Fortescue’s Japal X Block Expansion

Executive Summary

R-Group has deployed a number of successful remediation projects for Fortescue’s sites. These include Cloudbreak, Christmas Creek, Hamilton, Dally, Eliwana, and Japal.

As a leading mining company at the forefront of innovation and sustainability, Fortescue recognised that the services at their portable camp located at Japal Village weren’t in line with the quality of those of other Fortescue sites. As a result, it was determined that an upgrade on the existing services was needed along with a trustworthy provider that they could rely on for ongoing support and maintenance.

When the opportunity arose to remediate and upgrade the telecommunication system at Japal, Fortescue reached out to R-Group as their trusted Managed Services Provider. This was due to our reliable and flexible service, experience and knowledge in the industry, and providing the peace of mind that comes with being a licensed telecommunications carrier.

Business Objectives

  • Improve end-user/resident experiences.
  • Ensure all provided services align with Fortescue’s standards for Village entertainment.
  • To provide peace of mind for ongoing network support.

The Challenges

Previously, the portable camp at Japal (known as ‘X Block’) relied on a Master Antenna Television (MATV) network to deliver television services to camp residents. The Wi-Fi was delivered through a number of outdoor units scattered around the camp which resulted in a poor quality of service for internet traffic whilst users were mainly indoors.

The Solution

During this time, R-Group was providing communication and village entertainment services to the main Japal camp. This included television and Wi-Fi internet services to all accommodation blocks and common areas. Given this, Fortescue requested R-Group to extend the services to cover 100 rooms at the X Block Camp in order to bring these services in line with Fortescue’s network standards.

This included the deployment and installation of new cabling and the required infrastructure to deploy the solution.

As the benefit of being a managed service customer, Fortescue receives a 24/7 support window if required.

The Results

  • Increased reliability and performance of the network for residents at X Block.
  • Deployment of network monitoring to allow Fortescue to view the status of all equipment and services live.
  • Implementation of high-quality voice calling.
  • Scalability and flexibility options available to suit Fortescue’s future requirements.
  • Solution can support the reticulation of other IP-based systems including CCTV and access control systems.