Case Study – Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey is a living Church, a designated World Heritage site and one of the most celebrated religious buildings in the UK.
As part of an initiative to ensure the 750-year-old building was equipped to meet the increasing demands associated with a top visitor attraction, the Abbey decided to update its communications infrastructure, installing a new server and supporting cabling network.
‘The standard of installation has been consistently high. ISG technology’s Project Managers and installation crews conducted themselves in a professional way and demonstrated remarkable resilience in overcoming the inevitable problems that arose during the project.’ (Brian Billsberry MBE Senior Consultant to the project.)

Challenge

As one of the UK’s most prominent tourist attractions, work on the new installation required meticulous project management skills.
The infrastructure needed to not only meet the current communication needs of the Abbey, but also build ﬂexibility for any future moves, changes and additions.
Furthermore, any work had to conserve the aesthetics of the site to ensure that the visitor experience was not diminished, while causing as little disruption as possible to the daily working life of the Abbey. Work had to be scheduled around the Church’s daily pattern of worship, which included stopping at hourly intervals for prayer.

The Solution

ISG technology was responsible for laying a new cabling infrastructure throughout the Abbey and its associated buildings.
Working in partnership with one of the UK’s leading telecommunications suppliers, ISG technology installed a full voice and data cabling network, incorporating a copper and fibre optic backbone. To do this the team had to pass cables through cellars, under ancient flagstones and over rooftops.
An extension point was even installed at the seat used by Her Majesty the Queen on State occasions.
The cabling network was designed to support a new telephone system, providing 180 digital and analogue extensions in the Abbey and its adjoining historic buildings including the Choir School, Dean’s and Canon’s residences, oﬃces and shops
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During the deployment, ISG technology’s experience of working in specialist buildings of historical importance, as well as its familiarity with the Abbey, enabled the team to be sympathetic when dealing with any problems that arose during the project, such as having to pass cable through the Abbey’s newer walls (those that are only 300-year old!)
Successfully completing the installation without impacting on the Abbey’s day-to-day activities, ISG technology was commended for its friendly and professional approach and the expert capabilities of both the project management team and installation crews
Since the completion of this project ISG have continued to work directly for the Abbey on many additional projects and have established ourselves as the Abbey’s infrastructure partner of choice.

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