Ericsson customer Vector Communications won the 2007 Next Generation Fibre-Optic Network Innovation Award from the Telecommunications Users Associate of New Zealand (TUANZ) for its North Shore Education Access Loop (NEAL).
Vector Communications, in conjunction with the North Shore City Council (NSCC), built the NEAL Network to provide a 1Gb open access network connecting up 43 local schools and connecting NSCC buildings in the area. Ericsson, a world leading supplier of fixed and mobile broadband networks, provided cable design consultancy services and delivery of around 38km of optical fibre cables and unique ducting systems for the network.
Vector Communications, in partnership with Ericsson New Zealand, designed a solution that allowed the fibre optics network to be more easily and cost-effectively deployed than other fibre solutions under consideration. In a further achievement, the network was built under budget and in less than six months.
The first school, Albany Primary as connected on the 26th April 2007. To date, 38 of the 43 schools have signed up to the NEAL network enabling them to collaborate and share information, ideas and systems. The schools now have the potential to connect to other regional, national and global education and learning initiatives, including all 43 schools partricipating in a virtual tour of NASA at the same time.
Steve Inglis, Managing Director for Ericsson New Zealand said, "Ericsson is really excited to see the positive impact this fibre network is having, 'True broadband' is completely changing the way more than 26,000 North Shore students are learning and connecting with other students."
In designing and building the network, Ericsson and Vector Communications established a new paradigm for working collaboratively towards providing next generation broadband networks to schools, businesses and the local community.
Vector Communications used Ericsson's "Air blown fibre" technique, where tiny optical fibres are blown by compressed air through small ducts using Ericsson Micronet™ and Ribbonet™ systems. The technology is used in ultra-fast broadband "Fibre to the Home" (FTTH) / "Fibre to the Node" (FTTN) networks around the world, and provides operators considerable cost-savings in comparison to deploying traditional fibre-optic cable systems.
The TUANZ Innovation Awards recognise excellence in information and communications technology in New Zealand. For more information on the awards, please see
https://www.tuanz.org.nz
Ericsson is shaping the future of Mobile and Broadband Internet communications through its continuous technology leadership. Providing innovative solutions in more than 140 countries, Ericsson is helping to create the most powerful communication companies in the world.
Read more at http://www.ericsson.co.nz
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
Ericsson Communications Limited
Tom Clancy
External Relations Manager
Phone: +64 21 228 2302
Vector Limited
Philippa White
External Communications Manager
Phone: +64 9 978 7638
Globally, broadband already reaches more than 200 million subscribers, with a projected doubling of subscriptions to 400 million by 2009. In 2007, Ericsson predicts that the number of Broadband users in New Zealand will exceed the number of dial-up users.
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About Full Service Broadband
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Fibre Access is part of Ericsson's suite of Full Service Broadband offerings. The portfolio encompasses leading solutions for fixed and mobile broadband, transport, core networks and IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), along with solutions for efficient network evolution to all-IP operation - from access to core. These infrastructure solutions are backed by the world's largest telecom services operation, which enables Ericsson to support operators as a strategic partner and prime integrator in business and technology evolution.
Full Service Broadband means broadband services to a screen of your choice - any service, any screen, anywhere, with maximum convenience.
