In 2007 Optech Fibres were engaged by BT to supply and install the infrastructure at the Carnoustie Links golf course to support the British Open Golf Champioship.
A high pressure time driven contract was manned by Optech personnel over an 8 week period installing miles of optical fibre and telephone cabling through the tented village as it grew from a green field to a series of busy shops, bars, and restaurants.
The Carnoustie Links itself has three courses, from which eighteen holes are taken to provide the Championship course, this in itself producing many dificulties in laying cables which ultimately only had to survive a four day competition, but which 'had' to survive the four days.
Optical fibres were routed to the second and tenth tees to provide connectivity to the BBC's swing monitoring equipment, the media centre alone had 1200 network and telephone points installed, while BT's telephone switch cabone provided 500 extension lines and ISDN2 to the site, all of which had to be distributed over the massive site.
The pressure on the project was never more evident than the Monday before the Thursday first tee time, with the laying of a metal road to support the influx of trucks, cabins, and infrastructure to the BBC compound, which had to be setup in two days to start broadcasting the event around the world. Telephones, data connections, ISDN connections had to be routed around the compoundwith trailers arriving by the minute and each wanting virtually immediate connectivity, while cabins and tents were still arriving onto the rest of the course and also requiring services.
Despite having some horrendous storms on the build up to the Championship and the problems this obviously produced with areas flooding, deadlines were met and services maintained over the four Championship days which eventually saw Padraig Harrington win his first major.
Following the Championship and the eight week build up to the 'four days' the whole site was cleared virtually within a week, with not much than a soggy ground having to be repaired to show such a massive event had taken place.
