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34 E L EC TR I C AL CONNEC T I ON
AU T UMN 20 1 6
SPACES FOR IMPROVEMENT
G
one are the days when the
simple act of connecting
a telephone line saw your
connectivity needs met. Indeed, as
we come to rely more heavily on
technological solutions for the supply
of essential services, it is necessary
to ensure spaces and pathways for
the requisite telecommunications
infrastructure are present in buildings
at the time of construction.
To this end, the Australian
Building Codes Board (ABCB) is
running a consultation process on a
proposal to require the inclusion of
telecommunications pathways and
spaces in buildings via the National
Construction Code (NCC). The Cabling
Advisory Group has been a part of
this process.
“Currently there is nothing in the
NCC that requires a developer to give
any consideration to the supply of
communication services to a building.
A lot of existing buildings have had
Telstra cable installed as part of the
build but there’s no pathway to lay new
cables. Also, in many buildings there’s
no space to install the equipment the
technology now requires,” says technical
consultant to the Cabling Advisory
Group Ian Milner.
“Retrofitting is horrendously
expensive and in a lot of cases [especially
in the case of class 2 buildings]
permission needs to be sought from the
owner or body corporate before work
can commence. All this can be easily
avoided by considering the need for
pathways and spaces from the outset.”
While the proposal covers class 1, 2, 3,
5, 6 and 9c buildings, it recognises that
the provision of telecommunications
becomes more difficult the larger and
more compartmented buildings become.
And that multi-dwelling units (MDUs),
such as class 2 buildings, present the
greatest challenge.
These difficulties are compounded
further when adequate pathways and
spaces are not afforded at the time of
construction. The proposal identifies these
spaces as being: telecommunications
entry points, telecommunications
equipment rooms or floor distributors
and telecommunications risers between
storeys.
For Ian though, pathways and spaces
are only the beginning: an important
first step but not the final solution.
“I personally think it doesn’t go far
enough. In 2015, it is very short sighted
to only consider pathways and spaces
if you don’t also consider wiring or
pre-wiring premises. We’re no longer
just looking at a telephone and access
to the internet. Moving into the future,
safety and security alarm systems,
medical alerts, e-health and access
to assistive technologies for the aged
and the disabled – which allow people
to stay at home for longer or disabled
people to live more independently – will
all rely on a connection to the internet.
“Wireless technologies are great
if they’re non-essential but if they’re
supporting an essential service – if, for
example, they’re monitoring someone’s
health, dialysis machine or oxygen levels
– they’re not reliable enough.”
In Ian’s opinion, communications have
been an essential service, not a luxury,
for a long time and the communications
pathways and spaces that have been
described in the proposals currently
before the ABCB really only go as far as
supporting the carriers getting services
into the building.
“There’s no use having a service in the
building if you can’t get it to the room
it’s needed in. It’s an over-reliance on
wireless. Mobile technology is brilliant
but it doesn’t come with the same level
of functionality. For example, in the
future there is going to be a range of
essential devices and systems in many
homes which require uninterrupted
power. Now it’s impractical to have an
uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or
little battery backup systems for every
different service,” says Ian.
“Ideally, users will have a central
system to support all their essential
services via Power over Ethernet (PoE),
one UPS, and a programmable PoE
switch. If you start thinking about it
that way, pathways and spaces are
great – we’re heading in the right
direction – but is that enough in 2015? I
think it’s short sighted.”
A PROPOSAL TO INCLUDE A
REQUIREMENT FOR IN-BUILDING
TELECOMMUNICATIONS
PATHWAYS AND SPACES IN THE
NATIONAL CONSTRUCTION CODE
HAS BEEN PUT FORTH BY THE
AUSTRALIAN BUILDING CODES
BOARD.
JACOB HARRIS
CAUGHT
UP WITH IAN MILNER OF THE
CABLING ADVISORY GROUP TO
GET HIS STANCE ON THE SUBJECT.
The ABCB is looking at requiring the inclusion of
telecommunications pathways and spaces in buildings
via the National Construction Code (NCC).
TELECOMMUNICATIONS