More than 1.5 million feet of Proterial Cable America Cat 6 and Cat 6A cable has been threaded through half a dozen University of New Hampshire-Durham buildings during the college’s recent upgrade and that’s not to mention upgrades to the entire campus’s phone lines and wide-area network cable serving high schools and multiple other universities in New Hampshire, and others as far away as Massachusetts and Maine.
The changes are vital for the university and PCA cable is right at the center of it.
“It’s locally made, which I like, and it performs just as good and I like the pricing,” says Chris Robinson, UNH Field Operations Manager.
The University of New Hampshire-Durham campus has 160 buildings including 27 dormitories, set on 2,600 acres. Founded in 1866 as the New Hampshire College of Agriculture and the Mechanic Arts, UNH was originally established to serve as secondary education for farming and laboring families.
By 2024, the school has grown to welcome more than 11,500 undergraduate students each year, and nearly 2,500 graduate students and is home to students from 52 states and territories and 43 different countries.
It’s safe to say that staying up with the times technologically is vital for a university of that size and importance, and Robinson is the decision-maker that makes sure UNH-Durham is meeting the needs of its students.
“It’s newer gear, the latest and greatest,” he says. “This gear that we’re getting is a much cleaner install, it’s much easier to work with.”
The project has been a long one, starting during the COVID-19 pandemic and is continuing with cable being installed in dormitories. Throughout the project Robinson has used PCA cable, and he says it is the cable he will use going forward.
“It’s been excellent working with Proterial Cable America,” he says.
Robinson’s team is unique, working for the university, but also doing all of the installation work themselves. It’s been a lot of work, which took a big team.
“There’s been probably 20-25 people working on this,” he says. “We put the containment together ourselves, and then slowly moved the gear.”
The massive cable installations mean that classrooms throughout multiple buildings on the university’s campus will have access points spread out so students and teachers alike have the connections they need in the classroom, in the dorms, and even in the common areas and hallways. But there is more than that being powered by PCA at UNH-Durham.
“Cabling goes to the cameras—indoor and outdoor, and with some outdoor cameras because of distance issues, we use PCA fiber with a POE converter,” he says.
Robinson says the Cat 6A cable is installed strategically so that despite technological advancements, UNH-Durham will be able to keep up. In addition, cable was spread strategically so that there is more available if additional access points are needed in the future.
But the on-campus improvements weren’t the end of it when it came to the UNH-Durham upgrade—the wide-area network was enhanced with PCA cable. That advancement is crucial because Robinson says UNH-Durham serves 90% of the high schools and colleges in New Hampshire as well as universities and colleges in other states like the University of Maine and MIT with the use of Internet 2.
In Spaulding Hall, PCA products are helping keep students and teachers safe with a new elevator system.
Robinson says two elevators in the building have been outfitted with the RAZ system, an alternative to the traditional emergency call box that features a camera mounted in the elevator with a screen.
“[If the elevator breaks], you hit the call button, it dials 911, the dispatcher can turn the camera on,” Robinson says. “If it’s a hearing-impaired person, they can text to talk through the elevator.”
PCA has been working with school districts, colleges and universities and we are available to help your organization as well.
“Education is one of the most vitally important parts of our society, and we are thrilled to play our part in making it easier for students at the University of New Hampshire to learn and grow,” says Joe Barry, COO of PCA-NH.
Our customers routinely say they choose PCA because we can offer manufacturing excellence while keeping prices affordable.
Contact us to learn more about Proterial Cable America’s product portfolio!
