VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Spencer Building Carrier Hotel (SBCH) received a first-of-its-kind permit to build its own set of private entries (manholes) leading directly into the historic Spencer Building and Harbour Centre. While still in the design phase, the carrier hotel’s diverse entry project approval is a significant achievement for the company, as this type of public street permit — although common in other North American regions — is typically only reserved for utility providers in the city of Vancouver.

With two diverse private entries and access to over 20,000 connected fibers in the building, upon completion of the data center, Spencer Building Carrier Hotel (SBCH) customers will benefit from levels of robust diversity, redundancy, and capacity never before seen in the Vancouver area.

“This project is a huge win for us here at Spencer Building Carrier Hotel and our future customers,” said Chris Jones, director of data center infrastructure and operations at SBCH. “Our goal has always been to maintain our status of being the primary communications hub in Vancouver for western Canada, and these private entries allow us to be just that by providing ultimate control in communications access to the building without some of the common application and approval challenges our industry often sees in this region.”

This private connection also adds another layer of security. While typical public entry points are not unsafe — and Spencer Building will still plug into traditional entry points — having a private point allows for a highly secure and monitored access option, making it a more robust system overall. The company will have complete control over building access.

"Access and control aren’t the only benefits this project will bring," Jones said. "Our capacity will also be significantly increased not just when the building is complete but for another 20-plus years. Combine that with multiple connections to other telco infrastructure and manholes in the city and you have incredible ease of growth for our customers."