When it comes to new construction multi-family (MDU) developments, there are many critical components in terms of telecom infrastructure and deployment that need to be taken into consideration.
Often, elements of telecommunication installations get overlooked as the TCO date quickly approaches and the larger construction milestones are being completed. One of the most important telecom elements within an MDU is the Minimum Point Of Entry or the MPOE. This room is vital and can be considered the heart of the entire telecom infrastructure buildout for the project and it is where all the Service Provider connection points converge onto the Owner’s property from the Right of Way (ROW). The MPOE acts as the handoff point where services are delivered to feed the different buildings, units, and common areas throughout the project. Given this is the heart of the telecom install, it is important to stay up to date with the construction and completion of this building location in preparation for telecom companies so their cabling and equipment can be installed completely in a timely fashion to effectively deliver needed building services on time.
At RealtyCom we call this telecom milestone “MPOE Room Readiness” and we track its completion to ensure it aligns with the project’s key building deadlines. To ensure the installation of Service Provider electronics, the MPOE room must be clean, dry, and equipped with various items such as fire-rated backboards, ground wire and grounding plate, and other essential elements necessary to house electronic equipment. Failure of any of these items can result in a delay of the Service Provider’s installations which in turn may have a negative effect on other critical building milestones needed for TCO. Moreover, the delay impacts service in the rest of the building’s intermediate distribution frame (IDF) rooms, all of which have similar requirements to the MPOE and typically provide residential services and well as management-facing Wi-Fi which is critical to Building Systems installations such as AV and Access Control.
At RealtyCom, we diligently track the MPOE Room Readiness milestone, and subsequent IDF room connections, to ensure a smooth service provider cabling and equipment installation from start to finish. Well in advance, we provide the Owner and their General Contractor (GC) and Low Voltage Sub-contractors with a checklist detailing all the necessary elements for the successful completion of the MPOE and IDF closets and then track open and unfinished items until these items are fully completed. We conduct multiple field visits throughout the life of the project to check on this and other critical telecom milestones. Our in-house professional Field Engineers perform as the “boots on the ground” to confirm these telecom-related installations are going the way stakeholders intended and that the infrastructures within the MPOE and IDFs are being completed per plan and per telecommunication industry standards. Furthermore, we offer detailed post site visit reports confirming the completion of telecom milestones along with highlighting any action items that need to be addressed. We track these open items on a monthly basis with Service Providers and Owners via recurring team calls and email communications until they are resolved.
RealtyCom leverages our expert knowledge and the partnerships we have built within the telecom industry so these important milestones are met and our clients stay ahead of the curve throughout the lifecycle of the project through completion. If you have questions about how RealtyCom can help with project management or field engineering resources for your new developments, please email us at info@realtycompartners.com.
