Project: Communication solution to link Adelaide Zoo with Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary

Warrawong Wildlife Sanctuary in South Australia was established in 1969 by revegetating dairy land with native trees and shrubs to attract native animals and birds. The sanctuary, which contains 14 hectares enclosed by feral-proof fencing, is now home to 100 species of birds and many native mammals, most of which are nocturnal and highly endangered.

In June 2010, Royal Adelaide Zoological Society (Zoos SA) bought Warrawong in a joint venture with the local Ngarrindjeri people. At that time, Zoos SA’s only connection to the outside world was a low-speed, 256 kilobit-per-second service at a very high cost.

Zoos SA recognised it needed to link Warrawong with the communication systems at Adelaide Zoo. A rapid return on investment was important to Zoos SA as a not-for-profit conservation charity, said Tony Russo, Chief Financial Officer of Zoos SA. “The wonderful pricing support given to Zoos SA from MIMP has meant the payback period is achieved well within 12 months on a cost-benefit basis.”

MIMP Connecting Solutions installed four Aviat microwave devices to connect up the Zoos SA head office at Adelaide Zoo, on the Adelaide plain near the CBD, with Warrawong, south of Stirling, about 25 km from the CBD. One device is installed at each end of the link, with two more located at Mt Lofty, a geological high point on the Adelaide Hills face, which provides the central connection point.

MIMP designed and installed a high-capacity, licensed microwave link providing a low-cost, 32 megabit-per-second (Mbps), full-duplex connection between the sites with minimal ongoing costs. The Aviat microwave devices use less power than a 40-watt light bulb.

Because building a 35-metre mast was out of the question due to its environmental impact, MIMP used its own profiling software to plot a solution from Warrawong via the Mount Lofty Fire Tower to Adelaide Zoo in North Adelaide. The solution was based at ground level excluding vegetation.

MIMP General Manager Allan Aitchison said picking out a visual line of sight from Warrawong to Mt Lotfy was like finding a needle in a haystack. “Only one location on the site could provide a clear line of sight - from a well-matured heavy girth tree with minimal foliage,” he said.

As well as designing special mounts with outdoor cabling to conceal the microwave hardware within the canopy, the tree mount securing the equipment had to tolerate movement to ensure a successfully stable link.

MIMP also installed some equipment on a fire tower that had to be specially strengthened. MIMP designed new footing braces for each of the six legs on the Mt Lofty Fire Tower, which previously had been overloaded, despite earlier attempts to strengthen the tower.

The $70,000 connection - which was half-funded through sponsorship provided by MIMP - will pay for itself in just eight months by eliminating the need for zoo staff to travel between the two properties for meetings. The connection will also enable a business centre located at Warrawong to offer videoconferencing, making it a more attractive location for business events. The zoo is also using the wireless link for VoIP telephony, further driving down its operating costs.

The commercial cost to purchase a 32 Mbps service from a carrier would be more than $4500 per month; by contrast, the cost to run the new link is just $346 per month - less than 8% of the cost. The links are monitored 24/7 by the MIMPNOC (network operations centre) via a VPN (virtual private network) connection to a server that automatically notifies a technician within one minute, and the customer within 10 minutes, if a problem is identified. A technician can be on site within four hours if required.

“In terms of telephony, the system has allowed us to install handsets which are an extension of the Adelaide Zoo telephone system, effectively giving us free calls between sites. It has also allowed us to us to replace old cash registers with an online point-of-sale system in the Warrawong cafe, retail and admissions areas.”

MIMP has already bagged a NECA (National Electrical and Communications Association) award in SA for delivering a cost-effective, low-impact communication solution.