Case study: Bournemouth Council

It might have been expected that central government bodies would have been falling over themselves to speak about their strategies for a greener IT world.

Not so, ­at least according to investigations undertaken by Computing Business. A call and several emails to the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), which seemed like a logical first point of call, were met with the promise of a response. The material never materialised, although the press office did suggest a look at Defra’s web site for material on the WEEE directive.

However, other public sector organisations are more forthcoming. Notably Bournemouth Borough Council, which is using the UK’s sewer network, in this instance owned by Wessex Water, for its new cabling infrastructure.

The council elected to use the UK sewer network after considering the environmental impact of digging up roads for laying pipe and cable, a process that happens four million times a year at a cost of £1bn.

It is using the fibre optic cable underground sewer (Focus) system which was developed by H2O Networks.

According to Bob Rhodes, IT manager for Bournemouth Borough Council, the underground system has resulted in significant cost savings. ‘Using the sewer network is also a more environmentally friendly way to lay cable and it makes sense to use something that is right under our noses,’ he says.

As existing networks become increasingly congested with cables of all types, it has become much more difficult for companies to find new pathways. The ready-made channels in the sewers mean the council can set up its own IT and telecoms network with virtually unlimited bandwidth.

There was no need to go through the complex negotiations usually necessary to get approval to dig up roads and pavements. As a result, the network was operational in just over a week. This deployment process is 80 per cent faster than traditional methods, resulting in operational networks within weeks.

The advantages of the infrastructure set-up are plentiful. The cable is be mainly used as a back up to the council’s existing BT network and is said to ideal for resilience because by going deep into the sewers it is less likely to be hit by a JCB digger. Furthermore, the armoured cabling used in the system is strong enough to prevent rats chewing through the network.

It is also believed that the infrastructure will offer a fixed-term cost, rather than bandwidth tariffs, which means that no further charges will be incurred when extra capacity is needed.