Ultrafast Fibre: home access network technology in North Isl

4th November 2011

Ultrafast Fibre Ltd to deploy Huawei’s ‘Fibre to the Home’ access network technology for Ultrafast Broadband Ltd in Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Wanganui

New Zealand, 4th November 2011 – Ultrafast Fibre Ltd (UFL), announced today that, following a robust selection process, it has signed an agreement with Huawei New Zealand to deploy Huawei’s leading edge ‘Fibre to the Home’ access network technology across a range of towns and cities in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Taranaki and Wanganui regions.

CEO for Ultrafast Fibre in NZ, Dr Julian Elder, says UFL, a special purpose entity created by WEL Networks to build the network for Ultrafast Broadband Ltd, is pleased to be working with Huawei on the deployment, and that they were impressed by the company’s professional approach and strong performance throughout the selection process.

“Huawei’s global experience in providing solutions for open access networks is matched by a solid understanding of the local area needs of New Zealand, including its proven track record in deploying national broadband fibre networks around the world. We know they will be the best partner for this work and their technical expertise on access networks will ultimately provide customers with leading edge access technologies.”

Areas that Ultrafast Broadband Ltd will cover with the UFB network include Hamilton, Tauranga, Tokoroa, New Plymouth, Hawera, Wanganui, Te Awamutu and Cambridge.

Dr Elder says Huawei’s network solutions will enable Ultrafast Broadband Ltd to provide retail service providers in these regions with all products for the rollout of Ultrafast Broadband in the region.

CEO of Huawei NZ, Arthur Zhang, says that they are proud to be working with UFL: “We are very happy to be partnering with the UFL team as we continue to develop our business in this country. This is a highly significant development for Huawei and the rollout of ultrafast broadband in New Zealand.”

Technical details
• Huawei will supply Ultrafast Ltd (UFL) with intelligent Layer 1 Optical Distribution Network (iODN) and proven Open Access Layer 2 network solutions.

• The access network will use leading edge access technologies including Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) across Huawei SmartAx MA5600T Optical Line Termination and Gigabit Point to Point Ethernet using Huawei Quidway S9300 Terabit routing Metro Ethernet platforms at central offices.

• Ultrafast Broadband Ltd’s access network will be aggregated by CX600 400G Enhanced Metro Ethernet switching system and managed end to end with Huawei unified Network Management System.

• Residential and business customers can subscribe to different retail service providers and will have optical network termination units in the premises connected to the UFB network offering services such as high-speed Internet, telephony and IPTV.

• Huawei’s UFB network will enable Ultrafast Broadband Ltd to provide Retail Service Providers all products specified by the UFB process.

• The Ultrafast Broadband Ltd network can be upgraded to higher speed 10G XPON technology in the future.

About Ultrafast Fibre Limited
Ultrafast Fibre Limited is a special purpose vehicle which was created by WEL Networks in the course of negotiations, with which to partner in the creation of a Local Fibre Company. WEL is the sixth largest electricity distribution company (by number of connections) in New Zealand. Its core business is the provision of electricity distribution services to the Waikato. The business has nearly 200 staff, a turnover of $96 million and a total asset value of $426 million. WEL Networks has one shareholder, the WEL Energy Trust, a community trust that represents the interests of the local community. WEL Networks originally formed a consortium with partners, Waipa Networks, Hamilton Fibre Network and Velocity Networks to bid for the Government's ultrafast broadband provision for the Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Taranaki regions, Waipa Networks is a shareholder in UFL. For more information, please visit: www.ultrafastbroadband.co.nz.

About Huawei
Huawei is a leading telecoms solutions provider serving 45 of the world’s top 50 telecom operators. In New Zealand, Huawei employs more than 70 staff and works with all major operators. Huawei’s products and solutions have been deployed in over 100 countries and support the communications needs of one third of the world’s population. For more information, please visit: www.huawei.co.nz.

ENDS

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