JOHN MCMILLAN OPTIMISED SPLICING
Optimised splicing BOOSTS NETWORK PERFORMANCE
I n 2017, Hull, more formally known as Kingston upon Hull, is the UK’s City of Culture, in recognition of its diverse arts and cultural heritage and economic rebirth. In the communications world, the city is also notable for being the only city in the UK with its own independent telephone network company, now called Kingston Communications (KCOM). KCOM provides communication, data and cloud services for business and residential customers using its existing copper and fibre networks. It is the first Internet Service Provider to provide FTTH in the UK, o ering speeds of up to 250MB per second. The city’s optical communications network has undoubtedly been a significant factor in the renaissance of the city and region. Commenting on the City of Culture status at the beginning of the annual festival, Martin Green, CEO and Director, Hull 2017, said: “There’s real buzz in the city since Hull took centre stage. We want everybody to ride the wave of excitement and take an active part in what is going to be an unforgettable year. Don’t sit on your sofa watching it on TV or reading about it on social media, get out and be part of it.” In order to give its customers future-
John McMillan , Field Team Leader at KCOM, a telecoms services provider in Hull, UK, explains how Fujikura’s fibre splicing technology has helped make the City of Culture 2017 the “ultrafast capital” of the UK.
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network, however, KCOM needed the highest quality splicing and testing technology to ensure its new and improved network was running as designed. PARTNERSHIP KCOM has worked with Fujikura Europe – a leading manufacturer of fibre optic cables and equipment for installation, measurement and testing – for more than 15 years now, supplying KCOM with fusion splicers and FID fibre testers. Some of KCOM’s FTTH connections can be in awkward positions and often are located at great heights on telegraph poles, making it very di cult
for technicians to work comfortably splicing cables and testing the network. Therefore, KCOM also needed a small, lightweight, portable and durable solution. Currently, KCOM uses Fujikura’s 12S fusion splicer, the smallest, lightest and most portable tool of its kind in the world. Weighing less than two pounds and having a footprint of approximately 150 x 125mm, the 12S provides KCOM technicians with a high level of flexibility for the most challenging splicing applications. Software updates are installed via the Internet, allowing network technicians to quickly and conveniently update
We want everybody to ride the wave of excitement and take an active part in what is going to be an unforgettable year
proof, ultrafast broadband with a much faster and reliable Internet
connection than ever before, KCOM has implemented “Lightstream”, based on optical communications technologies using glass fibre. To successfully deploy this kind of
Son et lumière: KCOM is a key sponsor of Hull City of Culture 2017.
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| ISSUE 9 | Q2 2017
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