In the United States, the number most closely associated with police departments is 9-1-1, the emergency number that can be called from any phone in the country to obtain emergency services. For the Cumbria Constabulary in Carlisle, Cumbria U.K., the number 9-2-2 has some significance as it relates to their new headquarters’ communications capabilities. That is because a total of 922 Category 6 connections were installed in the new facility.
The new facility was constructed after the constabulary was flooded out of its previous location in 2005 and spent time working in temporary premises. Construction of the new facility began in 2008. Cabling-system supplier Excel provided the end-to-end copper solution as well as OM3 fiber-optic cabling for the facility. “The chosen technology was Excel Cat 6 UTP cable,” Excel noted. “This type of cable is designed for optimal support of high-speed data protocols delivering 1-Gbit/sec performance to the workstation … Combined with the cable was a mixture of Euro, low-profile and 6c modules. When installed with Excel Category 6 cables and patch panels, full link and channel compliance can be achieved. Category 6 unshielded RJ45 patch panels were also installed.”
Backbone technologies for the constabulary facility include Excel 24 core OM3 fiber-optic cabling and 100-pair CW1308 telephone cable.
Local cabling contractor Compass Cabling Systems worked with the project’s consultant, DSSR, to bring the project to completion.
Andy Little of the Cumbria Police commented, “We need a constabulary building that would enable us to grow, both with the expansion of our workforce and the increase of services offered to the general public. The infrastructure now in place has allowed us to do just that, and I have every confidence that we will be able to operate successfully from these premises for many years to come now that we have a flexible, quality cabling system.”
Excel has posted a more-comprehensive case study of the installation on its website. You can view that case study, which includes exterior photos of the facility as well as images of Cat 6 patch-panel terminations, here.