A new hybrid TLC cable perfect for FTTP systems

OptiC@t5e implemented in the new UFB project implemented by the New Zealand Government

Prysmian Group has just developed a new hybrid telecommunications cable for the New Zealand market. This solution will be part of the new Ultra-Fast Broadband (UFB) project, implemented by the New Zealand Government which wants to ensure that all New Zealanders have access to ultra-fast broadband which is considered as part of the essential infrastructure of a productive and growing economy and will be crucial to New Zealand in improving its competitive advantage in the global market.

Concentrating in the first six years on priority broadband users such as businesses, schools and health services, plus greenfield developments and certain tranches of residential areas, Fibre To The Premise (FTTP) is the preferred implementation for the UFB. Whilst the network is being constructed, copper telephone lines will continue to provide telecommunications and internet services until fibre becomes the norm. FTTP requires a length of fibre optic strand, sheathed inside a cable to link the main fibre cable laid from the street to the exterior demarcation point on the premises to the active equipment within the premises.

Prysmian Group New Zealand has developed a hybrid cable, named OptiC@t5e, specifically designed to meet the needs of the deployment that will be undertaken by Chorus, New Zealand's largest telecommunications infrastructure company. The cable combines the two technologies of optic fibre and four copper pairs under a common LSOH sheath. Although only one fibre is required two have been inserted into the cable for redundancy purposes. The copper pairs within the hybrid cable will be utilised to ensure full backwards compatibility with the previously installed copper cable network.

The end user can be one of the first to have access to high speed internet and all the ‘technology’ that goes with it. When you consider that Ultra High Definition television is available now ‘this house is fibre ready’ and ‘future proofing in a box’ is what OptiC@t5e is delivering. OptiC@t5e will have a high level of differentiation in the market due to being the preferred cable for Chorus UFB installations. Demand for this product will increase as the UFB gains critical mass in the future. Furthermore installers can have the assurance they’re installing an approved product with the Chorus endorsement on the box. OptiC@t5e will be offered “free issue” to installers and building developers by Chorus within their UFB network coverage area.