Combining Juniper Technology, high performance network expertise and superior service, Charter designs and develops an energy utility’s province-wide communications network – and then helps it become self-sufficient in the operation and administration of the network.
In late 2006, Charter Telecom won a bid to design, supply and implement a core data network as part of a System Control Centre Modernization Project (SCMP) for a BC Utility that operates a province-wide communications network to support the provincial electrical transmission system, including 18,000 miles of power lines in the province of BC.
The project was broad in scope and highly complex. The network needed to deliver three critical requirements:
- High speed circuits to support relay systems that contribute to the stability of the province’s electrical system and provide protection for critical equipment
- Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) communications that allow remote operation of the power system
- Corporate voice and data networks
The network was part of a larger initiative to meet the growing demand of the economy and expanding population. The Utility embarked on a significant System Control Centre Modernization Project (SCMP) to upgrade and modernize much of the infrastructure needed to manage and control the provincial transmission system including new control centers, energy management systems, and communications infrastructure. The request for proposal (RFP) specified that the network solution had to be turn-key and meet “carrier-class” standards and would be carried on the private, BC-based, utility-operated SONET/TDM digital network.
Starting in early 2007 and over the next 15 months, Charter designed, tested, implemented and commissioned a carrier-grade, highly redundant Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network for the SCMP based on Juniper M10i router technology – the foundation for several virtual networks, including a new energy management system (EMS) and several corporate networks. Final acceptance testing took place in April 2008.
The Utility was extremely happy with the services and expertise provided by Charter, so much so that, recognizing the power of the new technology, as well as the challenges of moving from TDM-based technology to IP/MPLS, it asked Charter for additional help to become self-sufficient with the new equipment and technology. This resulted in a multi-year agreement for Charter to provide a range of maintenance and support services including: Network Monitoring, Support, Configuration Management, Network Audit/Health Check, JUNOS Upgrades, Capacity Planning, New Service Provisioning, Architecture Changes, and Recertification of Support Skills.
The goal of these services is, over a three-year period, to render the Utility self-sufficient from an operations and network administration perspective. In effect, by taking an educational and knowledge transfer approach to service and support delivery, Charter is working itself out of a job – all part of our goal of achieving optimum infrastructure development for our customers.
