Openreach signs Prysmian to three-year fiber-optic cable provisioning agreement
Prysmian Group says that it has signed a new three-year contract to provide fiber-optic cable to Openreach, BT’s access infrastructure independent subsidiary. The cable provider says it also recently conducted a demonstration of a blown-fiber technology with Openreach.
Openreach appears to be locking down its fiber-optic cabling supply in the midst of a worldwide increase in demand for fiber cable and other technologies driven by government broadband investment programs. Other major operators around the globe have done the same thing (see, for example, "AT&T locks down fiber supply from Corning"). With BT having confirmed that it expects Openreach to reach 25 million UK premises, the networking subsidiary will need a steady supply of infrastructure components.
“Building a new broadband network across the UK is a hugely complex, nationwide engineering project – second only to HS2 in terms of investment. It will help level-up the UK because the impact of Full Fibre broadband stretches from increased economic prosperity and international competitiveness to higher employment and environmental benefits by enabling more home working and fewer commuting trips,” commented Matthew Hemmings, managing director for Fibre and Network Delivery at Openreach. “We place huge importance in our partner network and seek long-term and strategic collaborations. Prysmian is a great example of this, and this sustained partnership means we can benefit from its teams’ skills and innovation to help us build Full Fibre even further.”
“Prysmian has been a partner with Openreach for over 50 years. This latest contract reflects the positive impact our working relationship has had on the UK’s digital networks infrastructure,” comments Marcello Del Brenna, CEO of Prysmian Group UK. “The extension of our working relationship comes at a time where Prysmian is investing in telecommunications innovation to ensure our digital network partners have the cutting-edge solutions. We have also taken great steps forward with our sustainability effort, eliminating paper inclusions from our products and replacing them with digital solutions.”
Meanwhile, the two companies have collaborated on a live trial Prysmian’s Karona double overblow installation technique. The Karona approach enables the installation of high-density fiber-optic cable into sub-ducted routes that already contain legacy cable. The trial, which took place at Stonehaven in Scotland, used Sirocco HD 144-fiber cable with 5.0-mm diameter. The trial saw 600 m of cable overblown in less than 4 hours, thus increasing the capacity of the route to 432 fibers, according to Prysmian. This installation technique was repeated at Bury St Edmunds, where a route of 730 m was overblown in less than 4 hours, the company adds.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.