As owner and manager of a multi-tenant utility infrastructure for Boston’s carrier hotels, mission-critical data centers and wireless telecom networks, TOWARDEX is hosting several telecommunications providers. They have installed Roxtec seals for cables and conduits to keep their underground vaults dry. Now they can manage cables without spending time on pumping out water.
“Roxtec provides phenomenal products that work as advertised and are reliable,” says James Jun of TOWARDEX in Somerville near Boston, Massachusetts, in the USA.
James Jun, New England Interconnection Specialist of TOWARDEX.
Roxtec seals are used in the underground vaults where multiple telecom companies are installing their fiber optic cables. As the system owner, TOWARDEX is responsible for maintaining the common infrastructure and managing the placement of fiber optic cables by various companies. This means they must be able to access vaults and manholes frequently.
Water filled the vaults
Before they started using Roxtec seals for Schedule 40 conduits, the vaults were always filling with water. The crew had to spend hours waiting for the water to be pumped out before they could get in and do their job. In addition, they had to take extra care of the water every time, since it could be contaminated. When the water finally drained out, they found cables tangled and out of their assigned places, creating a maintenance hassle.
“We needed tight seals”
TOWARDEX tried with duct plugs, but they were not watertight. They used inflatable bags as a temporary solution.
“Resisting water is not enough,” says James Jun. “In vaults where you need to manage cables owned by multiple parties and where it must be gas-tight and watertight, you need Roxtec.”
Roxtec seals perform better in keeping water and gas out than any other products TOWARDEX has used. It means time and cost savings.
“Instead of crews spending hours, it turns into a five-minute job.”
Practical retrofit solutions
In some cases, they had already run the cables and had to seal around them afterwards. Fortunately, there are pre-cut Roxtec solutions that simplify retrofit. Mitigating water ingress also allows TOWARDEX to clearly label and manage cables and have control over the vaults to prevent human error outages with catastrophic consequences. With a little help from Roxtec, TOWARDEX continues to maintain and effortlessly scale its underground utilities for the benefit of numerous telecommunications providers serving New England’s internet traffic.
If you need watertight vaults, you need Roxtec.
Why Roxtec?
- Watertight
- Gas-tight
- High quality
Project facts
Project description
Maintenance of underground telecom infrastructure in Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Involved companies
TOWARDEX – system owner, TWDX Infrastructure – system operator, engineering
Applications
Sealing of openings for cables and conduits in underground vaults, manholes and handholes
Sealing requirements
Watertight, Gas-tight
Roxtec products
Roxtec R transits for multiple cables
