Network Cables - Comms Express

Brand-Rex unveils new network cable

2008-08-08 09:51:09

Brand-Rex, a leading provider of network cables, has unveiled a new high-performance Cat6 cable designed for use in "challenging" data centre environments.

The product, which can also be used in next-generation higher-speed protocols, forms part of Brand-Rex's 10GPlus network cabling system.

According to the company, the new cable is 30 per cent lighter than conventional cables and much more compact, allowing for double the number of cables per cable tray.

It is also flexible and easy to install, suitable for channel lengths up to 70 metres and fully compatible with all Cat6 and Cat5e products, Brand-Rex confirmed.

"The zone cable from Brand-Rex is an ideal, value added solution for installers and operators of cabling systems who are looking for high quality, high performance products which are designed for the installation environment," said the company.

Brand-Rex has also launched a new range of patch panels which are colour coded to enable quick and accurate identification of ports.

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Fibre optic broadband investment 'a necessity'

2008-08-06 17:00:27

Investment in fibre optic broadband is a necessity for the telecommunications giant BT, according to the analyst firm Point Topic.

The claim follows BT's recent announcement that it will create a network of fibre leads delivering super-fast broadband to ten million homes.

Point Topic acknowledged that there have been concerns about the return on investment under BT's plans, but insisted the upgrade would be profitable in the long term.

"If BT doesn't renew its local loop infrastructure its existing copper network will be worth only scrap value within ten years," explained chief analyst Tim Johnson.

And he added that a fibre leads network offering next generation access would provide greater benefits and revenue-raising opportunities than broadband services alone.

However, the product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk has said that while BT's investment is a "great start" in terms of upgrading Britain's broadband infrastructure, it does not go far enough.

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Alcatel-Lucent signs fibre network deal

2008-08-04 17:14:55

Communications solutions provider Alcatel-Lucent has been chosen to deploy the Atlantic-Mediterranean section of a 15,000-kilometre (9,000-mile) network of fibre leads.

The Europe India Gateway (EIG) is a high bandwidth fibre optic submarine cable system running directly from the UK to India.

It will provide transmission facilities that support internet, e-commerce, video, data and voice services and will help to meet growth in broadband adoption across the world.

Etienne Lafougere, president of submarine network activity at Alcatel-Lucent, said: "This new contract is recognition of the reliability of our submarine, terrestrial and network solutions."

Alcatel-Lucent said it will provide complete turnkey work for its segment of the fibre leads network and will be completely responsible for its design and manufacture.

The EIG is scheduled for completion in the second quarter of 2010 and will connect to other major cable systems throughout Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.

Alcatel-Lucent has also been chosen by Shanghai Mobile to deploy packet optical transport technology as part of its IP network upgrade.

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Rascom to upgrade fibre network with Nortel technology

2008-07-31 17:29:33

Russian networking solutions provider Rascom has announced that it is to use Nortel's 40G Adaptive Optical Engine to "unlock the multi-terabit capacity" of its long-haul optical network.

The technology will, according to Nortel, allow Rascom to offer faster services and improved performance through its fibre-optic network.

Indeed, it will enable Rascom to quadruple available bandwidth without making any modifications to its network architecture by laying new fibre leads, Nortel said.

This will allow it to meet growing demand for bandwidth-hungry applications such as internet television high-definition programming among broadband users in Russia.

"Some experts predict that the internet may be swamped with traffic in a few years if operators fail to upgrade their infrastructures in advance," said Sorin Lupu, eastern European markets leader at Nortel.

Meanwhile, Nortel has been chosen to act as the official network infrastructure partner for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

It will provide BT with the equipment needed to create wide area networks and wireless local area networks as well as the infrastructure for call centres and fixed telephony services.

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Asia leading adoption of fibre optic technology

2008-07-28 17:01:15

Asia is surpassing Europe and the United States when it comes to the adoption of fibre optic broadband technology, a new report suggests.

The FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) Council Global Ranking study by the councils of Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America shows that the Asian countries of South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan occupy the top four positions in the league table.

In South Korea, almost 37 per cent of households enjoy high-speed broadband connections via fibre leads, while in Hong Kong the figure is 27 per cent.

Overall Asia accounts for more than 27 million of the estimated 32 million fibre-to-the-home connections across the world, the study shows.

Colin Goodwin, director of the FTTH Council Asia Pacific, said: "There is no doubt that Asia leads the world in high-speed broadband, using FTTH as the fixed-access technology of choice."

In the UK, BT has announced plans to roll out a fibre optic network which it hopes will deliver super-fast broadband to ten million homes by 2012.

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BT fibre network investment 'does not go far enough'

2008-07-23 17:05:29

The planned �1.5 billion investment by BT in a fibre-based network providing super-fast broadband does not go far enough, according to the product director at BroadbandChoices.co.uk.

Michael Phillips said the move is a "great start" as far as the upgrade of Britain's broadband infrastructure is concerned, but more money must be spent if all UK households are to benefit.

BT said last week that it would roll out a network of fibre leads that would deliver broadband internet with speeds of up to 100mbps to ten million homes by 2012.

However, Mr Phillips pointed out that to install fibre leads across the whole of the UK would cost �15 billion, which is a much larger sum than BT is promising to spend.

"If you look at the discrepancy between those two numbers and you also look at the fact that it is not even covering half the households � it's a great start but it doesn't go far enough."

According to the Broadband Stakeholders Group, the social and economic benefits to the UK of wide-spread adoption of fibre optic broadband would outweigh the cost of deployment.

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BT to extend fibre network

2008-07-15 16:29:13

Communications giant BT is planning to extend its fibre optic network to provide super-fast broadband to some ten million UK homes by 2012.

Over the next four years the company will be pumping �1.5 billion into its network of fibre optic cables, providing it gets the go ahead from industry regulator Ofcom.

The new network will reportedly deliver speeds of 110mpbs, allowing users to run several bandwidth-heavy applications on their machines simultaneously.

BT chief executive Ian Livingstone told the BBC: "You will be able to access multiple high definition TV streams and new applications like real time video conferencing and health services."

Consultation with the government and local authorities will go ahead to determine which areas will be the first to be linked to the new network.

Mr Livingstone stressed that large cities will not be the only places to benefit and rural areas will be connected as well if there is enough demand.

According to TechRadar.com, Virgin Media has accused BT of playing catch up in the fibre optic broadband market, pointing out that it already has a nationwide network of fibre optic cables which will offer broadband speeds of up to 50mpbs by mid-2009.

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Fibre optic network taking shape in Zambia

2008-07-14 16:46:00

Telecoms operators in Zambia have finished the first phase of a project to create and link to a huge fibre optic network across southern Africa.

They have been laying fibre optic cables across Zambia which will connect to other countries throughout the Southern Africa Development Community region, the IDG News Service reports.

Several Zambian towns have already been connected by the cables and once a national fibre optic backbone is complete the country's government wants to connect this to networks in Botswana and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The aim of the project is to provide essential infrastructure for the provision of ICT services and ensure broadband connectivity across the region.

Dora Siliya, Zambia's minister for communications and transport, told IDG News Service that the government hopes to reach 5,000 kilometres of fibre optic cabling by 2010 to ensure full coverage nationally and extend to other southern African countries.

Meanwhile in the UK communications regulator Ofcom is emphasising the benefits of superfast broadband to encourage providers to switch to high speed network cables such as fibre optics.

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Belden launches new network connectivity products

2008-07-11 17:00:00

Signal transmission solutions provider Belden has revealed its new range of innovative connectivity products.

The company develops solutions for wireless and wired enterprise networks, as well as broadcast, residential, industrial and building management.

Its three new products are the AngleFlex Patch Panels, the KeyConnect Patch Panels and Cat6+ and Cat5e Bonded-Pair Modular Cords.

Belden's AngleFlex Patch Panels facilitate patch cord routing and cut out the need for horizontal cable management in data centres and telecommunications room installations.

The product enables a 27 per cent saving in space per rack and is available on 24-port/1U and 48-port/2U configurations.

Its KeyConnect Patch Panels include all-metal, preloaded modular patch panels which are available on the same port configurations.

They are also designed robustly which means allow for punch down termination on the back of the panel.

Belden's Cat6+ and Cat5e bonded-pair modularcords are made up of its Bonded-pair cable and a flexible boot construction.

This is expected to ensure optimum electrical performance and are the only cords that pass the mechanical stress reliability specifications of the TIA.

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ATM network cables 'need more security'

2008-07-08 17:00:00

The network cables used in ATM machines in the US are not secure and have left them open to hackers, according to an expert.

Hackers stole $2 million from ATMs operated for Citibank between October 2007 and March 2008 before they were eventually caught.

But Dr Klaus Gheri, chief technology officer at phion, a leading European supplier for corporate communication protection solutions said this could have been avoided if the machines were better protected.

He said: "The ATM itself is a well-secured system in physical terms. But the network cable leading out of the machine is not. So for security reasons it is imperative that communications are encrypted between the cash dispenser and centralised server systems."

Dr Gheri added that connection attacks would not have worked if this had been done.

He added: "For this purpose banks � just like companies with mobile employees - must set up a Virtual Private Network (VPN), which facilitates both encrypted and secured communications."

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