TIA/EIA Recommendations for Telecommunications Rooms

The TIA/EIA does not distinguish between the roles of telecommunications rooms for its published standards. The following is a summary of the minimum standards for a telecommunications wiring room per the ANSI/TIA-569-B Commercial Building Telecommunications Pathways and Spaces Standard:

• The telecommunications room must be dedicated to telecommunications functions.
• Equipment not related to telecommunications shall not be installed in or enter the telecommunications room.
• Multiple rooms on the same floor shall be interconnected by a minimum of one 78(3) (3″ or 78mm opening) trade-size conduit or equivalent pathway.
• The telecommunications room must support a minimum floor loading of 2.4 kilopascals (50 lbf/ft²).

The equipment room is used to contain the main distribution frame (the main location for backbone cabling), phone systems, power protection, uninterruptible power supplies, LAN equipment (such as bridges, routers, switches, and hubs), and any file servers and data processing equipment. TIA-569-B recommends a minimum of 0.75 square feet of floor space in the equipment room for every 100 square feet of user workstation area. You can also estimate the requirements for square footage using Table 1, which shows estimated equipment-room square footage based on the number of workstations.

Table 1: Estimated Square Foot Requirements Based on the Number of Workstations 

Number of Workstations	Estimated Equipment Room Floor Space
1 to 100	150 square feet
101 to 400	400 square feet
401 to 800	800 square feet
801 to 1,200	1,200 square feet

Note

The floor space required in any equipment room will be dictated by the amount of equipment that must be housed there. Use Table 1 for a base calculation, but don't forget to take into account equipment that may be in this room, such as LAN racks, phone switches, and power supplies.

Here are some additional requirements:

• There shall be a minimum of two dedicated 120V 20A nominal, nonswitched, AC duplex electrical-outlet receptacles, each on separate branch circuits.
• Additional convenience duplex outlets shall be placed at 1.8 meter (6′) intervals around the perimeter, 150mm (6″) above the floor.
• There shall be access to the telecommunications grounding system, as specified by ANSI/TIA-607-B.
• HVAC requirements to maintain a temperature the same as the adjacent office area shall be met. A positive pressure shall be maintained with a minimum of one air change per hour or per code.
• There shall be a minimum of one room per floor to house telecommunications equipment/cable terminations and associated cross-connect cable and wire.
• The telecommunications room shall be located near the center of the area being served.
• Horizontal pathways shall terminate in the telecommunications room on the same floor as the area served.
• The telecommunications room shall accommodate seismic requirements.
• Two walls should have 20mm (¾″) A-C plywood 2.44m (8′) high.
• Lighting shall be a minimum of 500 lx (50 footcandles) and mounted 2.6m (8.5′) above the floor.
• False ceilings shall not be provided.
• There shall be a minimum door size of 910mm (36″) wide and 2,000mm (80″) high without sill, hinged to open outward or slide side-to-side or be removable, and it shall be fitted with a lock.

Although these items are suggestions, we recommend that you strive to fulfill as many of these requirements as possible. If your budget only allows for a few of these suggestions, grounding, separate power, and the ventilation and cooling requirements should be at the top of your list.