Draka software interface simplifies FTTH network engineering

JUNE 3, 2010 -- Optical fiber and cabling provider Draka Communications has unveiled a new software interface that links network operator administration systems with Draka’s FTTH network implementation suite, DrakaXSNet. The new DrakaXSNet Interface Module (IM) is designed to seamlessly connect the customer and billing systems of network telecoms providers to improve the efficiency and accuracy of FTTH registration and identification.

Draka says that DrakaXSNet was instrumental in the successful deployment of CityNet, the largest FTTH infrastructure in The Netherlands with currently 40,000 customer connections. The same automation benefits are now being made available to smaller broadband networks, many of which are local government driven or community projects demanding cost-effective deployment, Draka explains.

Recently, this enhanced design and planning software helped streamline the deployment of the new FTTH network of Berkel and Rodenrijs, a Dutch town with a population of 23,000 covering an area of 18.91 square km (7.3 square miles) of which 0.29 square km (0.11 square miles) consists of canals and waterways, according to the company.

Close to Rotterdam, this town completed a successful fiber rollout to 6,000 homes, a project managed by Van Gelder engineering consultants. Draka says its new interface facility ensured that linking the town’s new fiber infrastructure to the local network provider was a simple data transfer, consolidating up to 12 parameters for each customer, without any manual intervention.

“For an engineering company like ours, DrakaXSNet increases productivity and eliminates errors,“ explains Tjabin van Bergen, managing director of Van Gelder Telecom. “With this software we have a solution which is interoperable with any network operator system, and useable on all FTTH engineering projects. We now have considerable experience with this new tool, having completed two other projects of 9,000 and 3,000 connections.”

DrakaXSNet Interface Module transfers all design data such as customer ID, location, and registration so that provisioning can be achieved in a shorter time. The suite is a comprehensive, highly flexible package ideally suited to public and private sector network operators, community broadband groups, and to contracting and installation companies, Draka asserts.

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