High-performance fiber-optic infrastructures

Airfield project on the Azores

The Portuguese island group of the Azores, situated in the middle of the Atlantic, some 1,500 km distant from Portugal’s mainland, is a strategically important base, in particular for U.S. forces. On Ilha Terceira – the “Third Island” – is Lajes Airfield, which is used as an American airbase and for Portugal's civil and military aircraft. From the tower to the utility buildings, from the maintenance hangars to the tank farm to its own port – the airport requires fast and smooth data transmission. The old copper systems no longer met the requirements demanded for modern communications in future. The American government, which is responsible for part of the airfield’s infrastructure, therefore planned to convert the entire network there to fiber optics by 2010. The project was implemented by euromicron.

Strength and expertise

The project was launched in 2006 and the American customers brought euromicron on board as a partner.

45,000 meters of fiber-optic cables had to be laid within and outside the buildings, spliced, measured and connected. To enable that, underground construction work was carried out, shafts were dug, protection tubes laid and the new cabling implemented in the buildings. The electrical installations for the data centers were implemented in 110 V to comply with the US standard. euromicron coordinated the work and the various Portuguese subcontractors who were commissioned with the individual aspects of the work in Lajes.

“We could only accept the order because, as a medium-size group, we boast the resources required to offer an all-round solution from a single source. Irrespective of whether it was technical know-how, English-speaking project management, material logistics over two continents or European fiscal questions: euromicron had the right solution.”

High-speed technology

The new fiber-optic network means the US forces will be able to use triple play technology in full. Apart from acceptance measurements for data networks, the network has been completely tested for its suitability for Voice over IP (VoIP).

Cutover in 2010

The contract also demanded quite a bit from euromicron’s specialists in terms of technical expertise. All the systems were designed in compliance with US standards. The big moment – the cutover – took place in June 2010. Switchover from the old to the new system went smoothly and all the equipment has definitively proven that its works.

“The project went ideally. The customer is highly satisfied and our experience with our Portuguese partner companies has been very good: They are extremely reliable and competent. Our customers had a one-stop shop for everything. And that also means the project on Ilha Terceira, the small island in the Atlantic, can open the door to a large international market,” sums up Thomas Hoffmann.

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