UTEL completes deliveries for Pau's FTTH network retrofit

United Technologists Europe Ltd. (UTEL) says it has completed the design, manufacture, and delivery of equipment to retrofit the fiber to the home (FTTH) network in the 14 districts of the city of Pau, France. The network serves more than 55,000 customers and 140 sites through a combination of point-to-point and GPON topologies.

Work on Pau’s FTTH network began in 2003 when the Urban Community of Pau-Pyrénées (CDA PP) awarded Axione a 15-year contract to build the fiber-optic network, dubbed Pau Broadband Country (PBC). Société Paloise pour le Très Haut Débit (SPTHD) was created to manage the project locally, including operating the open access network.

The retrofit includes new equipment, designed by UTEL and its Chinese partner Sunsea, called MOF96PS. The unit, installed underneath each splice tray at 150 outdoor or indoor cabinet locations, is designed to enable any customer to connect to any Internet service provider regardless of whether a point-to-point or GPON connection is required. The system’s design enables existing patch cords to be connected to the back of the patch panel.

“We were very pleased with the cost-effective design UTEL developed, allowing us to retrofit the existing network with a full upgrade to meet all of our requirements. The timeframes in which they were able to complete full delivery were also very impressive,” said Olivier Briche, network deployment manager at Axione.

“Other bidders for this project wanted to replace the entire infrastructure at much greater cost; but we were able to look at the existing network and design an adaption. This enabled a retrofit at one-tenth the cost of full replacement,” asserted Jean-Raoul Boyer, UTEL France director.

For more information on FTTx equipment and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.