The project was
commissioned by one of the world’s leading coal mining companies.
The company had several reasons for initiating the project. Most notably, its branches lacked a unified approach to wireless network authentication and authorization. The absence of a standardized architecture caused connection issues for employees moving between different facilities.
At the headquarters, additional access points had been installed without proper radio surveys or planning, and external devices—posing potential information security risks—were also in use. These factors disrupted the radio frequency environment and degraded overall coverage quality.
Over the past five years, the office spaces had undergone multiple renovations, during which some access points were hidden behind suspended ceilings, further impacting signal propagation.
Additionally, the existing equipment was nearing the end of its service life, and the manufacturer had discontinued support in Russia, making future network development impossible.
Key Challenges
- Developing and implementing a modernization concept for a unified wireless network with standardized group policies.
- Preparing budget estimates for upgrading the wireless infrastructure across regional divisions.
- Conducting a pre-project infrastructure survey at the client’s headquarters, including radio reconnaissance, predictive radio modeling, and an assessment of current network coverage.
- Installing and commissioning the upgraded network solution at the client's headquarters.
- Migrating users to the upgraded network.
- Integrating the upgraded infrastructure with the company’s SIEM system and Zabbix-based monitoring platform.
Implemented our solution
- To evaluate the situation at industrial and office sites, we designed a simple, user-friendly questionnaire for field engineers.
This enabled us to quickly collect accurate, structured data on the wireless network status at regional locations and helped estimate modernization budgets based on technical requirements. All submitted data was verified by technical experts and used to prepare equipment specifications and project documentation.
At the company’s headquarters in Moscow, we performed a comprehensive radio survey covering over 55,000 square meters. Due to high daytime occupancy in areas like meeting rooms, survey work was carried out mainly in the evenings and at night. The team used the Ekahau SideKick tool—designed for surveying, verifying, optimizing, and troubleshooting wireless networks—which ensured highly accurate results.
Based on the survey and modeling, we produced three detailed reports: one showing the initial state of coverage, one with predicted coverage based on the new design, and a final report confirming the results after implementation.
The survey also revealed configuration discrepancies between different controller clusters, including differences in SSID settings, authentication protocols, and radio channel parameters. ICL Services specialists compiled a comparison table and provided recommendations for standardizing these configurations across the network.
When developing the modernization plan, we accounted for the geographic distribution of the company's facilities and potential latency between critical network components. We assessed several options for infrastructure design using new equipment and created configuration templates for controllers and related services such as DHCP, DNS, NTP, AAA, RADIUS, monitoring systems, and configuration backups.
Our final specification reduced the total cost of the solution proposed by ICL Services by approximately 30%, without compromising quality or functionality. The modernization concept and business case were approved by the client’s leadership.
Special attention was given to complex areas with designer ceilings, unconventional layouts, or cabling restrictions. For these locations, we developed separate technical documentation to ensure proper installation that met regulatory standards and preserved interior aesthetics. In several cases, follow-up site visits were conducted to refine installation plans.
Following the design phase, equipment was delivered in line with the construction and installation schedule. The next phase will involve launching the new network with controllers and completing the commissioning activities.
Results
- Now, up to 7,000 employees at the headquarters can simultaneously access the wireless network.
- The upgraded infrastructure ensures stable, high-performance connectivity, with latency between key components not exceeding 100 ms.
- Users have reported no network quality issues, and the workload for the technical support team has decreased.
- Follow-up radio surveys confirmed that areas with signal levels below the defined standard account for less than 0.1% of the total coverage area. Even in these zones, users can still access the internet without interruption.