Vodafone Qatar has signed an agreement with the Qatar National Broadband Network Company (QNBN) to support the Qatari government’s plans to build a nationwide broadband network. As part of the agreement Vodafone will use the QNBN’s infrastructure to create its own fibre network. The Qatari government is aiming to connect 95% of households and 100% of government and businesses to broadband by 2015, according to reports.
Polish operator Hawe Telekom has altered an agreement previously made with Multimedia Polska on the lease of its fibre capacity. Hawe will now lease an additional 158km between Lublin and Biala Podlaska, reportedly earning the company over half a million dollars over five years.
CenturyLink has announced plans to invest $20 million in upgrading broadband in New Mexico in the US following its merger with Qwest Communications earlier this year. "This investment by CenturyLink to expand broadband services in New Mexico is an effective way for the company to introduce itself to the state," commented New Mexico Public Regulation Commission chairman Pat Lyons. CenturyLink has said that it intends to implement the expanded broadband service over the next several years.
Data centre and internet exchange provider Telehouse America has entered into a partnership with Sidera Networks. The agreement will see Sidera’s network link Telehouse customers to major financial exchanges and co-location facilities in New York and New Jersey metropolitan areas. In return, Sidera will be able to access Telehouse’s collocation spaces without incurring any cross connect fees.
Verizon Wireless has introduced its 4G LTE network in 28 more markets in the US. The operator’s next generation network is now available in 102 areas across the country. “In fewer than eight months we have introduced our 4G LTE network to more than 100 markets and we are continuing to aggressively expand our 4G LTE network,” said David Small, CTO at Verizon Wireless. “By the end of 2013 we plan to bring 4G LTE mobile broadband to our entire 3G coverage area.”
Ciena has announced plans to deploy a 100G Ethernet network in Romania, which it claims is the first of its kind in eastern Europe. The network will be built by Ciena and its BizConnect partner, Felix Telecom, for the RoEduNet, Romanian National Research and Education Network, which connects research and cultural institutions such as universities and school. The network stretches from Bucharest to Iași, the country’s second largest city, and covers a total of 4200km. To read Capacity’s full coverage of the story click here.
Telekom Austria’s A1 brand has connected the Austrian city of Obertrum-on-Sea, just north of Salzburg, to its GigaNetz fibre network with approximatley 1,400 homes now connected. A1 aims to cover 2.1 million households by the end of this year equating to half of the population. The operator plans to use FTTC technology for the deployment in the city.
Pacific Fibre has selected TE SubCom, part of TE Connectivity, to be the supplier for its trans-Pacific subsea cable system. The two companies announced the signing of a supply contract for the venture. Pacifc Fibre’s cable system will stretch 12,750km connecting Australia and New Zealand to the US and, according to Pacific Fibre, will set a new record for the amount of cross sectional capacity it will be able to supply. The landing stations will be in Sydney, Auckland and Los Angeles. To read Capacity’s full coverage of the story click here.
TIM Brasil is planning to invest $109.7 million in a new fibre network for remote regions of the country, according to reports. The infrastructure is set to cover 27 towns and cities in the Brazilian states of Amazonas, Para and Amapa. Deployment is scheduled to begin in October of this year and will be completed over the next two years.
BT has connected a further 17,000 homes to its new high-speed broadband in the town of Newbury, Berkshire. The telco claims that these new additions mean that 160,000 premises in the county are connected or will be soon. BT aims to connect two-thirds of UK homes and businesses to its local access network by the end of 2015. The network will use a mixture of FTTC and FTTP to deploy the network.
