Fiber Modernization

Client

Start Date

2017

Completion Date

2019

Scope

Description of project

Highlights

  • Fly in project to design fiber feed to remote switching stations.
  • Various locations in Whitehorse, Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk were field surveyed and designed by our team.
  • Project enabled high speed internet connectivity for approx. 2,500 residents of the North.

Challenges

  • Each location presents a unique set of parameters for design. Some of the common issues we encounter are related to data accuracy, use of existing infrastructure (conduit, vaults, pedestals), and underground permitting approvals.

  • Design proposals are produced from a desktop based on information obtained from a GIS database. If the Database has not been maintained with accurate As-Built information, our design proposal may look good in theory but not in reality.

  • It is not until the project has been awarded and field verification completed that we are certain that our design proposal will work.

  • Use of existing infrastructure can significantly reduce build cost for the client. However, every piece of existing infrastructure needs to be vetted for integrity and capacity. If field verification results indicate that existing infrastructure is not feasible, we will need to re-design for new infrastructure.

  • Underground permitting for shallow utilities presents a unique set of challenges in selecting an alignment that satisfies the municipal offset requirements from existing utilities. We encounter work locations that are significantly congested, and sometimes are forced to re design to secure an approved alignment. OSP Design requires creative, solution-based thinking at times, to keep projects moving forward.

Services Utilized

  • OSP Design
  • Municipal Permitting
  • Joint Use Permitting

Locations

  • Whitehorse, YT
  • Inuvik, NT
  • Tuktoyaktuk, NT
  • Fort Providence, NT
  • Jean Marie River, NT