A private research university planning a new waterfront campus to anchor its innovation and research programs encountered a fundamental hurdle early in the project. Surrounded by water and located within a primarily residential neighborhood, the site lacked the commercial-grade telecommunications infrastructure required for a modern research campus.
A Site Without Commercial Fiber
Unlike a traditional urban commercial district, the nearby area was served largely by residential aerial utilities. There was no robust commercial fiber backbone immediately available, and the site’s waterfront geography limited traditional redundant entry pathways. Extending enterprise-grade connectivity to the development would require collaboration with regional carriers and public infrastructure owners beyond the project boundary.
For a research campus designed to support high-capacity, AI-driven data demands, resilient fiber connectivity was essential. LEDG was engaged to lead carrier engagement and develop a telecommunications strategy that delivers redundant, enterprise-level connectivity.
From Carrier Engagement to Infrastructure Enablement
Without direct access to commercial fiber, the project required negotiation with multiple providers to extend service into the area. LEDG secured two commercial fiber providers, with the option to add a third for redundancy, while guiding the planning of underground conduit and the placement of telecom vaults across the site. Achieving this required phased collaboration with regional carriers and public agencies, including coordination with existing public infrastructure to enable permanent underground routing into the site.
Because fiber service was limited to a single point of entry, LEDG recommended a rooftop point-to-point wireless link to provide redundant high-speed connectivity that did not rely on underground utility pathways.
Modernizing Life-Safety Communications
In parallel, LEDG advised the university on transitioning away from legacy copper POTS lines traditionally used for emergency blue-light phones, elevator communications, and fire alarm systems. As telecommunications providers continue phasing out copper networks, maintaining traditional POTS service is becoming increasingly difficult for new developments.
To address this, LEDG recommended LTE-based “POTS-in-a-box” solutions that provide cellular connectivity with integrated battery backup. These devices allow life-safety systems to maintain reliable communication without relying on aging copper networks, while still meeting operational and safety requirements.
Enabling Long-Term Research Operations
By addressing carrier strategy, redundancy planning, and life-safety modernization early in the design process, LEDG helped position the campus with a resilient telecommunications backbone capable of supporting high-density academic and research activity.
More specifically, the university is now positioned to:
The project demonstrates how early telecommunications planning can strengthen the long-term performance and resilience of large-scale research developments.
“Delivering commercial-grade, redundant connectivity to a waterfront site surrounded by residential infrastructure required careful coordination across carriers, public agencies, and the construction team. Our goal was to ensure the university had a resilient telecom foundation right from the start.”
Dave Miller, Market Leader – Telecommunications
Leading Edge Design Group