Coventry Wide Area Network (COVWAN).

Over the next two years Coventry City Council will be 'wiring up' the city to help deliver better services, improve educational opportunities and keep people moving around the city. 

A £10million upgrade of the Council's ICT network, called the wide area network (WAN) will connect all council buildings and schools to meet the increasing demands of delivering services for the city's 300,000 residents and enable local schools to benefit from improved broadband access and faster internet services.  Once the project is completed bus passengers on the new PrimeLines routes will see 'real time' journey information and new Variable Message Signs (VMS) on main routes to the city centre will help direct motorists to car parks with spaces so they can plan their journeys and avoid traffic problems.

After a rigorous tendering process, Optilan has been chosen to deliver the massive project across the city.  Optilan Chairman Tim Allen said “Optilan was founded in Coventry in 1990 and we have enjoyed national and international success in supplying telecommunication systems.  However, to win a contract of this size in our home city is a great achievement and we are proud to have the opportunity to be involved in the implementation of this fantastic project which will enhance Local Schools, Government and Business Community”.

Optilan will ensure seamless delivery of this project by utilising our many years experience in providing fully integrated turnkey telecommunications systems across a number of different industries and environments throughout the UK and much of the world, on projects such as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, local authorities and universities, numerous telecoms operators, power stations and offshore drilling platforms.

The scheme will involved laying 87 miles of fibre optic cables around Coventry.  Where possible we are planning to install cables in footpaths and grass verges, and will lay cables in a narrow slot on some roads keeping larger scale road-works to a minimum.