The Problem Of Unused Cabling

Makarand writes "Technological advances constantly render functional cable obsolete by demanding data transfers at higher rates which older cabling cannot support. New cables that support higher data rates are laid right over older wires. The old wires are simply left in place and abandoned. This interesting article talks about the problems caused by abandoned cabling. According to an estimate several billion feet of abandoned cable lies unused in the plenum spaces of buildings that allow air to circulate creating a fire hazard. Also, very few firms currently worry about removing cabling when they move out of a building."

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[Biolo]

Bob Maderious will never forget the lease he brokered for property advertised as "plug and play" - only to find that it wasn't.

His client had been thrilled that state-of-the-art wires and cables left behind by the former tenant would allow the new company to move in, plug in and go to work. Thrilled, that is, until moving day when the company discovered the previous tenant had cut the cables.

"Cut it and left it," said Maderious, a broker with Grubb & Ellis. "I said, 'Hey, what's the deal with this?' (A broker) told me that the tech companies do that. They believe it's their investment in the space; why should a potential competitor get it for free?

"The lease documentation had not caught up with practice."

It still hasn't, but more brokers, landlords and property managers are catching on. Part of the reason is a change in the 2002 National Electric Code that requires the removal of abandoned cabling. The new code is not due to become effective in California until 2005 - unless this week's edict by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to suspend state regulations renders the code unenforceable. Literally, millions of miles of unused cable lurk in the nation's buildings.

The situation has been exacerbated during the past decade by technological advances that render functional cable obsolete. Not only are there cables for telephones, computers and faxes, but every few years cables are manufactured that transmit data at higher speeds and business wants data as fast as it can get it so new cables are laid over the old wires.

It is estimated that 60 billion feet of cable have been abandoned in the plenum spaces that allow air circulation through a building, creating a fire hazard. Older cable could be particularly toxic in a fire.

"Year after year, people come in with new technology and don't bother to remove the old cable. It's out of sight out of mind." said Brian Turpen, president of All Systems, a San Ramon company founded in 1990 that installs and removes cable infrastructure. "I've seen ceiling tiles bending under the weight of old cable. There's so much congestion. It's become a problem with cabling falling out of the ceiling onto people's heads."

Jay Miller, construction manager for Equity Office Properties, the largest publicly traded building owner in the country with more than 700 buildings and 124 million square feet of space, said he has witnessed what happens when high-tech companies move out of their space - it's not a pretty sight. Two major tenants, Automatic Data Processing Inc., which left ADP Plaza in San Ramon for Bishop Ranch, and PeopleSoft Inc., which moved into its own buildings in Pleasanton, are prime examples.

"Here you had two companies instrumental in development of the properties and at one point were part owners of their buildings. The leases we had were not as strict as they ordinarily would be," Miller said. "In each of those cases, the companies had server rooms and phone closets scattered throughout the building, with miles of telephone and data cable that was left in place."

Miller noted that PeopleSoft spent 10 years in their buildings. As the company grew, so did their cable infrastructure. "Now we're faced with the prospect of having to remove it," he said.

As in most leases, Equity's contracts contain clauses requiring tenants to return the property to its original state once they leave, but that can be a tough clause to enforce, Miller noted. Buildings change hands, tenants move in, expand, go bankrupt and move out; meanwhile the cables continue to multiply.

The problem of removing cable is twofold: It is not an easy job, especially if it requires finding and removing cables that run from, say, the 38th floor to the basement; Also, there is the question of who pays for the removal - the tenant who installed it and left five years ago, the new tenant just moving in or the building's owner?

"When a tenant moves into second-generation space, they get a tenant improvement allowance. They