Telefonica chooses Telco Systems Metro Ethernet products for Argentina’s Tecnopolis Theme Park

Telco Systems says that its Ethernet demarcation and aggregation products were selected by Telefónica Argentina to create the telecommunications network for the Tecnópolis theme park which opened on July 15 in Villa Martelli, near Buenos Aires. The 124-acre (50 hectares) technology theme park is part of Argentina’s Tecnópolis Bicentennial Project for Science, Technology and Arts. Tecnópolis traces 200 years of history of science and technology in Argentina, and the project was launched in 2010 to commemorate the Bicentennial Year of the May Revolution of 1810.

The Argentinean government had Telefónica implement a technological infrastructure to maintain the many science, technology, and art exhibitions at the park. Tecnópolis is divided into 5 ‘continents’ – Earth, Water, Air, Fire and Imagination where visitors can see the Phoenix capsule in which the Chilean miners were rescued, visit a simulated nuclear power plant, journey into the depths of a dam, and learn about advances in nanotechnology, water purification, as well as space exploration. The network supports multicast video and music, Internet access, and video surveillance applications that serve the needs of the park operators and visitors.

According to Ing. Andres Omar Persello, Area de Administracion y Operacion de RED of Telefónica, “We chose the telecom equipment for the network carefully, knowing that it would be the technological heart of one of the most important government projects in Argentina. After evaluating solutions from several large equipment vendors, we chose Telco Systems to supply the demarcation and aggregation devices. We are using Telco Systems equipment in many of our networks and as such we knew that it would support the quad-play service requirement very well. As expected, Telco Systems' support in this project ensured that the turn-up went smoothly and professionally.”

Telefónica designed an internal ring of five miles (eight kilometers) of optical fiber with 35 nodes that cover more than 200 points within the park to offer high-speed IP services, using a single fiber-based infrastructure. The network supports voice, audio, video, and 3-Gbps cellular services through MoviStar, a major Spanish mobile phone operator owned by Telefónica Móviles. The infrastructure also provides broadband internet access throughout the park to over 3,000 users and video surveillance for park security and lighting control.

Itzik Weinstein, CEO of Telco Systems stated, "I believe Telefonica has succeeded in providing a high-end next generation telecommunications network, setting the bar for delivery of multiple services across a single fiber-based infrastructure in Argentina and throughout the region.”