Feature

Fibre-optic Future

Ambitious plans for telecommunications could see New Zealand becoming a World Communications Laboratory.

By Keith Newman

The hi-tech telecommunications vision of New Zealand's future as a World Communications Laboratory (WCL) is starting to come together. The government-supported concept envisages new Zealand as a leader in fast, flexible broadband communications networking, beefing up local services and providing a source of exportable applications.

The last nine months has seen a number of initiatives developed, and WCL general manager Jim Higgins has been relieved that the WCL initiative has had its life extended by the government for another two years, with renewed funding from the government and private sector groups, including Telecom, Clear Communications and TVNZ.

The idea is to promote New Zealand as a World Communications Laboratory where new new high-speed communications, business solutions and services can be tested.

Inherent in this vision is a fast broadband telecommunications infrastructure, operating at speeds of 2 megabits per second and beyond. Broadband enables broadcast quality pictures, print quality graphics, integrated voice, data and image and an endless range of other services to be communicated at speeds far greater than current telecommunications services offer.

Applications Abound

Video-conferencing has already become commonplace between the offices of large corporations nationally and internationally, and some educational environments are realising the potential for distance education. Higgins hopes to see distance education providers, such as universities, technical colleges and schools, coordinate their activities, and electronic meetings to organise this have already taken place.

The next applications area under scrutiny is that of farming, possibly using fibre optics, digital radio, radio frequency communications or enhanced copper technologies. Farmers in the field could use interactive screen technology to get counsel from a veterinarian or a combine harvester mechanic to solve problems on site.

Technological seers have imagined New Zealand as a financial centre replacing Hong Kong as an information repository, providing information to distant markets ahead of competing nations who are only waking to the new day. For the home consumer, electronic supermarkets, distance learning opportunities, and a range of information and entertainment services could be delivered to home televisions, using only a decoder and controller.

While many product and service vendors support the WCL in principle, there is scepticism of a concept based on technology which is not yet mature. Higgins hopes to be able to clarify issues and inspire interest and funding from the private sector.

National Network

Higgins chaired the working group which set up Tuianet, a national research and educational computing network. Tuianet appears to be the first step to putting flesh on the WCL vision of a national infrastructure. It allows shared access by organisations to regional and national computer systems by mixing data from several sources into a tightly packed stream and sending it down a single wire or fibre-optic connection.

The Telecom frame relay installation went live late last year following seven months of trials involving the new Crown Research Institutes, universities and the National Library. Telecom is using a Stratacom frame relay system, purchased from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) -- the first to be installed in the Pacific area.

The frame relay system is essentially a bridging service offering 2 Mbit/s transmission before true broadband networking becomes available. The Tuia network is intended to move gradually to broadband within three years. While it is seen as a good starting point, it is entirely government based and there's little understanding of how the commercial sector might benefit.

One visionary who sees awesome potential ahead for those who devise productive ways to use the new global digital highways is Victoria University Professor of Communications John Tiffin.

"The day we get narrow band (64 kbit/sec) ISDN (integrated services digital network) is like the day the railways come to town -- we will never be the same after that. At the moment we still have donkey tracks in telecommunications. Broadband is the motorway," he says.

Fibre to the Home

At present, fibre-optic systems are available on the main routes and in the city centres, but most of New Zealand's telecommunications still use copper wire. Communications Minister Maurice Williamson believes New Zealand will soon have fibre-optics in the home, and even bought his own fibre cable to supply his home on a recent trip to the US.

"The cabling we have to our premises is sufficient in the meantime, but the economic benefits of moving to fibre will be perceived quickly. If we stay an open, deregulated market we could have fibre to the home before 2010," he says. "It won't necessarily be all the way to the back of Ekatahuna Valley but we could have it to the majority of the country."

Cable now passes through 90% of the homes in the US and 60% of the population are taking a feed from it. Cable is within 1.5 kilometres of most homes in Auckland and Wellington, and Telecom is adding fibre to its network at a rate of 1,000 kilometres a year.

Telecom has been working through a fibre-to-the home project since 1988, when the first computer models were made to assess the cost benefits over copper. In all cases it was found to be a cheaper medium, with a life of about 25 years. The main point is to develop a market for the new medium by ensuring that there are desirable applications.

A cable television pilot feeding about 600 homes in Auckland is the first step, offering users far greater programming choices than they have currently. The project will be under way within the next few months, with service expected to be delivered later this year.

While fibre optics to the home conjures up images of massive earthworks, Telecom has been busy gearing for a cleaner solution to coincide with the arrival of broadband technology. It is progressively laying underground ducting in city areas to allow copper to be withdrawn and fibre optics to be threaded in once there is sufficient demand.

Commercial Uses

Telecom corporate business development manager Dr Murray Milner thinks it's not unrealistic to believe that cable television companies will soon create a demand for fibre to the home. Several parties have already shown an interest, with Sky Television looking at cable to satellite broadcasting linked in with telecommunications as a signalling medium.

Ascom-Timeplex vice president David Woodall says that applications development, faster computer processing and cheaper communications are forcing the market to evolve towards broadband.

"You won't build a broadband infrastructure in six months -- it takes at least four to five years. And while the obligation is to meet existing customers' needs, you need to be able to start working on the future now so you can foot it in both worlds," he says

He says New Zealand could easily showcase the way it puts together its WCL broadband strategy, but commercial success in the world market is another issue altogether.

"There could be companies who would be keen to advance release or beta-test product here, although there is no inherent advantage. The most likely advantage would come for companies wanting to work on development of specific applications with international partners," Woodall says.

Likely uses could be interactive television, imaged documents for insurance companies and banks and remote diagnosis of medical conditions including the transfer of X-rays.

"Already many banks are finding it is more economical to move to 2 Mbit/sec rather than a lot of 64 kbit/sec channels," says Woodall.

The Information Technology Association (ITANZ), made up of senior managers from the country's main computer and telecommunications firms, is keen to see the WCL concept more clearly defined.

"We feel there's great potential for the WCL to accelerate the uptake of broadband networking applications in New Zealand and believe the encouragement by government provides opportunities for that," says ITANZ executive director Tony Tait.

Tait hopes telecommunications users will now come forward and suppliers of bandwidth will begin providing attractive price performance to make a whole new range of applications possible.

It is a very real possibility that the emergence of broadband networks could turn the world into one massive electronic library of information and redefine work as we know it. But without a critical mass of users and applications suppliers, and a strong push from the carriers, broadband communications will remain in the visionary realm.

Keith Newman is a writer specialising in telecommunications and computer issues.