i3 Asia-Pacific partners with Brisbane City Council
Thursday, 08 July 2010
July 8, 2010: i3 Asia-Pacific, a subsidiary of
UK fibre optic specialists i3 Group, has today confirmed that it is
the company working with Brisbane City Council to lower the cost of
building a fibre to the home (FTTH) network in the Brisbane
area.
i3 Group has developed the patented FS System to allow it to use
existing ducts including the sewer networks to build low cost fibre
optic infrastructure. i3 Asia-Pacific recently completed a trial in
Brisbane which demonstrated to Brisbane City Council how much
faster next generation networks can be built using the Group's FS
System, and that this is a viable low cost alternative to
traditional methods of road digs.
Commenting on the trial, Elfed Thomas, CEO of i3 Group stressed
that the work being done with Brisbane City Council was
complementary, rather than in competition, to the work of the NBN.
Elfed Thomas said: "We applaud the Australian Government in taking
decisive action to bring next generation Internet access to its
citizens. Australia stands out as one of the few countries prepared
to take a lead in this area.
"Our work with Brisbane City Council is not designed to compete
with the NBN, but to complement it by ensuring that millions of
Australian citizens have access to next generation Internet
services through a cost effective and commercially viable fibre
optic network."
As a technology partner to companies and governments around the
world, i3 Group can help Brisbane, NBN and other partners to bring
affordable fibre-optic connectivity to homes and businesses across
Australia.
Elfed Thomas continues: "The cost advantage of using the waste
water system to deploy fibre cables versus using traditional
methods is very significant. Connecting fibre to the home by
traditional dig methods is benchmarked at around $2,000 to $3,000
per home in Australia, while in the UK, we have connected homes
using our sewer based technology for around GBP£350 and GBP£450
depending on geography and conditions.
"Our technology would represent a significant and cost
effective addition to the NBN toolkit."
By the end of 2012, the i3 Group will have connected almost one
million UK homes with broadband capable of supporting speeds of up
to 1Gbps on an open access wholesale basis. For business and
commercial customers speeds will be even faster. The i3 Group has
also successfully deployed the technology in seven other markets
across the world since its foundation in 2002.
About i3 Asia-Pacific
Together, i3 Asia-Pacific companies make building a fibre optic
infrastructure achievable and affordable: delivering unprecedented,
unlimited bandwidth to connect consumers, businesses and
governments with the next generation of Internet services.