Swiss network combines FTTH, environmental control

Draka, part of the Prysmian Group, says that its Swiss partner Drahtext AG has completed the first phase of a rural community fiber-optic network that combines fiber to the home (FTTH) with environmental control for the village of Huenenberg in Zug, Switzerland.

Part of a showcase renewable energy project, the network provides both broadband services to community residents a supports the supply and control of a substantial part of the energy demands of Hünenberg, Draka says. The village biogas plant, one of the biggest plants in Europe, provides 15% of the community’s energy requirements. Its gas turbine, powered by biogas, will provide the community with nearly 600 kW of energy (300 kW of electrical and 300 kW of thermal energy).

Draka JetNetXS blowing technology helped deploy the underground fiber infrastructure running alongside the biogas distribution network over a total network length of 4.5 km. Despite the challenge of jetting fiber through microducts over distances up to 5 km, the fiber-optic network has been installed rapidly and successfully, Draka asserts. The network also can be easily expanded to meet future community energy management requirements, the company adds.

“This is an entirely self-financed renewable energy project in which fiber interconnectivity plays a key role,” explains Roland Kurmann, chairman of Drahtex. ”It’s a cooperative venture which brings community stakeholders together to invest in a future-oriented energy approach for the citizens of Huenenberg.”

At the plant, the fiber connections enable every component in the biogen heating plant to be fully automated, with remote control availability from various sites. All processes within the plant can be monitored and controlled at any time.