Sandhurst Royal Military Academy completes network infrastructure upgrade
Datanet Installations Services UK Ltd have worked closely with the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst for over 19 years supporting them with their network infrastructure, telephones and WIFI.
All our engineers are SC cleared as a minimum.
Nearly 900 officer cadets and Ghurkha staff at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst have got improved internet and telephone facilities following the completion of an extensive infrastructure upgrade.
The two phased project conducted and managed by Bracknell Based Installers Datanet Installation Services UK Limited, affects 870 rooms at Sandhurst in the cadet accommodation. In the 19th Century New College building, for example, there was previously only one internet café with eight workstations and with a cadet population of over 750. Now each cadet enjoys broadband internet access with additional facilities of Satellite television within their rooms.
Mobile phone reception is poor on the site, but now with VOIP services being available in bedrooms, Cadets can call each other internally free of charge with voicemail facilities for incoming messages. Outgoing calls are paid through a pre-paid card system unique to Sandhurst.
Some of the upgraded rooms are in a listed building, so the installation had to be discreet, using existing risers and runs where possible, or unobtrusive trunking.
1. Problems identified in your previous experiences.
Due to the age and grade listings of some of the buildings within Sandhurst on first surveying, we soon came across a couple of problems that we hadn’t previously seen. For example some of the walls were 1 meter thick, this made it challenging when trying to provide the building with a resilient WIFI network.
2. What was our methodology for resolving these problems?
Along with the customer, their design authorities and ourselves, we designed a cabling system that was discreet whilst using existing risers and runs where possible. For example , the customer asked us to use an old chimney stack as a riser. This gave us a way of getting cabling between floors. With heat mapping software we were able to place wireless access points within each classroom and corridor giving a 3 story grade 1 listed building a full wireless network coverage that follows the cadets as they move around the building.
3. Savings opportunities realized from your methodology.
When Datanet were awarded the contract, we spent some time with the customer discussing their concerns with the project. The customer thought the initial survey and installation would be too intrusive, would cost a lot in man hours to complete and would be expensive if they were have to involve estates if the fabric of the building was altered in any way. With our previous knowledge and experience we were able to reassure the customer that we could hide cabling using various containment methods that were both unintrusive and cost effective.
With Datanet having their own CIDA (Control Installation Design Authority), this made it even more possible.
Throughout the project the customer received weekly progress reports with projected timelines (examples of which can be provided on request) so that the customer could clearly see what stage Datanet were at, where they would be next and more importantly the projected end date.
To summarise, with Datanets experience working in challenging environments, open and honest work ethic we gave the customer exactly what they wanted to achieve. Not only did the project come in under budget, but Datanet took the stress and worry away from the customer when delivering the works.
Royal Military Academy Sandhurst
Camberley
GU15 4PQ