Ericsson selected by Northpower to deliver GPON Ultra-Fast Broadband connectivity to Whangarei –
•Ericsson to supply the Gigabit Passive Optical Networking - GPON - technology component to the Northpower Fibre
Ultra-Fast Broadband network in Whangarei.
•GPON ‘lights the last mile’ by translating data into flashes of light for ultra-fast transmission along optical fibre.
•GPON is the main broadband access technology selected for the UFB which enables an optic fibre cable network to deliver
data rich transmissions, such as interactive TV, real time video communications and professional services.
Ericsson New Zealand has today signed an agreement with Northpower to supply the Gigabit Passive Optical Networking
(GPON) technology component to the Northpower Fibre Ultra-Fast Broadband network in Whangarei.
The Northpower Fibre network will be one of the first, commercially available, GPON-enabled, active networks developed
under the Government’s UFB initiative. This deal contributes to the New Zealand Government’s ambition to deliver a
Nationwide UFB network to three-quarters of the population by 2019 so that New Zealanders can experience vastly improved
speeds than they typically do today.
GPON technology is specifically designed for fibre connectivity. It connects across the optical fibres that reach from
the exchange to the user premises (in the first instance businesses, schools and hospitals) to enable high speed access
to the Internet.
GPON enables data transmission at extremely fast broadband speeds, which can then support a wide range of data rich
applications and services. This could be healthcare and education services through interactive TV, real time business
communications through video and other data rich professional services.
“Northpower is the overall contractor to Northpower Fibre and is responsible for delivering this Ultra-Fast Broadband
network design and build in Whangarei,” said Northpower General Manager Network Graham Dawson. “With this in mind,
Northpower has selected Ericsson for the provisioning of the GPON component of the layer 2 services as we see this as
the most effective solution for meeting Northpower Fibre’s contractual obligations with our Government to complete this
network by June 2014. Northpower values the expertise that Ericsson brings to this partnership and we believe Ericsson’s
technology offering is the best fit for powering the GPON aspects of the network electronics”.
“We chose to work with Ericsson based on its lengthy and successful New Zealand experience and its strong global
reputation. We were impressed with the performance of Ericsson staff and technology during the laboratory testing phase
of the contract process and this added further weight to our final choice,” said Mr Dawson.
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“Ericsson has operated in New Zealand for over 100 years. This deep history combined with our global market position,
means a proven, trusted, safe and innovative ally when it comes to understanding and delivering new services to the New
Zealand marketplace,” Ericsson NZ Country Manager Alfred Ling said.
“We are proud to put Ericsson’s globally proven GPON technology to work for Northpower Fibre and its customers so they
can benefit from faster download speeds,” said Mr Ling.
Ericsson’s GPON solution will enable Northpower Fibre to build a network, along with other components, that is able to
deliver data many times faster than the initial starting speeds. The network will be deployed to deliver the UFB-defined
initial speeds of 100mbps (downstream) and 50Mbps (upstream) to end users. Importantly, the network has the technology
to easily increase capacity and data speed as demand grows.
GPON technology is specifically designed for fibre connectivity. It connects across the optical fibres that reach from
the exchange to the user premises (in the first instance businesses, schools and hospitals) to enable high-speed access
to the Internet. GPON enables data transmission at extremely fast broadband speeds, which can then support a wide range
of data rich applications and services. This could be healthcare and education services through interactive TV, real
time business communications through video and other data rich professional services
Ericsson has substantial experience completing large GPON and fibre projects around the world in regions including North
America, China, Brazil, India, the Middle East, North America and Sweden.
Ericsson Deep Fiber Access is a complete end-to-end solution of passive fiber, outside plant components and active
equipment along with a comprehensive service offering. The EDA broadband access equipment portfolio provides simple,
smart and scalable solutions for high-speed, multimedia rich, next generation IP-based networks. The world's leading
operators have selected Ericsson's innovative Deep Fiber Access deploying the EDA GPON, EDA P2P, EDA WDM PON and EDA DSL
solutions in more than 160 FTTX and 110 copper-based networks around the globe.
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