LONDON, UK — Quebec City-based telecom testing and monitoring solution provider EXFO announced Thursday it’s collaborating with Openreach, the British Telecom division which ensures equal access for competing providers to BT’s local networks and which was created through an agreement with telecom regulator Ofcom, on a major full-fibre initiative.
As part its Fibre First program, Openreach has committed to bringing fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) access to 20 million U.K. homes by the mid- to late 2020s, with a commitment to build out this new digital infrastructure to 4.5 million premises by the end of March 2021.
Openreach has awarded EXFO a contract to supply optical test heads and test access switching for its Full Fibre initiative. EXFO’s cloud-based Nova Fiber remote testing solution will equip Openreach to assure its build, and help accelerate the program and avoid costly return visits to fix connection problems, says the company’s press release. Following installation, Openreach will be able to remotely monitor its fibre infrastructure supporting the operations of its Full Fibre service.
“This year, our build has been gathering pace and momentum, and we’re determined to match that rapid speed of deployment with the highest standards of build quality and customer service,” said Peter Bell, director of network technology at Openreach, in the release. “EXFO will help us get there. As a long-term Openreach partner, EXFO was selected thanks to its proven ability to provide fast, automated qualification of fibre builds, and for its unique iOLM OTDR technology.”
“Openreach is an early mover in adopting permanent fibre monitoring technology, which will eventually cover all households in the U.K.,” added Wim te Niet, vice-president of sales for the EMEA region at EXFO. “I believe network operators across Europe will soon follow Openreach’s lead to ensure first-time-right installations, reduce turn-up failures, and substantially reduce truck rolls for service calls.”
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