BAA lays network foundations

Legacy system to be updated ahead of switch to voice over IP

BAA is replacing the telecommunications backbone across its seven airports ahead of a planned transition to IP telephony in 2009.

The airports operator is planning to refresh its voice infrastructure and replace outdated legacy systems to improve voice and data delivery and cut costs.

BAA supply chain manager Alan Pryce says the project will be delivered in two phases, and replacing the backbone is vital before switching to voice over IP.

‘The telecoms estate at BAA has grown and been added to over the years, creating a pretty complicated legacy system,’ said Pryce. ‘We have a number of public switched data network exchanges carrying incoming and outgoing calls.

‘We need to replace the legacy systems so we can plug IP phones into the new backbone.’

BAA has yet to appoint a supplier to install an IP transit network that will connect its existing private branch exchanges to its wide area network. This will later be upgraded to enable online calls between sites.

Pryce says the new backbone will provide greater resilience to trunk services and improved levels of separation and diversity

at its airports.

‘Consolidating the number of points connecting telephony services will generate savings and tidy up the voice estate backbone,’ he said.

‘It will allow us to carry voice traffic between airports but could eventually be used to integrate voice and data and deliver content-rich traffic. This is the most exciting aspect of the project.’

A consistent system and architecture will also provide a telephony platform that will accommodate the airports operator in the future, says Pryce.

AMR Research analyst Nigel Montgomery says the transition to IP telephony will provide an opportunity to improve data transfer as well as generating cost savings.

‘One of the biggest issues for firms is having too much data to send via traditional means,’ he said. ‘Using voice over IP will allow BAA to send data and information to staff at all its sites.

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