Public University Saves Over 70% on Infrastructure Costs While Modernizing IP Surveillance in Historically Preserved Campus Housing

3-minute read time 

Summary 

• A public university with historically preserved fraternity housing needed to modernize its surveillance system but could not rip and replace existing coaxial infrastructure due to preservation requirements, occupied buildings, cost, and disruption risk. 

• By leveraging NVT Phybridge Ethernet over Coax (EoC) innovations, the university reused its existing network infrastructure, eliminating unnecessary network readiness costs and avoiding invasive construction. 

• This modern network approach reduced installation time by 50%, cut labor requirements in half, and enabled the project to be completed in one week with minimal disruption to student residents. 

• By reallocating over 70% of the infrastructure cost savings, the university invested in additional IP cameras and applications – improving security coverage, ROI, and long-term sustainability. 

Challenge 

The university’s fraternity housing complex consists of century-old, historically preserved buildings that play an important role in campus life and student housing. These buildings relied on an existing coaxial network supporting analog surveillance cameras. 

Due to preservation requirements and the architectural sensitivity of the buildings, ripping and replacing network infrastructure was not feasible. Any new cabling would have required invasive construction, significantly increasing costs, extending timelines, and risking damage to protected structures. 

Compounding the challenge, many of the fraternity houses were occupied year-round, making disruptive construction impractical. A traditional rip and replace network approach would have turned a security project into a construction project – something the university was determined to avoid. 

Solution 

Brothers Fire Protection, a trusted provider of fire protection and electronic security systems, recommended the NVT Phybridge EC10 EoC switch innovation to solve the university’s digital transformation challenges. Having used NVT Phybridge solutions with great success in the past, the reseller was confident they would allow the university to fully achieve its project objectives with a better return on investment. 

The EC10 switch provided a simple plug-and-play setup, drastically simplifying the deployment process, delivering both power and data over long distances using the existing coax-based network infrastructure. The extended reach capabilities enabled the university to expand its IP surveillance system without additional IDF closets or repeaters. 

The NVT Phybridge EC10 switch delivers up to 30 watts of power (PoE+) and 100Mbps symmetrical, full-duplex, over coax cabling with up to 3,000ft (915m) reach, providing substantial power to support bandwidth-demanding IP endpoints easily and reliably. 

Result 

NVT Phybridge Ethernet over Coax innovations drastically reduced project timelines and labor costs. Originally, the project was estimated to take two weeks and required two technicians working full-time to complete the installation. However, thanks to the plug-and-play functionality of the network solutions, the deployment was completed in just one week with only one technician required on-site for the entire process. This represented a 50% reduction in deployment time and a significant decrease in man-hours, leading to substantial labor cost savings for the university. 

In addition, the university achieved a 70% cost reduction compared to the traditional rip-and-replace methodology, freeing up budget for IP devices and applications that drive ROI. The EC10 solution significantly reduced disruption to the residents of the fraternity houses during deployment. The ability to reuse the existing coax-based network infrastructure meant technicians did not have to tear through walls or ceilings. More importantly, the new IP camera system provides modern, high-quality video feeds from the cameras, significantly enhancing security and safety. This improved the university’s ability to monitor and respond to potential security incidents, giving students and staff greater peace of mind. 

Sustainability 

By reusing its existing network infrastructure, the university aligned the project with its sustainability goals while avoiding the environmental impacts of a network rip-and-replace, including increased costs, material waste, and fossil fuel consumption. This approach reduced the university’s carbon footprint by eliminating the need for new cabling, construction materials, transportation, and disposal. In addition, the NVT Phybridge solution efficiently delivered power and data to IP cameras without requiring additional power supplies or excessive electrical draw. The project demonstrates how forward-thinking network design can enhance security and operational efficiency while supporting long-term sustainability objectives. 

About NVT Phybridge  

Our mission is to help organizations maximize their IP migration return on investment by providing high-quality network solutions that are robust, secure, simple to implement, and environmentally responsible. NVT Phybridge is a global leader in PoE network innovations that eliminate the reach and cable type limitations of traditional PoE switches. Our diverse and award-winning portfolio of long-reach PoE switches and extenders help organizations deploy the latest IP technologies over any new or existing single-pair UTP, coax, multi-pair UTP, or 2-wire infrastructure without high costs, complexity, business disruption, or security concerns.