Ultra-fast fibre broadband commences deployment
Telecom Fiji is pleased to announce that it has commenced deployment of its Ultra-Fast Fibre broadband (UFF) service. The services, for now, is for customers in Bayview Heights and Namadi Heights in Suva.
The service is enabled by Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) technology.
Telecom’s fibre optic cables will be extended right inside the individual homes, delivering internet speeds of up to 150 megabits per second (Mbps), which can be upgraded in future to speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps (1 Gigabits per second).
Acting chief executive officer of Telecom Fiji Limited Charles Goundar said: “FTTH is part of Telecom Fiji’s long-term investment and broadband strategy, to bring the same level of communication services as found in other developed countries.
“High- speed internet access is critical for economic growth and improving the quality of life in our communities.
“We are focusing strongly on a “fibre-in, copper-out” model, starting off from selective areas in Suva as Phase 1 and gradually expanding out into other towns throughout Fiji, Mr Goundar said.
“This is a very ambitious project for the company, enabling not only very high-speed broadband service to customers.
“We are proud to be bringing this long-awaited technology to our customers in Fiji,” he said.
At this stage, Telecom is expecting to enable Home Pass for all 200 plus homes in Bayview Heights by end of August, and 1,000 plus homes in Namadi Heights by end of September.
“When customers subscribe to fibre plans, fibre optic connection will be extended from the fibre chamber outside the premises to inside the home and the service will be activated.” Existing Telecom and Connect customers in these areas will be offered flexible upgrade options to move to fibre plans, and can expect a vast difference in service quality once services are migrated onto the fibre.
“We also wish to encourage all customers and building contractors who are constructing new homes, apartment blocks or residential sub-divisions to please liaise with Telecom Fiji,” Mr Goundar said.
“Our engineers will be able to assist with any provisions to ensure that your home and individual blocks in an apartment or residential area is fibre-ready.”
Another milestone achievement for Telecom Fiji was the successful completion and commissioning of the Rakiraki to Korovou fibre project.
It involved laying backbone network infrastructure along a track of 90 kilometres (km).
Telecom Fiji embarked on this strategic project in September 2017.
The project involved deployment of 90km of underground optic fibre infrastructure from Korovou to Rakiraki along Kings Road.
It is a significant addition to Telecom’s existing optic fibre network of over 1,500km that mainly covers the Queen’s Road corridor and business-centric areas.
The project is also aligned to the government’s national broadband plan and ICT policies. This aims to bridge the digital gap in the country by ensuring that all communities in Fiji have access to efficient and affordable ICT and broadband services.