The Vereniging van Eigenaren (VvE), or owners association, of the The Red Apple in Rotterdam, has built, together with OONO (Onafhankelijke Open Network Operator), the first Dutch gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) network. The VvE rolled out the internal fibre network of the 40-floor apartment building, and Alcatel-Lucent supplied the GPON technology for the network, which OONO configured. The network was built for the owners' association of The Red Apple. The building has three connections of 2.5 Gbps downlink and 1.25 Gbps uplink, enabling a symmetrical offer of 1 Gbps to households in the building. More than 90 percent of the 154 people living in the building have subscribed to the network.
The network is open, and strictly separates the role of owner (WE), operator (OONO) and service provider. Wireless Campus will supply the services and has contracted Intermax for internet access, Level Four for telephony and CAI Albrandswaard for analogue and digital TV services. OONO will maintain and manage the network. Wireless Campus is currently negociating for mobile data and security services with a number of service providers.
The GPON network was launched in May. Internet, telephony and TV are available separately or bundled. Prices for the triple-play subscriptions run from EUR 42.50 to EUR 69.95 per month. The cheapest subscription offers symmetrical internet at 20 Mbps while the most expensive package offers 60 Mbps, unlimited calling to fixed numbers in the Netherlands and 110 digital TV channels. There is also a subscription available for 100 Mbps.
In an interview with Telecompaper, OONO CEO and founder Oscar Kuiper defended his choice to go with GPON rather than ethernet over point-to-point. He explained that there was a physical reason, to do with the building itself, making it impossible to roll out a second fibre for analogue TV, necessary for P2P. In addition, Kuiper explained how impressed he had been with the Alcatel-Lucent’s user-friendly system, its open character and lower costs. Still, OONO and Alcatel-Lucent are both technology neutral in principle and have left the choice for GPON or P2P largely on the back of circumstances.
The network in The Red Apple consists of fibre to each home, around three splitters in The Red Apple technical room, and a customer premise equipment (CPE) system in every home. In every splitter, the incoming fibre cable is split into 64 signals, enabling the provision of services to a maximum of 192 homes. It is possible to add an additional splitter, bringing the total number of signals to 256. Alcatel-Lucent’s Edgar van Essen confirmed to Telecompaper that it is also supplying CPE systems, the optical network terminals (ONTs). Alcatel-Lucent aims to set up an eco-system of interoperable ONT vendors for GPON networks.
Kuiper revealed OONO’s growth ambitions in the Netherlands. The operator is aiming at existing apartment complexes but is also interested in new buildings. OONO also wants to work in business parks (customer-owned networks), and said it was willing to forge partnerships with city councils which can themselves roll out fibre networks. For the moment, OONO has no plans to work with city councils in partnership with Reggefiber, because OONO feels the wholesale rates are still too high. The operator targets serving 1000 subscribers and 200 business park clients by the end of next year.
