FTTH connects 500, more to come

CLOSE to 500 homes in Brunei are already connected with ultra-fast broadband service connection since upgrade works on the country's network infrastructure has been carried out since last year.

Hj Emran Hj Hasan, general manager of Telekom Brunei Berhad's (TELBRU) Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) unit, yesterday confirmed that approximately 150 homes within the Madang area and 340 homes in Panaga are already enjoying high bandwidth connection.

The network infrastructure upgrade carried out by the government and Telbru covers a number of major areas in Brunei and will offer subscribers a maximum data transfer rate of 150mbps (megabits per second) and a more stable and consistent Internet experience.

Current areas undergoing the infrastructure upgrade include Madang, Berakas, Pulaie, Gadong, Kiulap, Subok and Bandar Seri Begawan.

"The upgrade works are still on-going, but we have already completed our upgrade works on the home pass (distribution point), and right now we are establishing connections to 'targeted' homes," he said in an interview with The Brunei Times.

Hj Emran was one of the speakers at the Third International Conference of Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Brunei Darussalam at Rizqun International Hotel, where he presented to the audience on Brunei's FTTH infrastructure.

He said that the current challenge for TelBru is in policying the service as the connections are established to the homes.

"We are working closely with the Authority for Info-Communications Technology of Brunei Darussalam (AITI) to work on the policies. We have to work with certain policies, set some standards as we go from the poles to the houses," he said.

"Some customers may request to have internet connection in one room, others may want certain kind of setup. Its constantly evolving, and so we actually need a regulator to help us in terms of policying this," he added.

He added that TelBru is still working with the authorities to review on pricing options for the public.

On July 15, His Majesty The Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam consented the allocation of $230 million for the FTTH project under the 10th National Development Plan.

The new fibre technology will replace the ageing copper cables in the existing infrastructure, and is capable of supporting services that require high bandwidth such as IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) and e-government services, as well as providing a more dynamic platform for competition and attract FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) in the Sultanate.

The Ministry of Communications, in a press statement, said that it will continue to work closely with relevant stakeholders to provide a quality internet connection with high bandwidth for the socio-economic development of Brunei and improving the people's quality of life.

The statement added that FTTH will spur the growth of businesses, not only within the ICT sector but also across a broad range of sectors. Ultimately, this will improve usage, encourage innovations and new applications that will contribute to the country's GDP growth.The Brunei Times