InformationWeek

The Archbishop's New Network

Technology upgrades happen across all kinds of enterprises. The Archbishop of Canterbury is ridding himself of a meddlesome legacy voice-only network, replacing it with a LAN capable of carrying data and video traffic.

A combination of fiber-optic and copper wiring has been laid throughout Lambeth Palace, where the archbishop's offices and residence are located. The wires, coded in the purple and gold of the Church of England, connect about 40 PCs and a server.

With portions of the palace dating to the 13th century, few physical changes could be made to accommodate the rewiring. This week, some wires were extended into Lollards' Tower, a 15th-century building that required technicians from network designers Ortronics Inc. and systems integrator Union Telecom Co. to crawl above a chapel's dome.

"You have to be careful where you step," says a Union Telecom spokesman, "because there are places where you can drop 20 feet, crash through the ceiling, and end sprawled out on the altar."