NETWORK news Volume 8 Edition 3 KRONE Australia’s NETWORK News Volume 8 Edition 3 Case Study: KRONE in Antarctica 4 Intelligent Building: The Future, Now 6 New Appointments 8 New Product: MASTER minder 9 Case Study: KRONE/Orange 10 ATUG Visits KRONE 11 KRONE Powers up Sri Lanka 12 Minister Visits KRONE 13 BiCSi Conference 2001 14 Club KRONE 15 Website: www.krone.com.au Email: kronehlp@krone.com.au Copyright © 2001 KRONE Australia Holdings Pty. Limited We're almost halfway through 2001, the year that was, 33 years ago, immortalised in the classic film by director, Stanley Kubrick, in '2001 A Space Odyssey'. It gave us a surreal insight into a futuristic world of high-tech automation and space-age lifestyle. Kubrick died only months before we saw American billionaire, Dennis Tito, become the first paying passenger to go into space. 2001 is a reality and, while we're not quite in the space-age realms of movie imagination yet, we have made remarkable advances in telecommunications technology. KRONE's Premis NET C 3 Intelligent Building solution is the future, now. This issue of Network News shows how it can Control, Command, Communicate and Consolidate your facility's Building Automation and Communications Systems within the one cabling infrastructure. The C 3 solution not only helps building owners enjoy great cost savings through the integration of building management systems but, just as importantly, it ensures that you can still segregate the management of your facility's Data Systems from those of your Building Automation Systems. From space we take you to the Great Southern Ocean and beyond. Ian Bruce from the Australian Antarctic Division tells us how his organisation relies on KRONE for communications to this vast land. It is the driest, coldest and windiest continent on Earth and our products provide the connectivity infrastructure for the network that allows our scientists to conduct research programs at the five research bases. Our 20 th Anniversary celebrations have created a lot of interest in KRONE and how and why we are still successful in an Australian ICT R&D and manufacturing climate that has been disappointing for many. A group from the Australian Telecommunications Users Group (ATUG) toured our headquarters in March, and in April, we hosted N.S.W. Members of Parliament: Mr Paul Crittenden, Member for Wyong, and the hon Kim Yeadon, MP, Minister for Information Technology. We continue to be committed to staying ahead of the rest and, in this issue, preview our newest product, MASTER minder . Using state-of-the art plastic injection moulding, our local R&D team has developed a unique, rack-mountable cable minder that will, once again, reduce installation time significantly for installers . Our strong commitment to ongoing Research and Development is clearly reflected in the fact that we have produced, on average, thirty new products every year since 1984, when we first commenced manufacturing in Australia. All KRONE products are manufactured to ISO quality and environmental standards. If you'd didn't have a chance to participate in our HighTIME conference at Port Douglas, why not bring a group of customers for a tour of our Berkeley Vale R&D and manufacturing facilities? We'd welcome the opportunity of showing you how we develop solutions for your particular environment. I look forward to meeting you. C.E.O. PAGE 3 By Craig Jones, CEO, KRONE Australia 2001 - The Future is Here, Now Antarctica has no peer as a wilderness. This vast land, nearly twice the size of Australia, and its surrounding seas are dominated by nature, by cold and wind, ice and snow. It is the driest, coldest, windiest and highest continent on Earth. The nearest point of Antarctica to Australia is nearly 2,700 km away. The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) is part of the Commonwealth Department of the Environment and Heritage. It maintains three, year-round ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions) research stations at Casey, Davis and Mawson on the Antarctic continent and one at Macquarie Island in the sub-Antarctic Southern Ocean. Each station is comprised of buildings including accommodation, scientific laboratories, workshops, stores and power houses. The main telecommunications facility is contained in the Operations Building which is linked to the other station buildings by multipair telephone cables for the telephone system, and fibre optic cables for the Local Area Network (LAN). A satellite link provides communication back to Australia. The telecommunications network allows Australian scientists to conduct research programs at the ANARE stations. They need to transfer data between themselves and Australian and overseas research institutions. It also allows them to easily discuss theories and ideas with their colleagues who are not in Antarctica. The scientists study Antarctic biology, glaciology, climatology, human impact, marine science and atmospheric and space physics and need to transfer information to their home institutions. The network is also used by support staff, such as the communications technical officers, diesel mechanics, electricians, plumbers, carpenters or chefs to send and receive e-mail, connect to the Internet or to phone home. Ian Bruce is Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications), based at the AAD's headquarters at Kingston, Tasmania. He is part of the team that provides a telecommunications system which supports Australia's research activities in Antarctica. "We are currently upgrading our cabling infrastructure by replacing a Thinwire LAN and Cat 3 internal telephone cables with a structured unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling system. The reliability of the connectivity components of our telecommunications network is crucial. "The move to a structured UTP cabling environment provides more flexibility, greater reliability and easier fault finding. This ensures that the cabling network is always available in support of ANARE scientific and operational programs." In January each year, the AAD recruits eight technical officers (two per station) annually and they spend one year at an ANARE station. These technical officers maintain the entire telecommunications network (satellite systems, computer networks, HF and VHF radios, telephone systems and other equipment). They also install and maintain the cabling infrastructure. For larger installation projects the AAD may, at times, send a technical officer who is dedicated to that particular NETWORK news Since the 1980's, KRONE solution has been an integral part of the telecommunications infrastructure which allows Australian scientists to conduct research programs at the isolated ANARE stations in Antarctica. Telecommunications Connectivity Crucial in the Antarctic Wilderness PAGE 5 project. The biggest hurdle AAD has to overcome is the inaccessibility of the ANARE stations during the planning stages. Whereas for a project in Australia, the designer or project manager would conduct a site survey, this is impossible in Antarctica. AAD relies on the information which comes back from the technical officers in Antarctica and the drawings of the installations as they currently exist. AAD then explains to the technical officers who are about to go to Antarctica what the job entails and how they should approach it, keeping in mind that, in many cases, they haven't been to Antarctica or seen the ANARE stations before. The principal lessons learned with an installation of this magnitude are that planning is very important, as is correct installation technique. "Careful planning is essential. If something is forgotten or lost we can't just go down the street and buy a replacement," said Mr Bruce. "The technical officers at the ANARE stations have done an excellent job of installing the cabling infrastructure in what can, at times, be very difficult conditions. When working in Antarctica, you must be flexible and adaptable. We are extremely happy with the way the project has been going." KRONE products are an integral part of the Australian Antarctic Division's telecom- munications network. "KRONE products have proven to be reliable which is a crucial factor because the ANARE stations are isolated for approximately six months of the year when the sea surrounding the continent has frozen and it is not possible to send replacement items to the area," said Ian Bruce, AAD's Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications). Above: Ian Bruce, Senior Technical Officer (Telecommunications) at the Australian Antarctic Division is pictured on the bridge of the ship, 'Polar Bird', at sea among the polar icescape. He is part of the team that provides a telecommunications system which supports Australia's research activities in Antarctica. Blockbuster movies like 2001 A Space Odyssey, Star Wars and Star Trek gave us an insight into the futuristic buildings and cities we could expect to see in the new millennium. NETWORK news By Peter Davis, KRONE's National Sales and Marketing Manager Intelligent Buildings Now a Space-Age Reality While we haven't quite realised the various predictions of an intergalactic travel industry by this new century, the first private passenger has paid $40 million for a return trip to the International Space Station. Our building technology, the development of which owes much to the space race of the 1960s, is much further advanced. The Intelligent Building System is here, now - and the price ticket is geared to save money, not squander it on a once-only experience. The life expectancy of the average commercial building is 40 years and, over that life cycle, the operating costs will amount to more than the entire initial cost of building it. Why opt for an Intelligent Building? Building a new business facility is a huge financial commitment for any organisation and keeping initial construction costs to a minimum is always a high priority. Balancing the need to minimise construction costs with the need to provide a facility that offers flexibility, comfort, efficiency and responsiveness to the demands of its inhabitants is a real challenge. More challenging still is the task of designing a building that will actually reduce your ongoing operating costs. An Intelligent Building integrates your facility's Building Automation Systems and Communications Systems within the one cabling infrastructure. You no longer need to bother with the costly process of installing and operating multiple wiring systems to separately accommodate Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems, security/access control, lighting control, public address systems, video, voice and data services. The adoption of an Intelligent Building solution can reduce your initial construction costs for cabling by up to 30 per cent. These savings are achieved through reductions in project management, labour and cabling costs accrued during the installation phase - by installing one standardised cabling infrastructure. Operating costs - such as the moves, additions and changes made to your voice, data and electrical services over the life of a building - can be reduced by up to 50 per cent when compared to proprietary cabling system solutions. A study conducted by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineers (Atlanta, Georgia) revealed that money invested during a building's construction phase to make operation more efficient could create a 300 per cent return on investment. continues PAGE 7 Lighting and Climate Control Systems - Intelligent Lighting Controllers (ILC) - Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning Systems (HVAC) Intercom and Public Address Systems - Departmental communications - Interface/integration with telephony system, emergency control systems and background music Access Control Systems - Integration via intelligent Access Controller (IAC) Voice and Data Systems - Local Area Network (LAN) - Telephony Security Control Systems - Alarm system with multiple inputs/outputs Video Systems - For CCTV, conferencing or Broadband Television services Premis NET C 3 Structured Cabling System for Intelligent Buildings Intelligent Buildings Now a Space-Age Reality NETWORK news Gerard Pearson brings to KRONE 20 years' experience in the electronics and telecom- munications industries, Most recently, he was National Sales Manager for an electronics component distributor. He began his career as a technical trainee at Sydney's international telephone exchange ultimately becoming a Technical Officer possessing a TAFE degree in Electronics Engineering. Based at our Berkeley Vale headquarters, Gerard is responsible for our national Premis NET sales team located in state offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Located in Perth, John McEwan joins the WA/SA team as Premis NET Sales Executive with particular responsibility for South Australia. He brings to KRONE 24 years' experience in the telecom- munications industry most of which were spent in the Defence area. He has also worked as a consultant in charge of the facilities management of telecom-munications contracts in the same industry. Scott Whiston joins us as Sales Executive, Queens- land. He is familiar with KRONE products having spent four years in a sales position with one of our distributors, working with electrical, data and communications products. continued New Recruits for KRONE’s Sales Team Add to these savings the increase in productivity for the tenants of the building and numerous other resultant business benefits such as upgradeable pathways for emerging technologies, and the Intelligent Building is really the only choice for smart building owners and designers. Premis NET C 3 enables you to deliver the services of tomorrow Telecommunications is more than voice and data. It takes in many other building systems including climate control for heating, ventilation and air- conditioning, lighting management for increasing efficiency costs, security for access control, surveillance and intruder alert monitoring and audio for public address systems. Telecommunications can carry all low voltage signal systems that control information within the Intelligent Building. KRONE's Premis NET C 3 Solution can Control, Command, Communicate and Consolidate all these individual building systems. It not only helps building owners enjoy great cost savings through the integration of your building management systems but, just as importantly, ensures that you can still segregate the management of your facility's Data Systems from those of your Building Automation Systems. KRONE has incorporated features into the Premis NET C 3 solution that are not offered by any other company. It is these unique features that set KRONE's solution head and shoulders above all other intelligent building solutions on the market today. For more information, visit our website at www.krone.com.au to see the Intelligent Building Solution Application Paper or call your KRONE representative. MASTER minder Saves Time for Installers PAGE 9 The new MASTER minder from KRONE Australia eliminates the need for cable or Velcro ties, saving on material costs as well as overall time spent on the cabling infrastructure project. It’s excellent for customers and installers alike. The MASTER minder will suit KRONE as well as most other commercially available brands of RJ45 Patch Panels. It is widely acknowledged that there is more of an emphasis on correct cabling practices and maintaining the bend radii of cables as the industry moves towards the adoption of Category 5e and Category 6 cabling standards. Something as simple as a cable tie secured too tightly, is of paramount importance to network managers. We know from the tests we have conducted for our own TrueNet Cat 5eT and Cat 6T end-to-end cabling solutions that cable management at the rear of the patch panels plays a vital role in ensuring zero bit error rates on a network. The MASTER minder is the only plastic moulded product of its type available on the market. Comparative products are solitary metal bars or trays that depend on cable or Velcro ties to manage the cable. The one-piece, injection-moulded, plastic MASTER minder boasts the following features: ! it is fully adaptable to 19” racks, allowing for mounting on to most brands of patch panels; ! it holds up to 32 Cat 6 UTP cables; ! lock-in guides that are integral to the moulded product hold cables in place without the need for cable or Velcro ties; ! it can be used in either Cat 5e(T) or Cat 6(T) installations; ! upright posts help maintain the correct bend radii of the cable; ! its height does not exceed 1RU, which allows for multiple MASTER minders to be used, providing a much tidier cabling system; and ! the time required to install the cables is greatly reduced. The R&D people at our headquarters on the NSW Central Coast identified a unique market opportunity. No one else, here or overseas, has a cable minder that will suit most brands of RJ45 patch panels, without the need for cable or Velcro ties. We also have multi-million dollar state-of-the art injection-moulding machinery available to us 24 hours a day and the MASTER minder gives us the opportunity to exploit those facilities to the maximum. KRONE Australia, as a company, is conscious of the impact manufacturing processes can have on the environment. Late last year we were certified to ISO14001 for our environmental management systems and we’re delighted to report that the MASTER minder uses the exact amount of material required with no leftover or waste plastic. Using our state-of-the art plastic injection moulding capabilities, KRONE Australia has developed a rack-mountable cable minder that will save installers over 80% of cable management looming time. The New MASTERminder from KRONE. The ultimate solution for cable management. Hutchison Telecommunications (Australia) Limited's goal is to be a leading provider of wire-free services. NETWORK news KRONE connects the Orange CDMA and GSM networks It is well on the way having launched its own wireless service, using CDMA technology, called Orange One, in 2000. Providing coverage to around eight million people in and around Sydney and Melbourne, this revolutionary phone system is both a home phone and mobile phone service in one. The company plans to expand its operations to build a national high-speed wire- free network in all capital cities of Australia. Hutchison also provides additional mobile phone services using the Optus GSM network (called Orange GSM) and the Telstra CDMA network (called Orange CDMA). Additional to the wireless services is a paging and messaging service which was Hutchison's core business when it started in Australia more than ten years ago. Clinton Fick is the Switch Engineering Manager for Orange and responsible for the system engineering for the different services Orange needs to carry on its network. He explains that, as a telecommunications operator, Orange provides a network which includes switches, or telephone exchanges, for the mobile environment. "When you are in a dynamic and competitive market such as wireless services, you need reliable equipment that can be managed quickly and efficiently," said Mr Fick. "We were using a wire-wrap distribution frame but it was proving to be clumsy and time- consuming equipment to work with. It did provide us with monitoring capabilities that were beneficial for the paging and messaging business but weren't really necessary for our next stage of expansion. ” To cope with the demands of our growth into a national network, we opted for KRONE's City 80 distribution frame and HIGHBAND 10 disconnect modules for interconnection of the carrier equipment switches and base stations that comprise the Orange network. “ ”The decision was straightforward for us. Most of our technicians, including myself, have used KRONE solutions before and found them easy to use, reliable, time-saving and cost effective. The Orange brand was launched in a wave of advertising and promotion and we were expanding so rapidly that we didn't want to be hindered by a lengthy tender process,” said Mr Fick. “We're happy with our decision and will be looking for more KRONE products when we treble the size of our Sydney and Melbourne installations in the not too distant future." orange TM By Robert Cross, KRONE's National Sales Manager - Access NET [...]... out of this world Your Networks - Our Strength! PAGE 13 BiSCi 2001 - An Infrastructure Odyssey By Peter Meijer - Technical Training Manager - KRONE More than 200 delegates attended the BiCSi Australia/New Zealand District Conference held earlier this year in Melbourne The presentation entitled 'Technology Avalanche Theory - How does it affect us at the infrastructure level?' by US-based Paul Andres, President... be made available on our website and on multi-media CD-ROM On-line catalogue is available at www .krone. com.au Please send me a copy of the 2001/ 2002 edition KRONE catalogue: Company Name: Company Contact Name: Company Address: .Postcode Phone: Fax: HEAD OFFICE KRONE NSW KRONE VIC/TAS KRONE WA 2 Hereford Street BERKELEY VALE NSW... technologies Club KRONE Members Praise Benefits Club KRONE, KRONE s customer loyalty program, is in it’s third successful year We asked several members for feedback on what make Club KRONE such a beneficial addition to KRONE s client services A website would be good, says Starnet A chance to network is important to me Starnet has been installing KRONE product for 15 years When Club KRONE was established... comes my way One thing I do, though, is keep the Network News newsletter on my bedside table and it's an easy way to catch up with industry news and trends The KRONE brochures are good, too "Probably the most significant benefit to me from Club KRONE has been the opportunity to network with other people in the industry I've attended a few of the Club KRONE seminars and, through them, have made some... (another KRONE Fuse-SwitchDisconnector customer), and by about 35 local authorities located in various parts of the island The equipment bought by CEB comprises 1000 Low Voltage Fuse-Switch-Disconnectors, 4-pole assembly, rated 250A Each unit comprises three Fuse Switches and one Neutral Connector with special inclusions, such as blown fuse indication NETWORK news Proven Reliability and Safety KRONE type... important to be able to meet and discuss your industry in general with a good mate in the same field." www.clubkrone.com.au PAGE 15 Out Now! KRONE s 2001/ 2002 Product Catalogue The 2001/ 2002 edition of KRONE s Product Catalogue is hot off the presses The well-known reference handbook has undergone a face-lift and has been reorganised to make it easier than ever for you to find what you are looking for To receive... Reliability and Safety KRONE type KGH Fuse-Switch-Disconnectors are fully insulated on-load switches for reliable use in low-voltage Aerial Bundled Cable (ABC) systems of open-wire overhead networks The switches are suitable for mounting directly to transformers, power poles or building facades General rates are 450V and currents range from 100A to 630A Pole-mounted units (such as the type as selected... 3898 KRONE NEW ZEALAND Cnr The Esplanade & Nevis St PETONE NZ Ph: +64 4 / 576 9213 Fax: +64 4 / 576 9243 KRONE SA/NT TOLL FREE TECH SUPPORT: 1800 801 298 Web Site: www .krone. com.au Suite 11, 297 Pirie Street ADELAIDE SA 5000 Ph: (08) 8236 0111 Fax: (08) 8232 6699 FREE SUBSCRIPTION OFFER! Keep up with the latest industry news and KRONE product information FREE Subscription to all Year 2001 editions of Network. .. constructed from weather and UV-resistant, high quality, glass-fibre reinforced polyamide compound All metal components are of corrosion-resistant material which, combined with a robust construction, gives a dependable performance, even under harsh environmental conditions such as the tropical climate of Sri Lanka IT Minister Tours KRONE Manufacturing Facility Our state-of-the art manufacturing facility... points against KRONE training courses and we're interested in taking advantage of that opportunity "Being a small hands-on company, we value the industry and product information that comes through to us via Club KRONE newsletters and brochures It keeps us abreast of what's happening out there One thing I would like to see from Club KRONE is a web page I wouldn't have said that in the old days - but these . NETWORK news Volume 8 Edition 3 KRONE Australia’s NETWORK News Volume 8 Edition 3 Case Study: KRONE in Antarctica 4 Intelligent Building: The Future, Now. (07) 32 36 9 233 Fax: (07) 32 36 9244 KRONE VIC/TAS Suite 12, 622 Ferntree Gully Road, WHEELERS HILL VIC 31 50 Ph: ( 03) 9560 0977 Fax: ( 03) 9560 0988 KRONE