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In vertical cabling, we make all residential units in apartment buildings ready for connection to the fibre network. IBA (In Home Building Activities) is such a special project involving the installation of vertical cabling . Colleagues Kevin Lucchetta (Project Manager Homes Connect – Vertical Cabling in Wallonia & Brussels) and François Delplanque (Project Manager Vertical Cabling Flanders) explain why it is special and how we approach this type of project.
More complex than connecting single homes
Installing fibre optic cables in an apartment building is far more complex than in a house. “There, you can install the fibre connection in, say, the garage or the cellar, and then the home is ready for activation by one of the telecom operators,” says Kevin.
For apartments, however, the process is different: “Suppose you have an apartment building containing 50 units, then every unit must be connection ready,” Kevin continues. “In order to provide all floors of a high-rise building with fibre broadband, structural cabling is installed between the fibre distribution cabinet and a ‘floor box’ to be placed on each floor. This allows ‘activation technicians’ to easily connect each apartment afterwards. As the number of apartment buildings is growing, Vertical Cabling is becoming increasingly important.”
Such vertical cabling work also requires a different organisation. “There are more parties involved in the construction of an apartment building than in a house,” François explains. “This requires a higher level of project management and clear communication.”
What is the IBA-project?
“In Home Building Activities” (a.k.a. IBA) is part of the fibre roll-out for Proximus and is an example of a so-called Vertical Cabling project. “We operate in apartment buildings where the installation hasn’t happened yet, or wasn’t successful. For example, due to technical difficulties or objections expressed by residents,” Kevin explains. “The fibre roll-out is essential, as Proximus wants to get rid of the existing copper infrastructure over time.”
The IBA project is also relevant for our PMO (Project Management Office) colleagues. They are working on process improvements and digitalisation within Circet. “Winning the IBA contract prompted us to optimise our working methods applied to vertical cabling projects,” says Francois. “With the Site Tracker tool, our process is more digitalised. The administration, financial processing and implementation of these projects are more streamlined as a result.”
From site survey to vertical cabling
What does the work under IBA projects entail specifically? François: “As with various other vertical cabling projects, we start with a site survey. We analyse the existing situation and develop a plan to install fibre optic cables.
We then translate the plan into a Technical Service Agreement (TSA). This specialist service is provided by a central team of Surveyors and Negotiators, led by Tim Mathis. Once the TSA is approved by the building managing agent and/or apartment owners, we can start the implementation.”
Kevin: “This effective implementation consists of roughly two phases. First we connect the building to the fibre optic network: we bring the fibre cable underground into the technical room. We then provide each floor with structural cabling. In this phase therefore, we arrange the cabling vertically. Within the IBA project, we have already completed one site project. But there are still quite a few orders in the pipeline.”
An asset in the Proximus ecosystem
“This project shows that Proximus has confidence in the expertise we have built up ever since 2017,” conclude François and Kevin. “This enables us to strengthen our position with this large telecom player and prove that within Circet we are able to deliver a quality job in an efficient manner and across different units. A great example of teamwork!”
