July 12, 2004 Atlanta, GA/Brisbane, QLD--Wave7 Optics announced today that they, in conjunction with Delfcam, the network installer and operator, have won the contract to install a fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) network in the prestigious Sanctuary Cove residential development, on Australia's Gold Coast, 45 minutes from Brisbane. The two companies expect to connect more than 1,500 homes by the end of 2006. The initial phase, which has already begun, consists of 130 homes.
Sanctuary Cove, a Mulpha Australia Limited project, will be one of the first Australian developments of its kind to provide FTTP-based services and will use Wave7 Optics' Last Mile Link optical access technology to offer: digital video including local over-the-air, cable and satellite television channels, video-on-demand services, wi-fi hotspots, the highest-speed Internet service in the country, multiple telephone lines per residence, a community intercom and security system featuring closed-circuit television and gate access control, and home automation services.
Established in 1988, Sanctuary Cove is Australia's first fully integrated residential resort. Boasting more than 1700 homesites (approximately 50% developed), Sanctuary Cove's world class facilities include: two championship golf courses, rec club, private country club, 297-berth marina, marine village, featuring more than 80 specialty tenants and the five star Hyatt Regency Sanctuary Cove. Mulpha Australia purchased Sanctuary Cove in January 2002.
"We were impressed by the team of Delfcam, Wave7 Optics and Sanctuary Cove's consultants, RightICT, who were able to configure the network at an economical $1,950 AUD [approximately $1,500 US] per home," said Geoff Grady, chief executive officer, Sanctuary Cove. "Furthermore, the service capabilities of the Last Mile Link are simply stunning. One of the most attractive aspects of the Last Mile Link is the capability to provide an up to 500-Mbit/sec symmetrical service, which gives us 'future-proof' peace of mind. We feel the Last Mile Link will make the finest development in Australia that much more attractive."
"We are pleased to announce our first customer in Australia and look forward to working with our Australian partners on this project and working on other projects in Australia and New Zealand," said Emmanuel Vella, chief marketing officer of Wave7 Optics. "The Last Mile Link is well-suited for this type of deployment as it has a low 'first cost' of deployment, integrates well with legacy systems and offers easy scalability to accommodate future subscribers."
For instance, in this case, RightICT (independent information, communications and technology advisors and engineers) had to design an integrated network that not only delivered television, high speed Ethernet and voice services to the new homes in the community, but one that could also supplement the community television system in the existing homes to deliver high speed Internet and voice services.
"After evaluation multiple proposals, we chose Wave 7 Optics as the most flexible and cost effective solution," said Chris McKechie of RightICT. "The Last Mile Link is flexible in its gateways and architecture, allowing us to design solutions to fit our client's requirements. The capabilities of this single-fiber system to deliver carrier grade voice services, 100-Mbit/sec high speed data to each home and full spectrum cable television mean that there is no requirement to have twisted pair or any other carrier infrastructure to the homes. This technology provides future proofing for the community, which must be available as demand grows for communications services and new applications."