Chorus trials the latest in fibre laying technology

NEWS RELEASE: 26 January 2011

Chorus trials the latest in fibre laying technology

The latest in fibre laying technology has come to New Zealand, thanks to the trial network company Chorus is getting under way in Lower Hutt.

Over the first two weeks of February, Chorus will be testing a new trenching method in Kelson to determine the fastest, most effective and most convenient way of deploying fibre optic cables in residential areas.

As Telecom continues government negotiations on the Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) initiative, Chorus will be trialling mini and micro-trenching in a real world environment. This is part of a joint-project by the Ministry of Economic Development, Crown Fibre Holdings and Digital Auckland to define the standards for deploying infrastructure that will support the delivery of UFB.

With more than 26,000km of fibre already connected throughout the country, Chorus’ Deployment Project Manager, Bruce Davidson says the business is gearing up for a whole new level of deployment. “While we have the experience to lay more fibre to more places, we need to keep up with new technologies as New Zealand moves closer to a fibre world.”

A key part of the trial is the Marais-Lucas Cleanfast truck-mounted trenching system that has been especially brought into New Zealand for the first time. This will cut a narrow trench 500mm deep along several hundred metres of residential roads – 130mm wide for the mini-trench and approximately 70mm wide for the micro-trench.
Another system, the Sidecut RT80, will also be tested cutting two 50mm wide trench, 250mm deep into the footpath and another on the berm of the road corridor.

Both systems have been developed by French-Australian company Marais-Lucas, who have been working with Chorus to bring the equipment and technology here.

“These methods have been used in Europe over recent years and we want to find out if it will work well in our local environment,” said Davidson. “We also want to better understand our options in terms of ease and speed of deployment, as well as the likely costs involved. The results of the trial will help us make the right network technology choices in the future.”

Chorus is also working with service company Downer NZ to carry out all the civil works.

The primary concern for any trenching activity is that the cutting does not impact on existing underground infrastructure. To minimise this risk, Chorus will also test the latest ground penetrating radar equipment from IDS Technologies. This has been especially brought in from Italy and gives an accurate picture of underground cables or pipes, thereby reducing the risk of damage to other utility services during trenching.

With Chorus’ commitment to minimising the impact of network infrastructure on the local community, the company engaged residents along the streets where the trenching takes place to make sure that they are informed of activities and their concerns are addressed. This also includes working with the Hutt City Council to fulfil all community and road corridor requirements.

Chorus will lay fibre optic micro ducts within every trench and blow fibre through the duct to the boundary of approximately 12 homes. This will help enable these residents to connect to fibre should they choose to in the future.
Chorus is currently in discussions with service providers who may want to offer phone or internet services over the new fibre network once the trial is complete.

ENDS

© Scoop Media