European broadband technology provider Iskratel says it has won a contract to supply XGS-PON and GPON systems in support of RUNE, the European rural network project funded by Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF). The systems are being used for open access fiber broadband infrastructure in Slovenia and Croatia by Rune Enia in Slovenia and Rune Crow in Croatia.
The three-year deployment programs aim to pass 233,000 premises in 165 municipalities in Slovenia and 130 premises in 45 Croatian municipalities. The fiber broadband networks will be able to support up to 10 Gbps when deployed with XGS-PON.
The CEBF, managed by Cube Infrastructure Managers, was created to help implement the European Commission’s Gigabit Society initiatives via private funding. The RUNE project is the only European Union ultra-fast broadband infrastructure deployment initiative that encompasses “several” member-states, according to the participants. “The RUNE project plays an extremely important role in rural development by providing an ultra-fast fiber-optic broadband network. We are delighted to be contributing to this goal in Iskratel with our state-of-the-art telecommunications equipment that is the result of our own development and production,” said Matjaz Aljancic, director of the Iskratel Broadband Business Unit.
“Providing an open-broadband access network to all citizens, regardless of their location, is of utmost importance for the development of rural areas. I am delighted that we, together with our partner Iskratel, will make this possible,” added Goran Zivec, director of RUNE Enia, d.o.o.
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