KEDINGTON PARTNERS TWO HIGH FLYERS! -
SYSTIMAX (formerly Lucent / Avaya) & AER RIANTA

Aer Rianta creates the ultimate network platform with new cabling at Shannon Airport.

SYSTIMAX fibre solutions provide high bandwidth loop to connect airport tenants with multiple service providers and increase security of service.

Airport Management company Aer Rianta, owns and operates three major airports in Ireland that handle more than 18 million passengers a year. Of these, 2.4 million pass through its Shannon facility on Ireland's west coast.

Over the last three years, systems at Shannon have been substantially upgraded and its cabling infrastructure is now among the most advanced in Europe. Airport operations have benefited from gigabit network connections since 2000 when SYSTIMAX GigaSPEED cabling was installed in terminal buildings, and these facilities are currently being extended.

In the latest stage of development, access to high-speed data networking is being made available across the entire site through installation of an optical fibre ring around the airport perimeter. Once completed, the ring will have highly resilient links utilizing diverse routing to central systems and a choice of external telecommunications suppliers.

Phase 2 of the ring, currently underway, gives full local high-speed connectivity to the main airport campus. The operations it will support range from airfield lighting control systems and fire station connectivity to fuelling facilities and catering businesses.

Multimode SYSTIMAX LazrSPEED and single mode OptiSPEED fibre solutions were chosen for the project. A mix of 12 and 24-core LazrSPEED dual purpose, indoor/outdoor cable is used for transmission at up to 10 Gb/s over a distance up to 300 metres and 1 Gb/s for 1 kilometer. To provide alternative routes and longer distance connections, 12 and 24-core OptiSPEED singlemode fibre is also used in the ring.

LazrSPEED and OptiSPEED Solutions gives the airport the flexibility and security of being able to run connections at up to 10 Gb/s using two alternative technologies. The new LazrSPEED Solution allows the use of lower cost, multimode laser-based electronics to achieve 10 Gb/s over 300 metres or 1 Gb/s up to 1 kilometer. The complementing links use the more expensive singlemode electronics and are supported by the singlemode fibre.

In total, Aer Rianta is installing more than 8 kilometres of low-smoke zero halogen (LSZH) LazrSPEED fibre. This makes the airport one of the largest LazrSPEED installations in Europe. Nearly 10 kilometres of LSZH OptiSPEED indoor/outdoor cable have also been installed in the first phase of the project.