Online Guide to Help UK Communities Build FTTH Broadband Networks

Sweden-based Rala, which helps to build fibre optic networks around Europe, will next week launch “the world’s first” online guide to help communities in the United Kingdom with the planning and delivery of Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) based ultra-fast broadband ISP networks.

The website – Buildfibre.com – is expected to be launched during the FTTH Conference in London (19th to 21st February 2013 – Stand S33) and will be targeted at the 30 to 40 community projects in the United Kingdom that Rala estimates are “at a stage of development right now where detailed and accurate plans would pay off, both in securing funds and saving money over the duration of the network installation“.

Tobias Ahl, CEO of Rala, explained:

“We want to make it as easy as possible to get started with an FTTH project. With buildfibre.com you add properties, interested property owners and access points in your community as you go – simply by pointing on a map. The service helps any project manager to keep track of the project as it grows.”

At the time of writing there isn’t much information available on the website, unless you register, although as a “special promotion” Rala is inviting anyone with an interest to take a no obligation free trial of the service (i.e. the final product will obviously come at a cost). In fairness producing a detailed high level design, specifying all passive materials with costs for materials and labour is a tedious process that’s difficult to do for free.

Overall this is a very good idea, although it’s difficult to judge whether or not it will be more effective than simply doing the same work yourself (gathering up demand and interest usually involves tedious paper maps and spreadsheets). It’s also worth pointing out that Rala already has a presence in the country after two community network projects hired them in October 2012 to work on related planning and design activities for FTTH style setups.

Curiously the Buildfibre.com website doesn’t load with Internet Explorer browsers (except IE10) but will do on Firefox, Chrome or Safari. It also runs on both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac platforms as well as tablet formats.