Upgrading the 5G network in Christchurch

NEC is the preferred mobile core installer for one of New Zealand’s biggest telco brands. We have built up an excellent relationship with the client over a number of years and we are trusted to provide them with the quality that they demand in their 5G Mobile Core.

Whilst this latest upgrade took place in Christchurch, it is a build that has been replicated in several main centres and each build has met the extremely high standards that our customers have come to expect.

We are able to replicate these high-quality builds at NEC by providing peer support amongst our build teams. This encourages the sharing of information and techniques, and it is something that allows our Field Services teams to continually develop and improve.

Installation standards

One of the reasons NEC New Zealand is trusted to deliver critical infrastructure projects like this one is our high installation standards. This is especially true of installations in remote locations, or when space is limited.

The key to maintaining a high-performing 5G mobile network is ensuring every aspect of the project is delivered to a high standard. It can be easy to overlook the physical aspect of a project like this, however, it is imperative that the cabling is installed in a way that allows for adequate airflow.

One of the biggest issues that can occur with installations like this is overheating. When wiring is installed haphazardly, it can lead to cooling issues which in turn can lead to outages. The goal of our installation team is to minimise the amount of cabling required. This helps to provide the necessary airflow so that cooling can take place and ensure an acceptable temperature is maintained.

Another key to high installation standards is to ensure accurate labelling of all cables is undertaken, making it easier to isolate any potential issues that develop and making maintenance on the mobile packet core much easier for engineers. With over 80 connections, it’s crucial for an engineer to be able to quickly and accurately identify an issue without having to guess which cable is which.

Tailored solutions

One of the reasons NEC is trusted by our customers is our ability to tailor our solutions to their needs. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Instead, we assess every job individually and design a solution that will deliver the best possible outcomes for the customer.

In this instance, our bespoke racking and mounting bars enabled the team to tie the cable infrastructure in a more streamlined fashion, maximising airflow for cooling and simplifying faulty equipment swap outs.

As with other projects carried out with our major telco customer, we also applied seismic bracing and strengthening to the equipment racks to ensure they matched our customer’s standards.

Outcome

NEC’s Field Service Team was able to achieve a higher equipment density per footprint on this particular project whilst still managing the heat loading within the confines of the existing cooling plant.

This helped to maximise the ROI for the customer, reducing servicing requirements in the future and improving the overall reliability of the network.

What the customer said

Our customer was delighted with the outcomes of the project:

“Some really great looking installation work, something that we should be really pleased with. The complexity and robustness in the design of the network can easily be compromised with poor work at the “physical” layer and although often considered to be the “simple” part of the solution it’s imperative that we get this right, and that we can have confidence in the performance for a long time coming.  (it’s far from simple!)”

You can read more about our Field Service solutions and get in touch with one of the team today.