Jersey Airport: Connection to business critical sites

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A decision made (23/10/2008) regarding: Jersey Airport: Connection to business critical sites - continuity plan.

Subject:	Jersey Airport: Connection to business critical sites – continuity plan.
Decision Reference:	MD-E-2008-0210		Exempt clause(s):
Type of Report: (oral or written)	Written		Person Giving Report (if oral):
Telephone or e-mail Meeting?			Report File ref:
Written report – Title	Continuity of business critical connections after termination of analogue private circuits by Jersey Telecom.
Written report – Author (name and job title)	Sandy Sawyer, Airport Operations Director
Decision(s): The Minister approved the continuity plan and agreed to request the Treasury & Resources Minister to approve additional funding from the Trading Fund in the sum of £160,000 to expedite the plan in order to meet the 31st December 2008 deadline.
Reason(s) for decision: Jersey Telecom advised in early 2008 that they will terminate all analogue circuits on 31st December 2008 and replace them with digital lines. For the Airport to maintain connections with business critical sites in Jersey, Guernsey, France and England (Swanwick) Multiplexers need to be installed at the end of the new digital lines. An alternative solution considered would be to set up Microwave links between critical sites. However, this solution could not physically be implemented in time for the 31st December 2008.
Action required: Donna Mitchell will forward this Ministerial Decision to the Treasury & Resources Minister for his approval under the Public Finances (Jersey) Law 2005 to fund the expenditure from the Trading Fund.
Signature: Deputy Alan Maclean Assistant Minister for Economic Development		Date of Decision: 23 October 2008

Jersey Airport: Connection to business critical sites - continuity plan.

Continuity of business critical connections after termination of analogue private circuits by Jersey Telecom.

Background

This is a request for funding approval outside the normal Budget approval cycle in accordance with paragraph 5.13 of Financial Direction 3.1 “Financial Administration of Trading Operations”. It is expenditure that could not have reasonably been foreseen for inclusion in the 2008 Budget, and the requirements for the works to proceed in 2008 meant inclusion in the 2009 Budget cycle would have been too late.

Jersey Telecom advised Jersey Airport in January 2008 that they would be decommissioning all analogue private circuits at the end of 2008 and replacing them with digital (E1) lines in line with the strategy adopted by British Telecom in England. After much discussion this remains Jersey Telecoms’ position. As a result the Air Traffic Engineering department has been determining the impact and assessing solutions which they have discussed with affected ATC partners in the UK, Guernsey and France before identifying the costs associated with the preferred solution.

Jersey Airport currently maintains vital links with the UK, Guernsey, France, Five Oaks and the DVOR through analogue lines. These lines provide the conduit for the transfer to the aforementioned locations of OLDI, AFTN, OPMET and Radar data and Voice communications. The link to the DVOR provides the ATIS information for aircraft flying in the Jersey Zone. The link to Five Oaks provides MPT radio communication systems for airport users and operational departments.

OLDI Automated Co-ordination messages between centres

AFTN Flight plans and weather information

OPMET METARS and TAFs weather information

Radar data Primary and Secondary radar data to/from the UK and Guernsey

DVOR ATIS-Audio and monitoring

Voice Co-ordination calls between ATC centres

Jersey will not be able to maintain service of this data with ATC partners after the 31st of December without the installation of new equipment. New multiplexers and associated equipment are required to interface to the new digital lines to maintain integrity and security. Existing RAFT Microwave equipment will also need to be modified accordingly.

Using RAFT and Westica (preferred suppliers) will minimise costs as their equipment is already used in the Airport’s existing Microwave system therefore negating the need for separate spares, training or procedures. RAFT will also provide essential resources to enable Jersey Airport to meet Jersey Telecom’s deadline.

JT have stated that they are not prepared to delay the decommissioning of the current circuits although the most significant risk to the airport is that there is a delay in implementing the preferred solution.

Without this equipment Jersey Airport will not be able to communicate with Swanwick and Brest Area Control Centres (ACC) or Guernsey ATC to enable flight co-ordination, without co-ordination aircraft movements at Jersey Airport and within the Zone would be severely compromised and impact on our Eurocontrol obligations.

The biggest risk to the completion of the cross-over before the end of the year is the timely order of the hardware necessary to facilitate the move.

There are very tight timescales to meet the deadlines for this project,

A, To order the equipment due to the lead time for the hardware.

B, The installation, configuration and testing of the new set-ups, to enable the transfer of the operational data over the new lines during the first week of December.

C. Any slippage in project timescales will impact on the completion date of 31st December.

The timescales proposed to achieve the Jersey Telecom deadline of 31st December 2008 are:-

Activity Latest date for completion

(agreed with NATS, French & Guernsey authorities)

Order Hardware 17th October

Order Line to the DVOR 17th October

Build and configure hardware 10th-14th November

Install and test 17th-28th November

Ready for service 1st December

The “Ready for service” date cannot realistically be moved otherwise any emergent issues arising during the implementation may have a time impact which takes the completion date beyond 31st December.

One-off costs | Annual costs

Line Hardware Connection | New Existing

Destination (Raft + Charge | Line rentals Line Costs Westica) | & licence rentals

| fees

Les Platons £ 5,100 Free | £ - N/A

DVOR £ 14,716 Free | £ 3,398 £ 3,960

St Ouen £ 20,705 Free | £ 3,398 £ 4,440

5 Oaks (Westica) £ 14,630 N/A | £ 200 £ 6,600

Guernsey £ 19,935 Free | £11,700 (1) £13,920

UK Swanwick £ 11,366 £ 19,531 | £42,584 £50,348

France Brest £ 5,504 £ 2,651 | £13,414 £12,569

Engineering support £ 18,477 N/A | £ - £ -

Ancillary equipment £ 7,000 N/A | £ - £ -

Overtime £ 6,000 N/A | £ - £ -

Contingency (10%) £ 12,343 |

Total £135,776 £ 22,182 | £74,494 (2) £91,837 (3)

Grand Total £157,958

Saving on annual costs £17,343

(1) The split of the annual line rental of £23,400 to be agreed between Jsy-Gsy currently 50% but likely to be less

(2) Line rental information obtained from JT website and quotes from JT (re France & Swanick) and Guernsey Cable & wireless.

(3) Information obtained from JD Edwards by reviewing monthly private wire object account and determining monthly costs for VAT020, VAT040, VAT050 and VAT060. The information on the connection to France may be understated – the costs in JDE are not clearly identified.

Notes

The French links will initially be via the UK and a direct E1 link will be developed later in 2009. The cost of this is included in the figure shown.

The engineering support is for the installation, configuration and testing of the systems before the in service date (provided by RAFT).

Depreciation is charged over 7 years – the standard useful economic life of radio equipment.

The UK and Guernsey have already ordered the new lines between themselves and Jersey.

All the costs of the line rentals will come out of the existing revenue budgets.

Sandy Sawyer

Airport Operations Director

20th October 2008