Integrate 2017
ACRS and NECA would like to thank all of those who attended Integrate 2017 in Melbourne last month.
As part of the event, visitors were encouraged to enter our daily draw.
Congratulations to our 4 winners who came from different states in Australia.
WA, NSW, ACT and QLD.
The 3 day event bought together world renowned industry speakers, networking events, education programs and global product launches.
If you could not make it this year, Integrate will be back bigger and better next year on the 22 – 24 August 2018 at the ICC in Sydney.
Cabling Compliance
Compliance is a word often used by regulators and Quality Assurance assessors and standards monitoring bodies, but often just taken for granted in many operational environments.
Compliance to standards, particularly technical standards, is a core part of meeting quality assurance requirements in enterprises and therefore ultimately meeting customer expectations. In the network of the future, with NBN as the principal wholesale network, compliance is even more important.
It is essential that customer premises cablers be properly trained – using nationally accredited programs – and being registered under the Australian Communications & Media Authority (ACMA) Cabling Provider Rules (CPR). However, despite ACMA and registrars widely advising ACMA CPR requirements, recently it was brought to our attention that many electricians, think they are qualified to do data and have been told by RTOs and some agencies, that they were qualified already to perform telecommunications/ communications/data cabling work in customers premises.
An electricians licence and an electrical certificate of compliance COC is not sufficient for any data or telecommunications works.
The ACMA require all trades who work on cabling to be qualified and registered with the mandated competencies recorded. Having this registration card In customer cabling, which is now a lightly regulated area of telecommunications, where “self regulation” is the catchword, there is still a level of inspection and auditing by the regulator ACMA. Significant fines in the thousands of dollars can be applied for breaches. At a recent meeting of the Registrar Co-Ordinating Committee chaired by ACMA, the subject of “audits” with the objective of getting a handle on how the industry was shaping up, was discussed. Registrars will be providing inputs to the ACMA to advise on options for a low cost industry audit activity.
There is also risk of insurance claims and legal actions that can and unfortunately do arise occasionally, where dodgy or noncompliant work – sometimes inadvertent – is involved and customers exercise their legal rights. Claims can sometimes be ruinous for cablers businesses.
ACRS is working with other registrars and the International Copper Association of Australia (ICAA) – a copper industry lobby group – on an industry code for enterprises and work is well advanced.
When implemented it will provide a marketing incentive to enterprises to improve “compliance”. There is no silver bullet to ensure everybody plays by the rules. As a CPR registrar we are involved in a number of committees and industry activities to improve compliance. But at the end of the day, we all have to put in the effort needed and over time the ACMA audits and inspections, even if at a low level, should assist in that goal.
What is a Smart Building?
A building that provides a productive and cost effective environment by integrating 4 elements:
- Structure
- Systems
- Service and
- Management
And the interrelationship between these 4 elements.
This includes video conferencing and integrated monitoring, facility management of air-conditioning, energy and water, parking control, building information, access control, lighting, media and digital themes.
These building commonly include airports, hospitals, commercial mixed use buildings and multi storey buildings.
Examples of functions incorporated into airports include:
- Aircraft docking
- Passport control
- Information displays
- Self serve kiosks
- Parking control
- Video surveillance
- Duress alarms and
- Wi-fi
Lighting, air-conditioning and security data passes back and forth to create efficiencies, safety, comfort and lower emissions and cost to building owners.
Construction cost savings of up to 15% are available if these systems are designed into the original build of the facility.
Cablers and contractors are encouraged to talk to their clients and builders today about the benefits of Smart Building infrastructure and the savings they will make by including them in the design over retro fitting them in the future.
Getting it Right
The NBN expects to have 8 million homes connected to its optic fibre broadband in four years time. Most will get what is called fibre to the node (FTTN) in the street and some will get fibre to the home (FTTH), but whatever happens you should get your home ready if you want the best experience.
Upgrading your home’s cables and wires to handle technology often gets overlooked, but it is very important if you want to have a network that delivers the internet services you want where you want them. Cabling is just as important for creating the best wireless network at home too, something a lot of people don’t appreciate. What To Expect Your home will get up to three types of hardware to deliver the NBN.
Most people will get an “NBN Connection Box” (sometimes called the NTD) as well as a “Home Gateway” that connects to the NBN Connection Box once you have chosen your telephone and internet service provider, in other words companies like Telstra, Optus and iiNet nbn connection box c p c p High speed broadband Telephone line The NBN Connection Box is usually installed inside the garage or a room nearest the front of the house. The Home Gateway is typically installed next to the NBN Connection Box and will have a socket for the high speed broadband and another socket for telephone lines.
Many of the Gateways will also have WiFi or wireless capability. Making sure wireless works well at home means thinking about where to put the wireless gateway so that it reaches the whole house. Some people opt to have it in the middle of the house or apartment, while in two storey homes you will most probably need one on each floor.
The cabling you need to support both high speed broadband and telephone services is the same and is known as Cat 5 or Cat 6 (Cat stands for category). Cat 6 is the one with the highest performance as it will support very fast-or gigabit-speeds to give you years of service. The ideal is to install cables from where the NBN Connection Box is located into every room where you may want to connect a device to the internet or a telephone handset. To help with all this most people will install a third type of hardware known as the “Home Distributor”. Having a Home Distributor lets you locate the NBN Connection Box, Home Gateway and all cabling to the rooms together.
This way all the telecommunications equipment is located in one easily accessible location and can be protected. The cabling from the home distributor to each room is terminated on a modular socket commonly known as RJ45 which is mounted on a wall plate. The key is all 8 wires in the Cat 5 cable must be terminated so it can support both broadband and telephone services. Making It Happen Under the telecommunications Act 1997 only a Registered Cabler can install telecommunications cabling when the cabling is installed in concealed locations such as through walls, ceiling and floor cavities.
Obligation
Evidence of carrying a current registration card confirms you have completed your telecommunications training and additional competency training to gain the skills to install Cat 5/6 cable. This is shown on your registration card as “Structured cabling”. Other specialised competency units which can be added to your OPEN registration are optical fibre and coaxial. Having these, confirms you have the knowledge to complete the work to the required industry standards, using only approved, fit for purpose product.
When a cabler completes any cabling work they are required by law to give the customer a compliance form known as the Telecommunications Cabling Advice from 1 (TCA1). The form should describe the work they have done and contains a statement that says “I hereby certify that the cabling work described in this advice complies with the Wiring Rules (AS/CA S009 or its replacement)”. This is the LAW.
If you want to get the most out of the opportunities being created by the NBN then this web site is for you.
http://www.registeredcablers.com.au/find-cablers/ eligibility is open to all cablers who hold a valid registration.
The site is designed for cablers, Retail Service Providers and householders when switching to the NBN including wiring options from a simple connection through to a structured cabling solution such as
Smart Wired®.
Smart Wiring
Plan the cabling you want to suit the technology you want at home. In Australia an industry standard provides a basic plan to follow for wiring a home for technology called Smart Wiring. Go to http://www.smartwiredhouse.com.au/ to find a free Quick Guide.
What is HFC?
HFC is a broadband technology that uses a combination of fibre and coaxial cable to deliver connectivity. As with
Fibre-to-the-Node (FTTN), fibre is laid to a central “node” in a neighbourhood. Coaxial cable is then used to connect premises to this node. Coaxial cable is similar to the copper used to deliver ADSL or FTTN internet, but is insulated to prevent interference.
In Australia, HFC has traditionally been used to deliver digital pay TV services such as Foxtel. Telstra and Optus have both also offered internet over HFC for many years.
In the context of the National Broadband Network, HFC ostensibly refers to the “augmentation and expansion” of Telstra’s existing HFC infrastructure.
Short for Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial, but also colloquially referred to as “cable”, HFC is an existing network technology that’s being repurposed as part of the Coalition Government’s “multi-technology mix” (MTM)
National Broadband Network
plan.
Prevent damage to Fibre when pulling cable
The basic approach to pulling fibre optic cable and copper cable is similar, however optical fibre has a few idiosyncrasies.
The glass fibre within the cable is fragile and, although the cable has been designed to protect the fibre, it can be damaged more easily than a copper wire. The most common damage is a broken fibre, which is difficult to detect. But fibres can also be cracked from too much tension during cable pulling or despoiling. The second most common problem is bending the fibre on too tight a radius.
During the cable – pulling step, always maintain the proper uniform pulling force (tensile stress) on the cable. In addition, although it is always important to maintain the minimum bend radius, it becomes more important under tensile loading because of the additional stress from pulling the cable.
Before any pulling or installing, test the cable to eliminate disputes that may arise over responsibility for damaged cable and set up cable spool so the cable pays off the top. To avoid twisting the cable off the spool; don’t spin it over the edge of the spool. When unreeling the cable or applying tension to the cable, always use the strength member, never the fibre.
Do not pull on the outer jacket because this will elongate and momentarily stretch it. When the jacket returns to its normal state, the fibre and strength member may be compressed in the retraction of the jacket, which can cause macro bend attenuation in the cable.
Pull uniformly on the cable, maintaining the pulling force below the limit designated for the specific cable and do not jerk the cable because most fibre cannot handle high-impact loads.
When cable is under tensile load (while being pulled), maintain a bend radius of 10 to 20 cable diameters depending on mechanical protection available in the space.
When using power equipment to pull outside-plane cable, always use tension monitoring equipment or breakaway swivels and never use power equipment on inside the optical-fibre because the allowable pulling force is too small.
Use innerduct to protect the fibre cable from damage by sharp corners or protrusions, such as where conduit enters pull boxes and cabinets.
The correct method of despoiling fibre-optic cable is to reel the cable off the spool, applying tension only to the strength member. Never spin the cable over the edge of the spool.
Help ACRS help you!
You can update your personal details via our website or notify ACRS by calling our friendly admin team on 1300 667771 or by faxing or emailing your new details to:
Fax (02) 9744 3928
Email: enquiries@acrs.com.au