What is a Demarc Extension
The demarcation point in the building is the location at which the telecommunications service provider delivers their services. Federal laws mandate that the demarc is where the service provider ends their service and building or tenant services begin. The demarc is typically located in a basement or ground-level telecommunications closet.
When tenants require new services, or upgrades to existing ones, a technician must install or activate wiring that runs from the demarc to the tenant’s network room. From there, the service is extended to the end user equipment. The responsibility for telecommunications services, upgrades, and maintenance lies with either building management or the tenants from the demarc to the end user equipment.
The telecommunications infrastructure from the demarc to the end user often includes dedicated closets on each floor, conduits, cables, wiring, and other equipment. There are thousands of circuits delivered weekly to organizations across the country, with each circuit requiring a demarc extension.
Without a properly maintained and documented demarc space, there is a high risk of negative impact to the delivery, performance, and maintenance of critical telecommunications circuits, as well as the tenant’s access to the Internet and their cloud based enterprise solutions.
Securing and Maintaining Your Demarc Space
The demarc point is the backbone of your building’s communications infrastructure, so it is important to ensure that you are doing everything in your power to secure and maintain it.
- Restrict access to your demarcation point. This means housing all critical infrastructure in a dedicated and secured telecommunications closet or closed space.
- Require tenants to schedule an approved contractor to do any work within your demarc space.
- Make a record of every technician and all personnel who access or work on your buildings demarc and telecom spaces.
- Accompany all contractors doing work when new services are ordered by your tenants.
- Document and verify all work that is completed. Maintain accurate documentation on all communications infrastructure, including any Moves, Adds, and Changes (MACs) of completed work in your riser spaces.
Your demarcation point houses the most important equipment keeping your building connectivity up and running. When your tenant’s network goes down, it can potentially mean thousands of dollars in lost revenue.
If you and your team are unable to develop the processes and methodology to maintain your demarc and telecom spaces, consider working with a riser management partner who can ensure that your building’s telecommunications infrastructure is actively protected, documented, and maintained.
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