96-Point Wi-Fi Install in a Large Manchester Retail Store

Sector: Retail

Service: Wi-Fi cabling, structured cabling, containment

Scale: 96 outlets, 4 rack positions, out of hours

A large retail store in Manchester needed a full Wi-Fi infrastructure install: 96 points across the building, all installed and tested without interrupting trading. A store this size cannot close for cabling work, so the entire job was done out of hours on night shifts.

Here is how we tackled the project...

The spec, and why it matters

Every one of the 96 points was a double Excel Cat6a outlet, running back to one of four different rack positions around the building. Cat6a was the right call here, not Cat6 and certainly not Cat5e. A retail store this size carries serious device density: tills, handheld scanners, stock systems, CCTV and a Wi-Fi network that has to hold up across a large floor area. Cat6a gives the headroom for 10G speeds and the bandwidth to cope as that demand grows. Putting in anything less would have meant ripping it out again in a few years.

Splitting the runs across four rack positions rather than hauling everything back to a single comms room keeps cable lengths sensible and the whole network easier to manage and fault-find later.

Containment done properly

Every outlet was installed on new steel containment, with secondary containment in PVC copex or conduit where it branched off to each point. This is the part that gets skipped on a rushed job, and it is the part that costs you later. Cable thrown in loose or zip-tied to whatever is handy sags, chafes and becomes impossible to work on. New steel basket with proper secondary containment means the install is tidy, protected and ready for anyone who has to touch it in future.

That standard of structured cabling is what the 25-year manufacturer warranty is built on. You do not get the warranty by accident. You get it by installing to spec.

Test, then connect

Once the 96 outlets were in, every single one was tested using Fluke verification before anything was connected to it. Testing is not the bit you do at the end if there is time. It is how you prove the install meets standard, and it is what stands behind the certification. Only once the points passed did we install the 96 access points and patch them into the existing network.

This is the difference between a job that works on handover and a job that quietly causes problems for months. Untested points are where the intermittent faults hide.

Working around the store, not through it

The whole install ran out of hours so the store kept trading by day. Two engineers worked five night shifts a week, using two single-man lifts to reach the high-level outlet and access point positions safely. Our team is IPAF and PASMA certified for exactly this kind of work at height, which matters in a large retail space with high ceilings and racking.

The full business Wi-Fi installation was completed in 13 weeks, with the store losing no trading time to the work. Take a look and see for yourself...

Stop letting cabling work cost you trading hours. Book a free site survey. 

If you are planning a Wi-Fi or cabling install in a live retail space, the question is not just what gets installed. It is how it gets installed without shutting your doors. The answer starts with a proper survey, on site, so the work is planned around your trading hours from the outset.

Viking Communications delivers out-of-hours Wi-Fi and structured cabling installs across the UK, backed by a 25-year manufacturer warranty on the structured cabling and a fully accredited, IPAF and PASMA certified team. Site surveys are free, with no hidden charges in the quote.

📞 0161 660 3002

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