Monday, April 13, 2015

Lonely Remote Telecom Hub

While assessing the damage in an area recently hit by an EF4 Tornado we came across this telecom hub.    The little building was unharmed by the tornado.  Just a fraction of a mile to the Northeast homes and businesses were totally demolished.  It appeared the portable generator had been placed there "just in case".   It may have been brought in as preparation in the event of a power outage.   The power in the area was out but the portable generator was not hooked up or running. 

It's uncommon to see a hub like this without a critical power standby generator unit installed.  That is, as opposed to the portable unit as seen in the picture.  Also unusual is the lack of security around the building.  It sits in a reasonably safe area, but it still seems strange to not have a fence or other deterrent to crime.   

This is the type of remote facility Three Phase updates and modernizes.   Many of the telecom head-ends and hubs we work on are existing facilities that are upgraded.  Yes, new ones are being built but it’s more likely to see substantial renovations of older outdated facilities.   


Following renovations this facility would have a permanently installed standby generator sitting on a nice concrete pad with an automatic transfer switch.  Also an uninterruptable power supply (battery bank) commonly known as a UPS would be installed.  A fence with a gate and maybe a simple security camera system would be installed. 

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