An ecological LAN in public establishments with AROONA

Business challenge

A network was needed to support collaboration among employees across multiple locations on a limited budget while minimizing waste, energy usage and disruption to employees.

Transformation

To improve CEREMA’s network performance with an environmentally friendly solution, IBM implemented a passive optical LAN (POL) architecture over the company’s existing multimode fibers, which had never been done before. This innovative solution reduced company costs and limited the environmental impact. The upgrade was completed within three hours and did not interrupt service.

Faster uploads, better collaboration and lower energy costs – all without recabling

CEREMA is a scientific and technical resource center focused on sustainable development, town planning and transportation. A subsidiary of France’s sustainable development ministry, CEREMA has 3,000 employees located in eight cities throughout France.

Faster speeds without waste

Focused on sustainable development projects across France, CEREMA needed access to large file formats and the ability to share them to multiple locations. For CEREMA, slow network speeds would hamper productivity.

But as a state nonprofit committed to sustainability, CEREMA couldn’t just start from scratch. It needed an environmentally friendly solution and one that would be feasible on a fixed budget.

An innovative solution gives a second life to fiber cables

To meet CEREMA’s goals, budget constraints and environmental priorities, IBM worked with a team to develop a turnkey solution that effectively reused the company’s infrastructure to improve network speed while reducing power consumption and minimizing disruption. IBM collaborated with CommScope and TNT Telecom to identify the solution requirements and find an innovative tool that would deliver on all fronts.

IBM also worked with Tellabs for POL active equipment, Anixter for shipping and Cailabs to install its AROONA splitter for the access network. IBM’s ability to integrate multiple technologies allowed for a high-bandwidth network laid over the existing multimode cabling infrastructure, saving time and repurposing wire. There was minimal disruption and near-immediate improvement: within three hours, all offices had 1 GB access—an increase from the earlier 100 MB access.