Bournemouth wins bid to become UK Fibrecity

Wins bid to host ultra high-speed broadband network

Dinah Greek, Computeract!ve 07 May 2008

Bournemouth has been chosen by H2O Networks as the UK town to test its new fibre-optics system.

Beating bids put forward by Northampton and Dundee, which were also shortlisted as possible contenders, the town will host the largest Fibrecity project in Europe.

This will be able to provide both consumers and businesses with broadband connections that can reach speeds of up to 100 Mbits/sec. Welsh firm H2O will fund and provide the network at a cost of about £30m.

Most of the fibre will be put in the sewers using H2O Networks’ patented FS (Fibre Optical Cable Underground Sewer) system. Bournemouth Borough Council has already installed the high-speed fibre to its offices, the Bournemouth International Centre and the Pavilion Theatre.

Work on deploying the fibre, which will bring the ultra high-bandwidth connection to all homes and businesses in the town, will begin in the next six months.

Fibrecity deployments are said to be far kinder to the environment, quicker and less disruptive than traditional methods of fibre deployment. This is because sewers are used to house the fibres, eliminating the need to dig up roads.

Elfed Thomas, CEO of H2O Networks said: “This is just the start of bringing next-generation connectivity to the UK. We will be announcing more towns and cities that will benefit from Fibrecity over the coming months and plan to have a nationwide network deployed over the next few years.

“Many households and broadband customers in the UK have insufficient connectivity bandwidths because they are attached to legacy networks deployed in the 20th century that just can’t cope with demand. Our solution brings us right into the 21st century and beyond, with speeds in excess of 100Mbits/sec."

Where the sewers are not viable, H2O Networks will install the cable using its BMD (Blown Mini Duct) system. With this method, a small, 20mm-wide slot is channelled into the road in order to lay the cable. This is not a civil dig and will cause minimal disruption to the local area.

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