MediaCityUK - Case Study
"Lanode, in association with Peel media, designed and installed a bespoke solution allowing the transmission and distribution of Primary and Basic rate ISDN around the BBC's new Salford facility known as MediaCity.” - Neil Carroll, MediaCityUK
MediaCity required multiple Basic Rate ISDN interfaces to be presented within a specific Communications Room at MediaCity. They considered their alternatives and contacted Lanode to recommend a solution....
Located at Salford Quays on the banks of Manchester's historic ship canal, MediaCityUK developed by Peel Group, is the new home for the BBC, ITV, Coronation Street, SIS and the University of Salford. The Peel Group has an impressive track record of delivering highly ambitious projects, and has a long association with the Salford area. They are one of the leading infrastructure, real estate and investment enterprises in the UK.
The vision is for MediaCityUK to become a leading international hub for the creative and digital sectors, and a vibrant destination to work, live and play. MediaCityUK is a vibrant and sustainable waterside community of workers, residents, students and visitors.
Their bespoke community features a wide range of commercial office space, one of the biggest HD studio developments in Europe; 378 apartments, a hotel and a brand new tram stop in the heart of a spectacular five-acre piazza.
The Challenge
MediaCity required multiple Basic Rate ISDN interfaces to be presented within a specific Communications Room at MediaCity. The existing set up is that BT, who provide the ISDN, bring them into 1 specific location within MediaCity, it is then the responsibility of the site services personnel at MediaCity to arrange for the final delivery to the end-user customer. The infrastructure between BT's delivery point and MediaCity's Communications Room is single-mode fibre.
Various options were explored but the preferred solution outlined below offered is elegant and technically advanced while providing significant cost savings.
The Solution
MediaCity considered their alternatives and contacted Lanode to recommend a solution. Together they designed and installed a bespoke solution and MediaCity ordered the necessary equipment to enable them to drive Primary Rate ISDN over fibre (FRM220-E1/T1) and then the necessary equipment to break the Primary Rate ISDN interfaces up into their component Basic Rate ISDN Interfaces (Liberator).
The FRM220-E1/T1 from Lanode is a fibre media transport for G.703 E1/T1 transmissions. The BNC model provides unbalanced 75 Ohm coaxial E1 connections while the RJ-45 model provides switchable balanced 120 Ohm E1 or 100 Ohm T1 connections over twisted pair wiring.
The Liberator S ISDN Converter, ISDN Splitter, Switch, and Concentrator supports up to 4 E1/T1/PRI interfaces and 0, 4, 8, 12, or 16 BRI ‘S’ interfaces. As standard, Liberator ‘S’ can be user configured with either all E1 or all T1 PRI interfaces. Purchasing the optional E1/T1 conversion pack means both E1 and T1 can be supported on the same unit.
The final solution is shown below:
MCUK - ISDN2 Solution for CTA
Provides all 25 circuits specified by TSL
The Benefits
Installation was very straightforward resulting in some major benefits. By implementing a solution with effectively 2 x PRI's which can be split into 60 multi-BRI circuits, MediaCity are enjoying significant cost savings due to much lower line costs. In addition they don't need to install additional circuits over fibre. A simple but elegant technical solution for a real business problem.
