The Infotech group’s cabling and networking division has announced it has landed the sole African distribution rights to blown fibre, a leading-edge technology that is fast replacing conventional optical fibre cabling. At the same time, the company has announced that it has also won the first blown fibre contract in Africa – with the SA Reserve Bank.

The SA Reserve Bank has installed a backbone on all of its 36 floors at its landmark Pretoria building using blown fibre, a technology now standard at British Telecom (BT). BT is currently installing 24 million metres of blown fibre cabling annually for its own infrastructure. The contract value with the SA Reserve Bank is believed to be “substantial”.

Infotech’s Dr Dirk Briel said the market potential for blown fibre in SA and the rest of Africa is “absolutely unlimited”. While the technology is not new overseas, it is “brand new to Africa”.

British Telecom started using blown fibre in 1986 and today lays an estimated 24 million metres of blown fibre per annum.

All new BT cables going into buildings in the UK are now blown fibre, and outside the UK, blown fibre is becoming increasingly popular as it is cheaper to install, has the capacity to handle exponentially larger volumes of text, voice, and video traffic, is more reliable, and has a far longer life expectancy. It is also easier to install, easier to upgrade, and has little value to thieves, as the tubing used to house the fibre is plastic. This is good news for SA, as Telkom is experiencing almost insurmountable problems with the ongoing theft of copper cables.

Currently Blown Fibre is installed in 5 continents.

Blown fibre uses a lightweight fibre unit. It is installed by blowing air into the tube. This “flow of air” method is regarded as one of the main benefits of blown fibre as it creates an interesting result – the propelling force exerted on the fibre unit is essentially the same throughout its length, and this force is less than the maximum force present in conventional optical cable, which is traditionally installed by pulling. Accordingly, significant reinforcement of the fibre unit is not required.

Since the launch of the product, all end users introduced to this product have been very excited about its use and benefits.

Infotech has since installed this unique product through its installation partners at various sites and for various applications, with excellent results in new and existing applications. Dr Briel said the demand in Southern Africa for blown fibre is growing at a phenomenal rate. Installation equipment is available from Infotech.

Some blown fibre successes

“The new Paul Getty building in Los Angeles, for instance, used blown fibre instead of Cat.5, and the cost savings in floor space alone paid for the cost of the installation. In fact,” he continued, “space savings meant the contractors were able to build one less floor. The Pentagon was also able to relocate several thousand square feet of floor space back to official use after installing blown fibre and removing the conventional cabling.”

Locally, Koos Risseeuw, the IT Manager at the SA Reserve Bank, said the installation of blown fibre in the building had, in terms of efficacy and cost savings, “exceeded all expectations”.

He confirmed that cost savings were substantial.

Commenting further on the advantages of blown fibre, Infotech’s Dr Briel said the new cabling method allows for cable construction to suit the needs of the network. “It is possible to install enough tubes to allow for the future expansion of a company’s or building’s future communications needs. If more communications lines are needed, all that needs to be done is for additional fibre to be blown into the tubes.”

Installation partners appointed

Dr Briel said Infotech has already appointed a number of installation partners, including Advanced Cabling, PQ, Interconnect, Computer Cable Installers (CCI), and other major installers.

Infotech has also appointed Schoemans in Namibia and TK Trading in Botswana as their agents for distribution and promotion in those specific areas.

The company has also trained these partners on the “art of installation and support”.

The primary advantages of air blown systems are:

• Rapid fibre deployment;

• Point-to-point fibre;

• Installation of fibre bundles as and when required;

• Network planning simplified;

• Deferred capital cost and reduced investment to commission the system;

• Simple push-fit connectors which allow for branch out without fibre splicing;

• Space saving in existing network plant;

• Option suitable for direct burial;

• Option available for installation using trenchless technologies;

• No heavy equipment required to install fibre, uses a simple lightweight blowing head;

• Increased installation distances made possible for the long distance trunk network by using centre blowing and coiling procedures;

• Seamless transition between internal and external plant applications; and

• A cost effective system offering significant commercial advantages over conventional technologies.