Cat 6 system weaves through Liverpool cathedral

Liverpool's Anglican Cathedral, the largest in the United Kingdom, has installed a structured network cabling system from AMP NETCONNECT (www.ampnetconnect.com) to facilitate communication between different departments and with the 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.

"We now have fully networked PCs with e-mail capability and a real-time electronic diary available on the network," says Ray Maher, the Bursar. "We have moved from an analogue telephone system to a fully featured digital system with ISDN 30 lines, personal DDI numbers and voice mail."

The cathedral was built from local sandstone over a period of 74 years from the laying of the foundation stone in 1904. The Cathedral Chapter, the administrative body of four clergy, was encouraged to modernize by one of their members who joined the Cathedral from BBC religious Broadcasting and by Maher, who had previously worked for a major accounting firm. They gave the go-ahead to scrap the seven-year-old telephone system, which needed replacing, and install a comprehensive system which would integrate both data and voice communications.

Lake Technology was hired to oversee the project. Lake, an AMP NETCONNECT contractor, recommended an AMP NETCONNECT Category 6 system. AMP NETCONNECT is part of Tyco Electronics.

The installation project was launched in June 2001. In some situations, sandstone blocks had to be cut or drilled to provide access. Some cabling had to be hidden behind oak paneling, and one of the cabling cabinets was concealed in a customized enclosure with wood paneling built by the cathedral's in-house craftsmen.

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 installers considered using a wireless LAN, but rejected the idea on the grounds of cost and aesthetics.

In the end, the installers 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 optical fiber links into the duct for the data system.