Meet Me in Charlotte
October 1, 2004
Part of a series of articles published in FATPIPE magazine from 2003-2005 examining carrier interconnection options in major North American cities. This article was published in the October 2004 issue. To download the complete series as one consolidated PDF (2.7 MB), click here.
When it comes to carrier hotels in Hornet country, the Charlotte NAP is the buzz around town. The Charlotte NAP is the only location in Charlotte, N.C. that was built specifically for the telecom, disaster recovery and hosting service industries. It is a carrier hotel comprised of three buildings that are interconnected via building-owned conduits, and recently the management announced a building-owned meet me room that is now getting started. It is not a traditional public Internet access point, as per the common definition of the NAP acronym. The facilities were specifically designed in a location offering the greatest number of connectivity options in the market – hence "network access point" but non-Internet specific.
Charlotte, as a growing market and the number two banking city in the United States, is the home to multiple Fortune 500 companies and a diverse financial and services market. This presents an opportunity for prospective carrier and enterprise network operators looking to open up this region for on-net service.
The Charlotte NAP offers 100,000 square feet of newly designed and built "from the ground up" mission-critical facilities located at the fiber hub of Charlotte. The facilities offer numerous amenities in a secure and fiber-rich atmosphere including floor loading up to 500 pounds per square foot live load, a 5,000-pound capacity oversized elevator, chase space allotted for fiber, HVAC and electrical in diverse locations and many other design features.
The meet me room is fully built out offering 10,000 square feet of raised floor, closed circuit video security, racks, cages and fan-cooled cabinets in place. Fiber has been brought into the facility, offering easy connectivity to providers in the complex. The MMR also has UPS, DC, generator back-up and many other amenities.
There are eight carriers that have established a presence within the Charlotte NAP and five with a fiber presence within the MMR. There also is an additional five carriers with access to the street-level fiber vaults, making this site a key interconnection point and setting the stage for the next network deployment in the area to have it easier than the last. So, if you are feeling the sting of limited network access and inadequate infrastructure in the land of the Hornets, maybe you should run for the shelter of the Charlotte NAP.
For more information, contact Douglas G. Hollidge, Pinnacle Properties LLC partner, (704) 377-3274 or [email protected], www.pinnacle-properties.net.
| Fiber within the MMR | Presence within Building | Access through Fiber Vaults |
|---|---|---|
| AT&T | Verizon | PalmettoNet |
| BellSouth | Level 3 | WilTel |
| DukeNet | MCI | ITC^Deltacom |
| Qwest | Global Crossing | |
| Time Warner Telecom | Sprint |
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Building size | 100,000-square-foot complex |
| Union building | No |
| Building generator | Myers & Chapman |
| Generator rooms for tenants | Generator and fuel storage yard |
| Roof access | Yes, with steel structure for placement of rooftop equipment allowing for no roof penetrations |
| Tenant conduit rights | Full chase diverse chase space offering tenants its pro rata share of fiber conduit, electrical and HVAC chase. Conduit already stubbed from building to exterior fiber vaults in diverse locations. |
| Is there a building meet me room? | In process. Offers a fully "built out" meet me room available for lease called the Charlotte MMR. |
| Is this MMR the featured site? | Yes |
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Facility Size | 10,500 sq. ft. |
| Suite | 300 |
| AC power feed | 800 amps at 480 volts |
| Generator | 800 kva |
| Control system | Yes |
| UPS | Yes |
| DC plant | Yes |
| HVAC | Liebert 24-7 units |
| Fire suppression | Dry pipe, pre-action double interlock system |
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Can customers order cross connects to any other meet area customer? | Yes |
| Is the average turnaround time for cross connects 48 hours or less? | Yes |
| Is on-site technical support available 24/7/365? | Yes |
| Can customers access the site 24/7/365? | Yes |
| Can the technicians test and turn up circuits? | Yes |
| Does the meet area operator perform the cross connect? | Yes |
| Can the customer perform the cross connect? | Yes |
| Are all cross connects tagged and inventoried? | Yes |
| Is there a shared fiber panel (MDF, CFDP)? | Yes |
| Can the customer bring and install its own fiber distribution panels? | Yes |
| Is there a shared COAX or copper panel? | Yes |
| Can the customer bring and install its own COAX or copper panel? | Yes |
| Are there monthly recurring charges to cross connect in the meet area? | No |
| For carriers not in the meet area, the interconnect options include | Fiber chase through building owned conduit |
| The costs and availability are determined by | Please visit www.charlottemmr.com for a list of pricing for intra MMR and Charlotte NAP connectivity. |
Originally published in FATPIPE magazine, October 2004.
