Fibrespeed Powers Ahead

By Author: Gerry Grewal
Total Articles: 16
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The FibreSpeed optical fibre network that Geo is project managing and constructing for the Welsh Assembly Government has just passed some key milestones, says FibreSpeed's Project Director Mike Johnston.

The project has reached a significant landmark with 100km of the network built, and the final part of the build now underway, he says.

Mike Johnston says that FibreSpeed Ltd, the company set up to operate the network, is continuing to apply for planning permission to establish points of presence (POPs) at key nodes on the network. The first of these has just been granted at Victoria Dock in Caernarfon, where construction will take place over the next few months.

We're also busy overcoming all the unforeseen issues that inevitably crop up in a major cable laying project, he adds. There was initial concern that the cable's route ran near to a habitat for the endangered great crested newt. The FibreSpeed team was required to ensure that there were no newts in the area before the build could continue, which we managed successfully.

With the job of productising and ...
... commercialising the network to make it attractive to service providers well underway, the task now, says Mike Johnston, is to continue engaging with service providers looking to serve the region, so that they in turn can work on their proposition for customers.

At its current fast rate of progress, FibreSpeed build is on track to be completed by the end of 2008 with the whole network operational in 2009.

True innovation

The FibreSpeed project is a truly innovative collaboration between the private and public sectors to develop world class communications services in North Wales and help drive the local economy well into the 21st century.

Financing for the project has been provided jointly from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Welsh Assembly Government and Geo.

It will provide an optical fibre network serving North Wales, linking back into Manchester and delivering modern broadband communications as part of meeting the Welsh Assembly Government's economic objectives for the region.

By offering wholesale products to service providers, FibreSpeed is enabling them to bring retail services to the community. Service providers will be offering their solutions to businesses and consumers so that they can benefit from the broadband connectivity that most of the rest of the UK's population has enjoyed for years. This investment will be transforming for the local economy.

Geo was chosen for its expertise and experience in building optical fibre infrastructure on an open access basis, thus delivering maximum value well into the future.

Good news for service providers

As an open access network, FibreSpeed is available on a wholesale basis to service providers, and not direct to end user businesses. The idea is for service providers of all sorts to expand their business into North Wales and to generate a competitive communications environment in the region.

To achieve this, FibreSpeed's network will initially link 12 strategic business parks in North Wales, with two more being developed in line with Government's development plan, potentially expanding to incorporate around 50 locations across Wales by 2010.

When completed, it will equip Wales with a robust telecommunications infrastructure capable of supporting some ambitious objectives.

To ensure a low cost of connectivity, the wholesale price of FibreSpeed capacity is being benchmarked against prices in the most competitive regions of the UK. FibreSpeed is thus able to ensure that the market for services in North Wales will be competitive.

Service providers can take advantage of FibreSpeed to offer their standard services in North Wales. They will be able in fact to treat FibreSpeed as an extension of their own network. There will be no constraints on what services can be provided, as the service provider will not be competing in any way with FibreSpeed itself.

Any service providers wishing to find out more about FibreSpeed should contact enquiries@fibrespeed.co.uk.