UK Firm Gaist Produce New Map to Help FTTH Broadband Installers

Gaist has launched a new “highly detailed” map for use by installers of Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) broadband networks, which claims to cover “over 200,000 kilometres of the country’s roads and pathways, using more than a billion high definition images to map the highway scape of every classified road in England.”

The company says they’re able to produce highly detailed maps and images of the materials used in highways and footways, as well as the location of all assets such as street furniture and chambers. In theory having access to such data can help to save installation teams and telecoms operators’ significant costs when rolling out FTTH networks.

Gaist’s CEO, Steve Birdsall, said: “The whole industry knows that the fibre network is essential for meeting increased broadband demand and paving the way for the exciting possibilities of 5G networks, IoT technology and even Artificial Intelligence. But the costs are slowing progress as operators struggle to balance their business cases to remain on program and profitable while making such a huge investment.”

“Access to our data helps those operators to plan the network cost-effectively and pre-warns them of problems, providing significant savings for them through improving installation times, reducing variations, and minimising disruption to roads at the same time. This is not only good for the Profit & Loss of a company but also good for its reputation.”