Business

Data traffic on metropolitan (metro) access and aggregation networks is set to increase by 560 per cent by 2017, driven by demand for video and the proliferation of data centres, according to a study.

Eircom has announced an increase to its planned national fibre footprint from 1.2 million homes and businesses to 1.4 million homes and businesses across Ireland.

The plans mean that, by July 2016, 70 per cent of the country is scheduled to have access to fibre broadband speeds of up to 100Mbs.

The company says its fibre programme is ahead of schedule and is on track to pass 700,000 premises by the end of the year. Today’s announcement means that an 562 additional communities across the country will be able to connect to Eircom’s eFibre service.

Australian campaigners have delivered a 270,000-strong petition to the country's government, highlighting demands for a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network rather than the proposed fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) solution.

The petition, posted on the Change.org website, is thought to be the biggest online petition ever filed in Australia.

The petition, organised by Nick Paine, states: 'As currently proposed, the Coalition’s FTTN solution relies on the existing copper lines to supply individual premises access to the National Broadband Network (NBN) over the last mile or so.

ICT solutions provider Huawei and telecommunications operator Turk Telekom have announced the successful trial of a 2T WDM system on the Turkish company's live network.

Prysmian Group, a major player in the energy, telecom cables and systems industry, has signed a technical cooperation agreement with Rosseti, Russia's largest power grid company, to develop power transmission and distribution technology in Russia.
 
The agreement, signed by Valerio Battista, Prysmian Group CEO, and Oleg Budargin, Rosseti CEO, determines development prospects regarding the exchange of information in order to analyse and develop solutions for power transmission systems with voltages of up to 500 kV.

Fibre broadband connections are bringing real business advantages to Cornwall, which is fast becoming one of the best-connected areas of the UK despite its relative geographical isolation.

The county's fibre broadband network has now reached 206,000 homes and businesses – 82 per cent of the population – making it one of the best connected areas in Britain and the best connected rural region in Europe.

Transmode has announced that it has added three partners to increase its routes to market and expand its strong UK business.

The partner companies – Horsebridge Network Systems, MMX Communications Services and Xantaro UK – have all been specifically chosen to add knowledge and expertise in the UK market, and specifically in the vertical markets of government services, defence, healthcare and public utilities.

CityFibre, an independent UK provider of fibre infrastructure, has announced a strategic partnership with its long-standing wholesale partner, Ask4, a specialist provider of managed telecommunication services.

TE Connectivity has opened offices in Lagos, Nigeria and Nairobi, Kenya for its broadband business in east and west Africa. This new office allows the company to be closer and more responsive to customer requirements in the emerging African markets.

The new office will be led by Chuks Ofor, former general manager and executive director for east Africa at Vodacom Business, a Vodafone company. Ofor brings with him a background in engineering and more than 10 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry.  

Hawaiki Cable – the New Zealand owner and developer of Hawaiki submarine cable system – has agreed to land its proposed 14,000 km trans-Pacific cable in Oregon, USA.

The company has signed contracts with US providers Tillamook Lightwave and CoastCom for key infrastructure and connectivity, including a cable landing station, terrestrial infrastructure, and a fibre backhaul network that will connect the cable landing station to the city of Hillsboro, near Portland.