Celerity Integrated Services, Inc.

Owner:

Not Provided

Architect:

Not Provided

General Contractor:

Not Provided

Client:

Lehigh University

Scope Of Work

Lehigh University and Celerity Integrated Services, Inc. are pleased to announce the successful completion of a multi-phased inter-campus fiber optic network project.  In total, nearly 5.76 Million feet of optical strand footage was placed underground and on university owned utility poles to connect the Goodman, Asa Packer and Mountain Top campuses with the nearly bandwidth unlimited capacity that fiber optic cables provide.  Celerity worked with Lehigh, and their consultant TeraNet Consulting, to design and build a robust and diverse network that allows Lehigh to meet key objectives in their Data X Initiative. 

The major objective for Lehigh was to achieve complete redundancy and reliability in the university’s data network.  While redundancy is a network characteristic that few fully appreciate or understand, the completion of this project will ensure that the invaluable data that traverses the university’s network will be protected from factors that are beyond the school’s control.  While the project did add significant capacity to the existing network, Sr. Network Engineer, Jeff Deschler of the Library and Science Division stated, “Redundancy is something that people take for granted until they learn they don’t have it and a failure occurs.  It’s not as glamorous as network capacity or speed, but we are extremely confident that the network will withstand the unforeseeable events that often befall a fiber optic network and lead to an outage.” 

The network encapsulated a total of over 20,000 feet of 288 and 144 count fiber optic cables installed within 10,000 feet of 4 inch conduit and 6500 feet of aerial self support innerduct.  In total, over 60,000 feet of 1¼” innerduct was installed to provide for future expansion.  The project consumed over 56 tons of 2A modified screenings and resulted in the installation of 7 new underground cable vaults.  The network further consists of 2,136 optical termination points and a total of 2,880 fiber optic fusion splices.  Testing of the network resulted in over 8,544 optical tests conducted to ensure optimal network performance.  

The successful completion of the project is a testament to the hard work and dedication of all of those involved.  Lehigh and Celerity have forged a solid and mutually beneficial business relationship.  It is through that relationship that we look forward to furthering the goals and objectives of Lehigh University’s future needs related to their investment in a privately owned fiber optic network.