft by an engineer standing on top of the stationary lift.

A key element in the network was the inclusion of the Lodge by the main entrance to the cathedral precinct.

This had been linked to the main building by an underground duct which carried telecoms and CCTV cables, but the existing duct did not have the extra capacity necessary.

The possibility of using a wireless LAN was examined and rejected on the grounds of cost and aesthetic appearance.

In the end, the installation engineers solved the problem by re-siting the multiplex, which reduced the cabling required by 50%.

They then extracted the redundant cables and used them to pull new fibre links into the duct for the data system.

Now that the system is installed, the benefits are immediately obvious: 'We now have fully networked PCs with e-mail capability and a real-time electronic diary available on the network.

We have moved from an analogue telephone system to a fully featured digital system with ISDN 30 lines, personal DDI numbers and voice mail', says Ray Maher: 'In addition, we have digital multiplexing built into the security system, so we can monitor CCTV cameras from any part of the network.' Other benefits include networking facilities in two lecture and training rooms which also are available as function rooms, direct ISDN links for use by broadcasters when Cathedral services are transmitted on radio or television, and remote access via internal modems so that the system can be monitored externally.

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