@fibresystemsmag |
www.fibre-systems.com
NEWS TRENDS
Wide range of speakers lined up for ECOC sessions
OECD fibre uptake continues to accelerate
New data shows a fast increase in broadband adoption in OECD countries – with a particularly steep acceleration in the use of fibre. Figures released for the international
economic organisation of 34 countries, for the year to December 2012, show a steady trend increase in fibre adoption – with the share of fibre subscriptions in fixed broadband increasing to 14.9 per cent (up to 48.7 million fibre broadband lines). Fibre grew by 12.7 per cent in 2012, four times as much as fixed broadband at 3.27 per cent. Luxembourg (324 per cent), Austria
ICC London Excel
This month’s ECOC (European Conference on Optical
Communications) 2013 has plenty to attract delegates. The conference will be held on 22 to 26
September at the ICC London ExCeL, with an exhibition running from 23 to 25 September. The plenary speaker line-up is as follows:
l Fibre Broadband: beginning or end of the journey? Dr Tim Whitley, managing director for research and innovation, BT, UK; l The Controversial Challenges for Today’s Research Towards Next Generation Optical Networks; Dr Peter Stassar, technical director for optical research, Huawei Technologies, The Netherlands; l Intelligence Everywhere; Warren East,
former chief executive officer, ARM, UK; l The Energy Efficient Internet; Searching
for the Milli-Volt Switch; Professor Eli Yablonovitch, director of the NSF Center for
Energy Efficient Electronics Science, Berkeley, USA; and l European Research in Network Technologies: Horizon 2020 Perspective; Dr Bernard Barani, deputy head of unit at the European Commission’s Connect directorate, Belgium. Included in the ECOC conference
registration fee is attendance at the welcome reception. Guests will be greeted by Her Majesty’s Royal Guards, invited to sample a range of British cuisine classics including fish’n’chips, and offered a selection of traditional British ales and cheeses. Subscribers to Fibre Systems magazine
are entitled to member discounts, worth around £100, to the conference. The exhibition is free. For more information visit
www.ecoc2013.
org/
registration-prices.html l ECOC show preview: page 29
(193.9 per cent), United Kingdom (169.9 per cent) and Switzerland (149.6 per cent) had the strongest annual growth in fibre – while seven countries had growth rates above 100 per cent year-on-year, and 11 countries more than 50 per cent. Broadband providers are investing in
fibre networks as a means to differentiate themselves against their competitors, the report says. Japan and Korea still maintain a
strong OECD leadership in fibre broadband penetration, with more than 60 per cent of fixed broadband lines based on fibre technology. The fibre shares in Estonia, Sweden and the Slovak Republic are over 30 per cent. Switzerland (43.4 per cent),
Netherlands (39.7 per cent) and Denmark (38.8 per cent) top the OECD’s fixed broadband penetration ranking. The OECD’s average fixed broadband penetration is 26.3 lines per 100 inhabitants (327.2 million subscriptions).
Let UK independents take up slack, says report The committee chair, Anne
Independent fibre structure providers in the UK should be allowed to fill in gaps left by BT, says a government report. Rural businesses, schools
and households have fallen behind their urban counterparts when it comes to broadband
access, according to the Rural Communities report, published in August. The roll-out of superfast broadband to 90 per cent of rural areas will be delivered late, and it is unclear when the target of universal access to 2Mbps broadband will be achieved.
McIntosh MP, said: ‘To expedite the roll-out of superfast broadband the government must publish details showing precisely what areas will be covered by BT under the Rural Broadband Programme in order to allow
alternative providers to fill in the gaps.’ CityFibre, an independent
fibre infrastructure provider, said the content of the report was no surprise. Mark Collins, director of policy and regulation, said: ‘We welcome Anne McIntosh’s
support for alternative providers because they are the ones with the ability to deliver. The incumbent provider, BT, has under-performing networks and has failed to deliver in many urban areas – let alone the more challenging rural ones.’
Issue 1 • Autumn 2013 FIBRE SYSTEMS 5
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36