EWS Wins Transatlantic Maintenance Contract
EWS has won the contract to maintain the equipment and landing stations for Apollo, one of the world’s most advanced transatlantic telecommunications cable systems
Apollo Submarine Cable System Ltd is an independent joint venture, which
owns a high speed, high capacity communications system comprising two submarine
transatlantic cable legs, connecting Long Island and New Jersey in the US with
Cornwall in the UK and Brittany in France.
Purpose built landing stations links Apollo’s submarine segments with a bespoke backhaul network to London, Paris, New York, New Jersey and Washington DC, providing onward connectivity to the high capacity infrastructure in Europe and the US.
The four landing stations feature dedicated co-location rooms, which can be used by significant capacity users to install their own equipment to support their own network topologies.
All sites are fully operational 24/7 as the network is in constant use to facilitate the dissemination of high volumes of voice, data and internet traffic. The sites need to be self-sufficient and resilient and it is EWS’ role to provide a structured programme of monitoring and maintenance.
“The landing stations are of strategic importance and critical in supporting the network,” explains Tim King, Operations Director for Apollo. “Ongoing maintenance is essential to ensure viability and security for our customers who rely on the network for core business activities.”
The very nature of the sites, the equipment used and activity generates considerable heat loads which have to be managed. The sites are also sited in remote coastal areas and are susceptible to harsh weather conditions in addition to naturally high salt laden environments.
EWS remit is to provide comprehensive M&E support for all the equipment and facilities at the landing stations. This entails regular site visits as part of a planned preventative maintenance schedule. The tasks are diverse and include performing water tests on chilled water systems for analysis, replacing filters and monitoring power supplies lighting, and fire detection facilities.
Keeping equipment operating reliably for critical applications is one of EWS strengths. It has an established track record in the City with customers operating in banking and commerce and is now offering the same high quality service on the Apollo sites.
“Reliability, resilience and confidence are key parameters in third party contracts,” says Colin Mitchem, EWS National Sales Manager, “EWS has the ability to offer skills and expertise for any HVAC applications. With a strong commitment to training our engineers can also provide more specialist skills which are essential to remain competitive.”
EWS can also provide added value by outsourcing and/or managing other support services enabling the customer to remain focused on their core business.
EWS has already secured contracts with communications companies such as Cable & Wireless where M&E maintenance is carried out throughout continental Europe. EWS also has a contract with Interoute who operates one of Europe’s most advanced and secure voice and data networks and EWS maintains a number of key sites in the UK.