North Carolina
State University
Centennial Campus
Communications/Internet
Infrastructure Guidelines
May 27, 1999
Version 1.0
Revised October 12, 2000
Version 1.1
Revised January 22, 2002
Version 1.2
Revised April 1, 2006
Version 1.3
Revised October 27, 2014
Version 1.4
Table of Contents
Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................... 1
Section 1 – Building and Occupant Types ................................................................................................ 3
Section 2 - Service Policies .......................................................................................................................... 4
I. Infrastructure Installation/Maintenance
II. Telephone Services
III. Television Services
IV. Data/Internet Services
V. Wireless Services
VI. Interconnection of Noncontiguous Spaces
Section 3 - Infrastructure Policies .............................................................................................................. 7
I. Receipt Supported Office Buildings
II. Third Party Developed Office Buildings
III. Specialty Buildings
Appendix 1 - Preferred Service Providers of Data Network Services .................................................. 16
Appendix 2 - Exceptions…………………………………………………………………………….…..17
Executive Summary
Background
The pace of development of Centennial Campus accelerated significantly during the 1990s. The
completion of Research IV and Partners I buildings in 1996 and 1997 respectively marked an apparent
realization of “critical mass” in the growth of the campus, especially in regards to the locating of
corporate/government units (hereafter referred to as “Partners”) to NC State. Prior to the construction of
these two buildings, the telecommunications infrastructure strategies in use on main campus seemed
satisfactory to serve the voice, data, and video communication needs of Centennial Campus tenants.
However, the shared infrastructure system in use in all university buildings proved less than ideal in those
two facilities, especially in meeting the needs and desires of the non-university Partners located there. After
these buildings were occupied, it became apparent that these Partners desired “private” infrastructure (e.g.
telecom rooms, pathways, cabling systems, etc. which are not shared with other tenants) and customized
infrastructure (not necessarily compliant with NC State’s University Wiring Standard). It also became
apparent that these Partners desired much wider choice in the types of voice and data services than are
provided to university departments by the Telecommunications (now “ComTech”) Office (part of the
Office of Information Technology). The desire for customizable data services has led to the selection of
outside service providers (called Preferred Service Providers or “PSP’s”) to provide a wide variety of such
services to the Partners on Centennial Campus.
The above inadequacies created the need to develop a set of communications and internet infrastructure
and service strategies for tenant buildings on Centennial Campus. This document outlines the
infrastructure strategies, policies, and mechanisms for procurement of services for both appropriated
campus buildings and tenant buildings on the campus.
The Approach
The basic approach to the provision of communication and network services for university departments
housed on Centennial Campus is to have their services and infrastructure mirror that on main campus as
closely as possible. The only difference is that each department in a multi-tenant building will have a
dedicated telecom room and wiring system within its space (as opposed to a shared system as they would
have on main campus). Within the department’s space, the infrastructure will be installed according to the
NCSU University Wiring Standard. These departments will obtain voice, data network, and CATV
services from ComTech.
The approach to providing services for non-university Partners is to isolate each Partner’s infrastructure
from that of other tenants. The Partners are free to wire their spaces any way they see fit. The Partners will
obtain traditional copper-based services from AT&T (either directly or via a third party provider of their
choice), and they will obtain fiber-based services from one of the PSP’s. This will allow them maximum
privacy, choice, and flexibility in meeting their connectivity needs in a manner closely resembling that
available to them in high-end private commercial parks.
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Section 1 – Building and Occupant Types
Centennial Campus consists of two major areas of the NC State University
campus. The larger is the area between Centennial Parkway and I-440. The
second, the Centennial Biomedical Campus is located between Hillsborough St.
and Wade Ave.
There are three basic types of occupants of Centennial Campus buildings:
 NCSU Departments
This classification applies to any occupant who pays for services via a
university OUC account.
 Corporate/Government Units (Partners)
This classification applies to any occupant who pays for services via any
means other than a university OUC account.
(government agencies, private companies, etc.)
 Public Users of the Campus
(condo and apartment residents, guests, etc.)
In addition to traditional university facilities, there are several classifications of
Centennial Campus buildings that house Partners:
 Receipt Supported Office Buildings
(Research I, II, III, and IV, Partners I, II, and III, Poulton Innovation Center)
 Third Party Developed Office Buildings
(Venture Center Complex, Keystone Science Center, Alliance Complex, 1801
Varsity)
 Specialty Buildings
(North Shore Condominiums, The Greens Apartments, Poole Clubhouse)
The policies and procedures governing infrastructure vary according to both the
type of building and the type of occupant considered. This creates a matrix of
combinations making provision of communications/internet services potentially
complex and confusing. These guidelines attempt to simplify as much as possible
the infrastructure requirements for each of these combinations.
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Section 2 - Service Policies
Following are assumptions made regarding service policies that are drivers for the
infrastructure policies outlined in these guidelines:
I. Infrastructure Installation/Maintenance
A. NCSU Departments.
 All spaces are required to be wired in compliance with the latest version of
the NCSU University Wiring Standard (UWS). ComTech will maintain all
infrastructure.
B. Partners.
 Fiber optic cable and twisted pair copper cable will be required from the
Building Distribution Frame (BDF) to an Intermediate Distribution Frame
(IDF) in the Partner’s space. Costs for installation will be borne by the
Partner.
 Partners are responsible for installation and maintenance of all wiring within
their space (outward from their IDF).
II. Telephone Services
A. NCSU Departments.
 All telephone services will be required to be purchased from ComTech.
B. Partners.
 ComTech will not provide any telephone services to the Partners. Partners
will order traditional dial tone directly from AT&T. Partners may obtain VoIP
telephone services from one of the PSP’s.
III. Television Services
A. NCSU Departments.
 CATV services will be required to be purchased from ComTech.
B. Partners.
 CATV services are not currently available to Partners.
 Partners may procure satellite TV services from a satellite vendor. Installation
must meet all physical and aesthetic requirements established by NCSU.
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IV. Data/Internet Services
A. NCSU Departments.
 All data network services will be provided by ComTech.
B. Partners.
 Partners may not obtain direct access to the NCSU campus data network. For
lower speed (copper-based) services, they may procure services from AT&T
or a third party provider who purchases services from AT&T. For higher
speed (fiber-based) services, Partners have access to a wide array of services
from the PSP’s. These providers have been granted special considerations
(use of NCSU fiber) in order to serve Partners. See Appendix 1 for the
current list of approved PSP’s. Partners may use other providers as they wish,
but these will not be given the same special considerations as PSP’s, nor will
they be allowed to install physical infrastructure to or between buildings on
Centennial Campus. Other providers will be required to gain “last mile
connectivity” from either AT&T (copper) or PSP’s (fiber).
V. Wireless Services
A. NCSU Departments.
 All wireless (WiFi) services will be provided by ComTech.
B. Partners.
 Partners may access the NCSU wireless network by using the guest wireless
network SSID. Partners may also install their own wireless access points in
their space as long as the signal from these units do not negatively impact on
the NCSU wireless network.
VI. Interconnection of Noncontiguous Spaces
A. NCSU Departments.
 Direct interconnection of departmental spaces will not be allowed.
B. Partners.
 Two Spaces within One Building. Point to point interconnection of spaces
within a single building will be the responsibility of the Partner.
 Partner spaces in two Centennial Campus buildings can be linked by the
leasing of fiber pairs from ComTech from the BDF of one building to the
BDF of another building. The Partner will be required to install fiber from
their IDFs to each BDF. The current rate for leasing each fiber pair is
$846.00/month. Fiber pair links may only be leased between Centennial
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Campus buildings, not from Centennial Campus buildings to main campus or
to off campus locations. Ductbank cells will not be available for leasing.
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Section 3 - Infrastructure Policies
I. Receipt Supported Office Buildings
These buildings are usually constructed in two phases: base building and
departmental/Partner space upfits.
A. Base Building.
1. Components.
The following components of this infrastructure will be constructed during the
base building phase:
 Entrance ductbank to nearest ComTech manhole
 Building Distribution Frame (BDF) room
 Conduit and wiring for special use lines (elevator, blue light, fire alarm,
etc.)
 Blue light telephone units on project site
 Stacked vertical “chase” closets for riser conduit installation
 Riser conduits from the BDF to chase closets
 Entrance telephone and fiber optic cables (by ComTech)
 Equipment racks and ladder racks in the BDF (by ComTech)
2. Access to the BDF.
a. Partner and Departmental Access.
Neither Partners nor university departments will have ongoing access to
the BDF. Partners will have access to install riser cables only. Partners
will not be allowed to install any equipment in the BDF. BDFs will be
keyed to the ComTech telecom room master key.
b. Service Provider Access.
Only AT&T and the PSP’s will be allowed access to the BDF.
3. Design.
The base building components should be designed in accordance with the
University Wiring Standard with the following exceptions:
a. BDF Equipment.
Three standard equipment racks should be installed. One will be used for
ComTech equipment and two for PSP equipment.
b. Telephone Terminal Installation.
AT&T will install their telephone terminal hardware on a designated wall.
ComTech will install a demarcation board with associated hardware for
NCSU telephone lines and special use (life safety) telephone lines, and
will install a demarcation board for Partner telephone lines.
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c. Vertical “Chase” Closets.
To provide for installation of riser conduits between the BDF and each
departmental or Partner IDF, a series of small stacked closets should be
constructed on each floor of the building. Ideally, these will be placed
directly above the BDF. These rooms would be approximately 3' x 4' with
a door to a corridor. This door should be keyed as mechanical rooms.
These chase closets will be constructed in the base building phase. Also
in that phase, a series of 2” EMT conduits will be installed from the BDF
to each of the chase closets. The quantity of conduits will be determined
during the building design based on the potential number of distinct
tenants.
4. Base building connections.
Horizontal cabling will be installed from the BDF to serve telephone and
network connections that are generally not associated with the interior of
specific tenant (department or Partner) spaces. These include common spaces
(i.e. lobbies, vending areas, building conference rooms), life safety (i.e. blue
lights, elevators, fire alarm dialers), security (i.e. card access – including door
access to particular tenant suites, cameras), building system (i.e. electrical
meters, building automation system controllers), and any other general
building connection. Wireless access points that are part of the NCSU
wireless network will also be wired back to the BDF. ComTech will install
all equipment necessary in the BDF to facilitate connectivity for the above
locations and systems.
B. NCSU Departmental Space Upfits
1. Overview.
The infrastructure for these buildings will be designed to provide isolation of
a particular tenant’s infrastructure from the infrastructure serving other
tenants. The infrastructure installed for spaces in these buildings that are
occupied by NCSU departments will be virtually identical to that which is
installed in appropriated campus buildings. The only difference is that no
shared IDF and wireway system will be installed. Instead, an IDF will be built
in each departmental space that will serve only that department. This
infrastructure will be completely isolated from the infrastructure serving all
other building tenants.
2. Components.
The following components of this infrastructure will be constructed during the
departmental upfits phase:
 One IDF in each departmental space
 Riser conduits connecting conduits in the nearest chase closet to each
departmental IDF, and riser cables connecting each of the departmental
IDFs to the BDF
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





Equipment racks and ladder racks in the departmental IDF
Cross-connect panels in the departmental IDF
Wireways from the departmental IDF throughout the departmental space
Station conduits from wireways to outlets
Station wiring to outlets
All required bonding and grounding of above
3. Design.
With the exceptions noted above, the infrastructure installed during these
upfits should comply with the University Wiring Standard (UWS 3.0). In
smaller tenant upfits, the cabling and associated hardware may be installed by
ComTech, with all IDF and pathway components installed by the contractor.
C. Partners Space Upfits
1. Overview.
The infrastructure serving spaces occupied by Partners will not be integrated
into the infrastructure installed to serve NCSU departments. The Partners are
responsible to install their own wiring within their space and copper and/or
fiber riser cables from their space to the BDF.
2. Components.
The following components of the infrastructure will be constructed during the
Partner’s upfit phase:
 All voice and data wiring within their space.
 Riser cabling from the Partner’s space to the BDF.
3. Design and Construction.
The design and construction of the infrastructure within the Partner’s space is
the responsibility of and is at the discretion of the Partner.
4. Riser Cable Installation.
The Partners are responsible to install any required riser cables connecting
their space to the BDF as part of their space upfit. For Partners desiring
copper-based connectivity services from AT&T, copper riser cable is
required. For Partners desiring fiber-based connectivity services from one of
the PSP’s, copper cable and/or fiber optic riser cable is required (depending
on services desired). The Partners are responsible to coordinate connection of
their cables to AT&T or the PSP in the BDF.
Riser cables will be routed in the conduits referenced above from the BDF up
through the chase closets to the floor where the Partner is located. The
Partners must extend conduit from one of the existing riser conduits in the
chase closet to their space for riser cabling. All cables outside of the Partner’s
leased space must be in metallic conduit.
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5. Partner Work within the BDF.
The Partner is responsible for any damage to existing cables or equipment in
the BDF caused by them or any contractors working on their behalf.
ComTech will retain final authority on the use of the BDF. No Partner or
contractors/service providers working for the Partner (except the
PSP’s) will be allowed to install any equipment, data electronics, telephone
systems, etc. in the BDF. The Partners will not install any horizontal (station)
wiring directly to the BDF.
D. Receipt Supported Single Tenant Office Buildings.
The infrastructure model for tenant office buildings housing only one Partner
will be similar to the model presented above. The only difference is that
except for the BDF itself, the type of intrabuilding infrastructure installed is at
the discretion of and is the responsibility of the Partner.
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II. Third Party Developed Office Buildings
These buildings are usually constructed in two phases: base building and
departmental/Partner space upfits.
A. Base Building.
1. Components.
The following components of this infrastructure will be constructed during the
base building phase:
 Entrance ductbank from nearest ComTech manhole.
 Building Distribution Frame room (BDF)
 Conduit and wiring for special use lines (elevator, blue light, fire alarm,
etc.)
 Blue light telephone units on project site
 All required bonding and grounding of above
 Stacked vertical “chase” closets for riser conduit installation
 Floor sleeves from the BDF through the chase closets
 Entrance telephone and fiber optic cables (by ComTech – paid for by
developer)
 Equipment racks and ladder racks in the BDF (by ComTech – paid for by
developer)
2. Access to the BDF.
a. Partner and Departmental Access.
Neither Partners nor university departments will have ongoing access to
the BDF. Partners will have access to install riser cables only. Partners
will not be allowed to install any equipment in the BDF. BDFs will be
keyed to the ComTech telecom room master key.
b. Service Provider Access.
Only AT&T and the PSP’s will be allowed access to the BDF.
3. Design.
The base building components should be designed in accordance with the
University Wiring Standard with the following exceptions:
a. BDF Equipment.
Three standard equipment racks should be installed. One will be used for
ComTech equipment and two for PSP equipment.
b. Telephone Terminal Installation.
AT&T will install their telephone terminal hardware on a designated wall.
ComTech will install a demarcation board with associated hardware for
NCSU telephone lines and special use (life safety) telephone lines, and
will install a demarcation board for Partner telephone lines.
c. Vertical “Chase” Closets.
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To provide for installation of riser conduits between the BDF and each
departmental or Partner IDF, a series of small stacked closets should be
constructed on each floor of the building. Ideally, these will be placed
directly above the BDF. These rooms would be approximately 3' x 4' with
a door to a corridor. This door should not be keyed to the ComTech
telecom room master key.
These chase closets will be constructed in the base building phase. Also
in that phase, a series of 2” EMT conduits will be installed from the BDF
to each of the chase closets. The quantity of conduits will be determined
during the building design based on the potential number of distinct
tenants.
4. Base building connections.
Horizontal cabling will be installed from the BDF to serve telephone and
network connections that are generally not associated with the interior of
specific tenant (department or Partner) spaces. These include common spaces
(i.e. lobbies, vending areas, building conference rooms), life safety (i.e. blue
lights, elevators, fire alarm dialers), security (i.e. card access – including door
access to particular tenant suites, cameras), building system (i.e. electrical
meters, building automation system controllers), and any other general
building connection. Wireless access points that are part of the NCSU
wireless network will also be wired back to the BDF. The developer may or
may not elect to connect to NCSU services associated with the above systems.
For all connections to NCSU services, ComTech will install all equipment
necessary in the BDF to facilitate connectivity.
B. NCSU Departmental Space Upfits.
1. Overview.
The infrastructure for these buildings will be designed to provide maximum
isolation of a particular tenant’s infrastructure from the infrastructure serving
other tenants. The infrastructure installed for spaces in these buildings that are
occupied by NCSU departments will be virtually identical to that which is
installed in appropriated campus buildings. The only difference is that no
shared IDF and wireway system will be installed. Instead, an IDF will be built
in each departmental space that will serve only that department. This
infrastructure will be completely isolated from the infrastructure serving all
other building tenants.
2. Components.
The following components of this infrastructure will be constructed during the
departmental upfits phase:
 One IDF in each departmental space
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






Riser conduits from each departmental IDF to the nearest chase closet,
continuing down through the chase closets to the BDF, and riser cables
connecting each of the departmental IDFs to the BDF
Equipment racks and ladder racks in the departmental IDF
Cross-connect panels in the departmental IDF
Wireways from the departmental IDF throughout the departmental space
Station conduits from wireways to outlets
Station wiring to outlets
All required bonding and grounding of above
3. Design.
With the exceptions noted above, the infrastructure installed during these
upfits should comply with the University Wiring Standard (UWS 3.0). In
smaller tenant upfits, the cabling and associated hardware may be installed by
ComTech, with all IDF and pathway components installed by the developer.
C. Partners Space Upfits.
1. Overview.
The infrastructure serving spaces occupied by Partners will not be integrated
into the infrastructure installed to serve NCSU departments. The Partners are
responsible to install their own wiring within their space and copper and/or
fiber riser cables from their space to the BDF.
2. Components.
The following components of the infrastructure will be constructed during the
Partner’s upfit phase:
 All voice and data wiring within their space.
 Riser cabling from the Partner’s space to the BDF.
3. Design and Construction.
The infrastructure within the Partner’s space is the responsibility of and is at
the discretion of the Partner.
4. Riser Cable Installation.
The Partners are responsible to install any required riser cables connecting
their space to the BDF as part of their space upfit. For Partners desiring
copper-based connectivity services from AT&T, copper riser cable is
required. For Partners desiring fiber-based connectivity services from one of
the PSP’s, copper cable and/or fiber optic riser cable is required (depending
on services desired). The Partners are responsible to coordinate connection of
their cables to AT&T or the PSP in the BDF.
5. Partner Work within the BDF.
No Partner or contractors/service providers working for the Partner (except
the PSP’s) will be allowed to install any equipment, data electronics,
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telephone systems, etc. in the BDF. The Partners will not install any
horizontal (station) wiring directly to the BDF.
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III. Third Party Developed Specialty Buildings
A. Overview.
These are various new buildings that are to be built by outside developers.
They generally house service providers who are providing a variety of
services to NC State faculty, staff, students, and the general public. Examples
include restaurants, hotels, condominium, retail, etc. Each building may house
only one service provider or a multitude of providers. The current assumption
is that all of these providers will be outside companies, agencies, etc. (not
NCSU departments). Due to the uniqueness of each building,
communications/internet infrastructure strategies may vary from building to
building. However, following are some principles that should transcend all
buildings within this classification.
As with third party developed office buildings, these buildings are to be
designed based on the goal of minimizing the amount of infrastructure, space,
and cost required for the outside developer.
B. Model.
The infrastructure and services model for these buildings should mimic that
used in third party developed office buildings.
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Appendix 1 - Service Providers for Partners
Updated 6/1/14
Corporate and government partners located on Centennial Campus have several
options for obtaining internet and communication services to meet their needs.
These include:
1. Copper-based Services – AT&T offers a variety of telephone and lower
speed (DSL) internet options using copper cables they have installed to
each Centennial Campus building. Information on these services can be
found at www.ATT.com under their “Small Business” offerings.
2. Fiber-based Services – NC State University has created a unique
partnership with two top-tier internet service providers to provide
impressive arrays of communication and high-speed internet services to
Centennial partners. This partnership, termed the Preferred Service
Provider (PSP) program, allows these two providers, Time Warner Cable
and TW Telecom, to use university—owned, underground fiber optic
cables to reach every building on the campus. There are no limits on the
either the variety of services that can be offered or the bandwidth
provided to a specific partner.
3. See the attached description of services sheets for more info on each PSP.
In addition, each PSP has account representatives focused on Centennial
Campus. If a partner is interested in having a representative visit them to
explain their services and rates, they should reach out to the following
contacts:
TW Telecom
Susan Poteat
Senior Account Executive
919-573-7775
Susan.poteat@twtelecom.com
Time Warner Cable Business Class
Walter Hayes
Major Account Executive
919-654-7694
Walter.hayes@twcable.com
Note: Partners may elect to utilize secondary internet service providers
other than those listed above. However, those secondary providers must
procure network connectivity via one of the above PSP’s.
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Appendix 2 - Exceptions
A. NCREN Connectivity (updated 6/1/2012)
NCSU and MCNC technical staffs have determined that it is acceptable to
provide NCREN connectivity to customers on NCSU Centennial Campus
in certain circumstances. These special circumstances are as follows:
1. The requesting organization already has an existing connection
elsewhere to NCREN, or is contractually committed to obtaining a
connection to NCREN from another location;
2. The requesting organization is either a commercial or research affiliate
with NCSU and the collaborative work of this affiliation would be better
served if that organization were connected to NCREN;
3. The requesting organization has known potential to be a commercial or
research affiliate with NCSU and it is anticipated that the collaborative
work of this affiliation would be better served if the organization were
connected to NCREN.
Circumstances #2 or #3 require sponsorship of the appropriate Vice
Chancellor or Dean highlighting the benefits of connectivity.
Organizations meeting the criteria above and wishing to establish
connectivity will need to engage both MCNC technical staff and NCSU
ComTech staff to discuss specific network needs.
The MCNC technical staff will coordinate such requests with the NCSU
Comtech staff, and all such arrangements will require individual
engineering by NCSU Comtech staff to ensure optimum utilization of
scarce on-campus infrastructure. The cost of the use of the NCSU
infrastructure shall become a part of the overall price quotation that
MCNC will make to the customer and, upon agreement execution and
subsequent implementation completion, will thereafter be collected by
MCNC and paid to NCSU in normal fashion for such revenue sharing
arrangements.
NCREN connections approved under this plan shall require that the
customer:
Sign an Agreement with MCNC that includes both NCREN and NCSU
costs and fees; and,
Obtain and place appropriate fiber optic cabling from their space back to
the main telecom room (BDF) for their building; and,
Work with the building owner (NCSU or private developer) regarding
requirements (i.e. electrical/fire code or NCSU's requirement that all
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cabling in building common spaces be in conduit); and,
Coordinate with ComTech on where to terminate cables in the BDF room.
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