High speed broadband cabinets switched on in Glen Eden
Thousands more Glen Eden residents will soon be able to benefit from high speed internet access as local telecommunications network operator Chorus begins switching on new fibre fed cabinets.
Over the next three months Chorus will deploy 14km of fibre optic cable and install 37 new roadside cabinets to extend ADSL2+ broadband speeds to customers not already within reach of faster broadband following upgrade work at the local telephone exchange.
So far 11 new cabinets have been turned on in Glen Eden and these provide service to more than 2000 customers located within the immediate vicinity.
This massive investment programme will build on the 26km of fibre optic cable already in the local network and is part of Telecom's commitment to enable the delivery of broadband connections of at least 10Mbps to 80 percent of New Zealanders by the end of 2011.
Chorus Fibre-to-the-Node Programme Manager Ed Beattie said each cabinet is the equivalent of a mini telephone exchange.
"We're installing new fibre fed cabinets which contain ADSL2+ broadband equipment previously located in the local telephone exchange. The cabinets are required for these customers because the closer you are to the broadband equipment the faster your broadband speed is.
"Around half of homes connected to the new cabinets will be within five hundred metres of our fibre optic cable network and ninety percent within one kilometre. This provides an ideal springboard for even faster broadband speeds in the future through VDSL2 technology and fibre to the home" he said.
Glen Eden customers who are near the local telephone exchange will continue to receive service directly from the broadband equipment located at the exchange.
Mr Beattie noted that although the broadband network will be upgraded, customers also have an important part to play in making the most of the new faster broadband capability.
"A customer's broadband service is also affected by factors including their broadband plan, modem, computer, and the wiring in their home or business."
In all, Chorus is over halfway through the roll out of about 3,600 fibre fed cabinets nationwide and they will connect a further 3,000km of fibre optic cable to Telecom's 25,000km fibre optic network within the next twelve months
