Affini opens dedicated NOC to keep Heathrow Airport moving

Affini has opened a Network Operations Centre (NOC) at Heathrow, which includes a 24/7 monitoring, troubleshooting and maintenance service for radio networks at the UK?s busiest airport.

The NOC has been created to look after a collection of mission-critical communications networks which keep operations within Heathrow running smoothly, and draws on Affini?s specialist experience in the aviation sector. The NOC covers networks at 26 separate locations around the UK, including; 11 bus depots, the radio communications network on the new Elizabeth Line Crossrail link, two data centres and two separate telematics software platforms, used for tracking vehicles involved in airport operations.

A mixture of digital (DMR) and analogue radio technologies are in place at Heathrow, with equipment provided from a range of different manufacturers, so the capabilities within the NOC are similarly broad. In total, Affini is supporting around 11,000 devices and 180 separate customers across the UK & Ireland with this Network Operations Centre. The NOC is also being utilised to complete network administration tasks including system statistics reports, freeing up engineering resource to concentrate on mission-critical operations.

Whenever a network incident is identified Affini’s expert operatives categorise the issue over the phone, and this rapid decision making prevents smaller incidents from escalating into significant operational disruption. Should a critical incident occur, customers are updated throughout the lifespan of that incident, and provided with up to date progress reports until the issue is resolved.

Ian Carr, Chief Executive Officer at Affini, said: We’ve worked hard to build specialist aviation expertise at Affini, maximising our capabilities at delivering truly mission-critical communications networks. Heathrow, like any airport, incorporates a huge range of different security areas and communications networks, all of which need to work seamlessly together to keep the airport operating smoothly. By running a NOC from Heathrow, we can offer a truly end-to-end managed service.