Meet Me in Vancouver
September 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 September 2004 issue. To download the complete series as one consolidated PDF (2.7 MB), click here.
Two jewels of Canadian North America are the city of Vancouver, British Columbia and a carrier hotel known as Harbour Centre that calls the city home. Just as Vancouver is a gateway for international commerce, Harbour Centre is a nexus for networks – both public and private.
If you have networking needs in this part of the world, it's likely that you'll find the best view of the landscape from Harbour Centre. A 384,000-square-foot building, with a mix of commercial real estate and the most interconnected telecom space in Western Canada, Harbour Centre also is Vancouver's tallest building. The building maintains multiple meet me rooms that allow tenants to rapidly cross connect at very low costs – a key factor found in every successful interconnection facility. Harbour Centre also offers extensive infrastructure options to tenants, including access to emergency back-up generators, 24x7 building attendants, key card access, 1,600-ton chilled water loop access and rooftop access. And as the tallest building in town, with a 360-degree unobstructed view, Harbour Centre provides clear benefit to all of the wireless operators in the region.
Harbour Centre is a main Internet access point and has enabled many of its network tenants to dramatically expand their reach. One such tenant within Harbour Centre is BCNET, which currently operates the ORAN (optical regional advanced network) to facilitate next-generation Internet architecture and service delivery. The ORAN is the first and only high-speed research and education network in British Columbia. The network currently connects Vancouver (VANTX) and Victoria (VICTX) to CANARIE's CA*net4 national network and to other international research and education networks. In addition to BCNET, there are more than 30 other carriers located within the facility. So, if you are looking to add some color to your connectivity options in the Great White North, make sure to sail on into Harbour Centre for a look.
For more information, contact Greg Hamilton, Harbour Centre Complex leasing manager, at (604) 899-7380 or [email protected].
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Building size | 348,000 square feet |
| Union building | No |
| Building generator | Building-maintained "emergency power system" back-up generators provide emergency electrical power for all essential building services. |
| Generator rooms for tenants | Building maintains and supplies 3.9 MW of emergency power generated from six different generators distributed throughout the facility. |
| Roof access | Yes |
| Tenant conduit rights | Yes |
| Is there a building meet me room? | Yes |
| Is this MMR the featured site? | Yes |
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Facility size | The building maintains in excess of 2,000 sq. ft. of meet me room/interconnect facilities. |
| Suite | Meet me rooms located on the 6th floor and P1 |
| AC power feed | Available |
| Generator | See Carrier Hotel attributes above |
| Control system | The building maintains an extensive control and surveillance system including 24-hour manned security with interior and perimeter patrols. |
| UPS | No |
| DC Plant | No |
| HVAC | 1,600-ton chilled process loop available 24/7 |
| Fire suppression | Building maintained pre-action sprinkler |
| 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)? | No |
| Can the customer bring and install its own fiber distribution panels? | Yes |
| Is there a shared COAX or copper panel? | No |
| 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 | The building allows direct point-to-point interconnects at market rates. Rates are based on cable type and number of floors. |
| The costs and availability are determined by | Market conditions – bids are based on individual tenant requirements and existing conditions. |
| Carrier | Carrier |
|---|---|
| AT&T | Navigata Communications |
| 360networks (CDN) Fibre Ltd. | NetNation Communications |
| Allstream | Novus Telecom |
| Assertive Technology | Peer1.net |
| BCNET | Primus |
| BCBC | Serenity Networks |
| Bell West Inc. | Soho Skyway |
| Big Pipe Inc. | Telus |
| Chinamotion Netcom | Teraspan Networks |
| CM Tel (U.S.A. LLC) | Urban Networks |
| Craig Wireless | Westsphere Systems |
| ECMarket | WorldCom Canada |
| Excalibur Communication | Zoolink Communications |
| ExFone | |
| Fatport | |
| Fusepoint Managed Services | |
| IDC Internet | |
| London Connect Inc. |
Originally published in FATPIPE magazine, September 2004.
