Point-to-point wireless connectivity
Wide Area Networking specialist, CI-Net, is delivering a wireless network to support the construction teams working at a 2,500 acre site in Stratford, London.
CI-Net’s ‘leased lines in the sky’ RedKite technology is providing point-to-point wireless connectivity to eight ‘portakabin villages’ across the site. These are used by civil engineering company, Edmund Nuttall, which has been contracted to carry out the demolition, clearance and preparation of the area.
Communication is vital for the construction workers on the site who need access to up-to-date site drawings and plans as well as email and business software.
Edmund Nuttall approached CI-Net with a requirement for quick-to-deploy, reliable and flexible communications links which could be tailored to the layout of the site as it develops over time. It was keen to limit the use of cable based connectivity which runs the risk of accidental damage by site machinery.
CI-Net’s RedKite infrastructure at the site uses Pre-WIMAX microwave signals to deliver high speed, symmetrical broadband without physical cables. A single high bandwidth fibre connection supplies a RedKite base station at the North end of the Stratford site. The bandwidth is distributed from this point via multiple line-of-site radio links pointing at RedKite receiver masts located at satellite offices in the eight portakabin villages dispersed across the site.
The RedKite service includes an SLA with a target availability of 99.99 per cent which is able to meet Edmund Nuttall’s demand for reliability at the site. Security is maintained by the use of AES encryption over the wireless links.
Graham McLean, CI-Net Managing Director was keen to emphasize the flexibility that RedKite can provide to the project: “By conducting a site survey and working closely with all parties involved in defining the communications requirements of the site, we were able to propose a solution that will not only meet the needs of the construction teams now, but with the flexibility to support future communication plans as the site develops.”
Future plans being considered include using the RedKite wireless network to support voice-over-Internet-protocol communications for Edmund Nuttall.
