BA puts faith in IP at Terminal 5

British Airways (BA) is in the final testing phase of its sophisticated IP network in Heathrow's new Terminal 5 (T5), ahead of its opening on 27 March.

The Fast Ethernet Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) - installed by communications partner Affiniti over an 18-month period - will carry data for most of BA's T5 business systems.

Speaking to silicon.com, Phil Hawker, communications networks manager for BA said: "We're live and we're up and running. Technically, we could open it tomorrow."

The systems running on the network include passenger check-in, ticketing and departure control information, along with crew scheduling and other back-office systems.

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Among other things, the network also supports T5's telephone system along with BA's IPTV service which is based in the airline's Waterside HQ nearby.

There are around 7,000 network ports supporting the 5,000 BA staff who will use the systems across T5 main building and its satellite, T5B.

The testing involved up to 3,000 volunteers at a time passing through the check-in process including the bag drop and boarding procedures.

BA will eventually move its entire Heathrow operation to T5 from its Compass Centre and Terminals 1 and 2 - meaning the T5 network will be critical for the airline's business.

Hawker said all the tech has already been intensively tested in other parts of the airport. "A lot of it has been tested in existing buildings but T5 is the place where it all comes together," he explained.

Performance of the network's fibre links - capable of 10Gbps - has exceeded all guidelines that had been set out and Hawker said: "We've obviously upped the spec. We've absolutely thrown capacity at the building."

Hawker explained the building has been designed from the outset to make the most of the IP network. "Retro-fitting stuff after it's opened is much more disruptive."