UK access network infrastructure provider, Openreach has selected a key partner to provide optical cable solutions for its new full fibre broadband network.
The move follows the provider’s announcement - after Ofcom’s Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review - that it plans to build FTTP connections to 20 million homes and offices by the mid-to-late-2020s.
Openreach has chosen STL to deliver millions of kilometres of optical fibre cable to support the build over the next three years. This collaboration with Openreach strengthens a 14-year-old technology and supply relationship between the two companies.
The chosen technology is STL’s Opticonn solution, a set of fibre, cable and interconnect offerings that are designed to drive performance improvements. Openreach will also have access to the Celesta a high-density fibre cable with a capacity of up to 6,912 fibres. Its slim design allows 2,000m of cable to be installed in under an hour and will also help minimise the use of plastic across the network.
Kevin Murphy, MD for fibre and network delivery at Openreach, explained: ‘Our full fibre network build is going faster than ever. We need partners like STL on board to not only help sustain that momentum, but also to provide the skills and innovation to help us go even further. We know the network we’re building can deliver a host of social and economic benefits – from boosting UK productivity to enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips – but we’re also trying to make this one of the greenest network builds in the world.’
Ankit Agarwal, CEO connectivity solutions business at STL, said: ‘We are extremely excited to join hands with Openreach as a key optical solutions partner to build full fibre broadband networks for millions in the UK. This partnership will be a major step towards our mission of transforming billions of lives through digital networks.'
