The service life of a telecommunications cabling system is 15 years. What key design considerations can help to reduce network costs for operators?

Cabling Infrastructure: Fortifying the Network's “Physical Foundation”

1. Trunk Path “Multi-Network Integration”: In shafts and common areas of building corridors, plan shared cable trays or conduits for multiple operators or different services (broadband, IPTV, surveillance). Drawings must clearly indicate the specifications, routing, and ownership/usage rights of shared cable trays.
2. Avoid Incomplete Subsystem Design: Structured cabling must comply with GB50311-2016 national standards, fully covering all six subsystems. Horizontal cabling subsystem lengths must not exceed 90 meters and must employ a star topology.
3. Avoid Complex Structures: Path selection should bypass areas requiring extensive drilling, excavation, or damage to finishes. Avoid strong electromagnetic interference sources (e.g., large transformers, electrical distribution rooms).

Equipment and Material Selection

Centralized Splitting: Concentrate optical splitters in building optical distribution cabinets or equipment rooms. Deploying a single drop fiber from the equipment room to the user terminal significantly reduces main fiber and drop fiber requirements. Centralized management of all splitters facilitates maintenance. Clearly mark splitter installation locations, model numbers, and splitting ratios on drawings.

Optimize Cable Selection:

1. Avoid indiscriminate cable choices: Do not blindly pursue shielded or high-end cables. Standard Cat6a UTP unshielded cables suffice for ordinary offices. while Cat6a FTP shielded cables are recommended for high-interference environments like server rooms and industrial workshops. OM4 multimode fiber is suitable for vertical building trunks, while single-mode fiber is preferred for interconnecting building complexes. 2. Eliminate non-standard construction practices: During cable installation, the bending radius for twisted-pair cables must be no less than 8 times the cable diameter, and no less than 10 times for fiber optic cables. Power and data cables must be routed separately with a minimum spacing of 30cm. Where crossing occurs, cables must cross vertically. Termination must follow the T568B standard with termination loss ≤0.3dB. All cables must be labeled at both ends with a unique identifier in the format “Zone - Floor - Outlet Number” for future maintenance. Reserve 2-3 data points per smart office workstation.

Modular and Structured Network Configuration

1 Hierarchical Network Structure: Drawings must clearly depict the “core-convergence-access” hierarchy. Centralize network equipment (e.g., switches) in equipment rooms.

2 Test Points and Reserved Ports: Reserve test ports and multiple redundant ports in critical node designs (e.g., floor distribution frames, backbone fiber distribution frames).

An excellent drawing should include the following checklist to reduce maintenance costs:

• Legend and Notes Page: Explanations for all symbols, line types, and identifiers, along with primary construction specifications and requirements.

• System Topology Diagram: A “mind map” illustrating the entire network's logical relationships.

• Floor Plan: The most critical construction drawing, showing the exact locations of all points, cable routing, and conduit/tray paths.

• Cabinet/Equipment Room Installation Detail Drawings: Detailed depictions of equipment arrangement within cabinets, cable bundling, and labeling methods.

• Piping Coordination Drawings (if required): For complex projects, coordinate with HVAC, plumbing, and electrical piping to avoid conflicts.

• Bill of Materials: Detailed list of all equipment and materials.

• Identification System Rules: Clearly define naming conventions for the entire project.