A Jacksonville, FL company, Communication Planning Corp. (CPC; www.communicationplanning.com), plans to help building owners and tenants navigate the cable removal process. The company has been providing consultation and installation services for cabling and related communication services since 1980. CPC President Frank Bisbee says the company has long viewed abandoned cable abatement as a value-add service for its customers.
Abandoned-cable removal, mandated whenever any new cable is being installed per the 2002 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC), is required within those jurisdictions that have adopted NEC 2002 into law. Recently, many states and cities have adopted the NEC 2002 and/or the NEC 2005.
Bisbee says the enforcement of the abandoned cable removal outlined in these codes is gaining significant momentum. Now, he says, is the perfect time for his company to begin offering the service.
“We feel that our service is a valuable offering to the commercial real estate market,” says Bisbee. “Safety first and code compliance is our goal.”
CPC’s Abandoned Cable Removal Services will provide assessment services for identification of abandoned cable in office buildings. The company will then provide connections with local contractors who will remove the cable. Contractors will be referred by CPC through its contacts at the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA; www.neca.org), BICSI (www.bicsi.org), Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA; www.boma.org) and Continental Automated Buildings Association (CABA; www.caba.org).
The packaged offering is available to building owners, property managers, tenants, and corporate network engineers.
“This is not a cookie-cutter solution,” says Bisbee. “Our service area depends upon the type or extent of the service requested.”
CPC joins a growing list of companies that are offering abandoned-cable services. In May, DuPont (www.dupont.com) launched DuPont Abandoned Cable Services, a program it says is designed to make compliance to changing building safety codes and cabling standards simple and affordable. Many contractors are also beginning to offer abandoned cable removal as part of their offerings.
Bisbee says building owners and tenants are wrestling with changes in safety codes. Yet if they fail to do so, there can be consequences. He notes that the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) states that approximately 60 billion feet of communications cabling has been installed in the United States. Abandoned cable can affect a building’s airflow and create a fire hazard because of the combustible materials within the cable.
Bisbee adds that there can also be legal consequences to ignoring abandoned cable: “Who is ultimately responsible for code compliance? This is an issue requiring legal counsel. Failure to comply with codes requiring the removal of abandoned cable may result in fines and even the withholding of Certificates of Occupancy.”