BPN 1339 FTMH - The vote for fiber is yes

The meeting of the owners’ association was disappointing. There was no representative of AlmeerNet. In one or another way I had misinterpreted the point on the agenda. No representative to answer my four questions.

So the members of the owners’ association were asked to vote in favour of a motion, whereby AlmeerNet can link every apartment to the mainline. Voting for this motion was easy. It does not cost anyone a dime; besides the apartment is easier to sell with a link to glass fiber than without. The motion was passed with a large majority. Next step in the project will be the linking.

It brings closer the question, which company to choose. So far there were three parties involved: UPC, AlmeerNet and KPN.
UPC is the incumbent cable operator which has upgraded its cable network to fiber, but the optical cable ends in the headstations (Fiber to the Curb). The last mile consists of coax/copper cable. The UPC upgrade allows speeds of 25, 60 and 120Mbps with a Eurodocsis cable modem. For the 120Mbps connection UPC asks resp. 50,50, 60,50 and 80,50 euro a month, exclusive of telecom and radio and television..
AlmeerNet runs the open network. They do not deliver the services to the subscribers, but keep the network going technically. AlmeerNet is an initiatiive of the Almere Fiber Consortium, consisting of the municipality Almere, the housing corporations Goede Stede, Ymere, Alliance Flevoland and Reggefiber (51 pct majority by KPN).
KPN is a service provider to AlmeerNet. It will offer telephone, television and internet. Other services such as security will also be offered in the future. KPN offers three speed packages of 30, 50 and 60 Mbps download with 3,5 and 6 Mbps upload for the price of resp. 65, 80 and 110 euro, including free telecom traffic and resp. 50, 70 and 100 tv channels.

New is the announcement of Online as provider for AlmeerNet. Online is the latest platitudinous name for the former Orange broadband service; Online is part of the joint venture Orange and T-Mobile. So far Online has offered ADSL and cable services; now it has added fiber subscription. However the offer of Online is not known yet. Besides more service providers would be welcome, preferably with smaller TV channel offers (who can watch 100 channels a day; ridiculous).



Looking at the table there are two remarks. UPC makes an offer for fast internet, exclusive of a required basic TV package and optional telecom. KPN makes an offer for less fast internet, but inclusive of television and telecom. These are however the offers on internet. UPC and KPN have introduction offers. In Almere, UPC and KPN have now special offers. Both companies play with the television and telecom extras.

And there are more differences such as the speed. UPC offers 120Mbps, while KPN offers 60Mbps as maximum on AlmeerNet for our neighbourhood. This is strange, for I know for sure that a month ago KPN offered 100Mbps. There is still another difference in the speed. UPC offers internet from a headstation to more subscribers in the same area. AlmeerNet and her providers like KPN and Online offer a one-to-one connection to the subscriber. This means that the UPC speed will vary depending on the number of users, while the AlmeerNet speed will be stable.

Blog Posting Number: 1339

Tags: fiber, cable

BPN 1338 FTMH - Fiber in the ground; next step

During my stay abroad, the laying of fiber in the neighbourhood has continued. In the streets behind the apartment building where we are living, street by street was cabled, by opening up the pavements, laying the cable, branching it to the houses and filling the holes and reconstructing the pavements. But the cable has also been laid for the vintage boats in front of our apartment building, as most of them are used as house boats and people are living on them permanently; so with water, electricity and telephone, they now get fiber to the boat (FTTB). In the meantime also our apartment building has been passed. It is a kind of funny as they had to negotiate a corner with a head to end box of the cable operator UPC (see photograph). Now the circus of linking up to the homes and apartments starts as well as the signing up for subscriptions.

From our offices we can oversee the work in the street at backside of our apartment building. With military discipline, the fiber was laid, street by street.









Also the house boats will be provided with a fiber connection.









This is where fiber crosses the UPC headstation.








In our apartment building the linking up will start after tonight’s meeting of the owners’ association. In order to reach the highest floor, AlmeerNet needs the permission of the people living under the highest floor. As the linking up does not cost anything, it is likely that no one will object to the linking. But after that the battle for subscriptions between UPC and AlmeerNet will start. For the time being there will be a battle between UPC and KPN, as no other provider is yet available on AlmeerNet. The local press even speaks of a moratorium of one year for KPN, as they and Reggefiber, a joint venture with KPN, are financing the network.

Tonight the owners ‘association of our apartment building will meet for the annual meeting. A representative of AlmeerNet will be present. I am eager to hear how he answers questions like:
1. What is the difference between UPC net and AlmeerNet?
2. Is it true that KPN will have the sole right for one year to sign up subscriptions as there are no other providers, while in Amsterdam there are at least five providers.
3. What will be the costs of subscriptions as they have not been published officially and are different from town to town.
4. When will the AlmeerNet be available to new subscribers?
I think I can answer these questions now, but it will be interesting to see how the AlmeerNet representative handles the questions.

Blog Posting Number: 1338

Tag: fiber

BPN 1318 FTMH – Work in progress

The digging work of the fiber cable has come to our side of the channel. Earlier the fiber cable had been shot under the canal and was ready to be connected (see spot 1 on the panorama photograph). In the past week the sidewalks were marked.



Now the passing of the homes has started in earnest (see mark 2 on the panorama photograph).


In week 16 the team will be on the side of our apartment building. Representatives of AlmeerNet are nervously running around trying to get permission from the apartment owners to link up their apartments. However the owners' union will officially decide to be linked up to fiber on April 15. A representative of AlmeerNet will be present that evening. Appearantly AlmeerNet is not exactly coordinating well internally.

Blog Posting Number: 1318

Tags: fiber, fibre, glass fiber

BPN 1316 FTMH - Fiber To My (Almere) Home

Fiber is getting close to our apartment in Almere now, as you can see from the photograph. Work is being done on the ring of fiber cables around the city. Two weeks ago the orange fiber cable was visible in our neighbourhood. Presently company laying the fiber cable is preparing the main routes in the neighbourhood. One of the difficulties is the crossing of the canal in front of our apartment.

Elsewhere in the city I saw work being done, laying the fiber cable in the street and bringing the fiber behind every door. The company has learned from the Amsterdam experience where in first instance the fibre cable was laid up to the door; then the marketing campaign for the subscriptions was started and the fiber connected to the home, behind the door. As this method yielded few subscriptions, now every house and apartment is connected (if permission is given by the owner).

But it is not only the fiber cables that tell the arrival of glass fiber in the neighbourhood. A public relation offensive has also been started. A letter and paper has been delivered to every mailbox, proclaiming the benefits of fiber and the activities in the neighbourhood. During the meeting of apartment owners next month, a representative of AlmeerNet will come to speak and answer questions.

In the meantime the network organisation, known as AlmeerNet, has been active already in other parts of Almere Harbour and Almere City. By the end of the year 70.000 houses will have to be connected. Presently 275 people are employed in the project.

I will follow the project closely as decisions have to be made: do we choose for AlmeerNet or are we sticking to UPC. The speed will not really be the issue, but the offer of radio and television programs and perks as well as the financial subscription will. Besides AlmeerNet has one provider, the incumbent telco KPN, so far, while it is an open net; UPC is a closed net so far and has also one provider, UPC itself. Yet there is a politically unanswered question whether KPN has a monopoly for the first year.

In short: decisions, decisions. I will follow and write the whole process of the fiber cable laying, the PR to the potential customers, the offer and the political situation. The articles on this subject will be gathered in the blog FTMH – Fiber To My (Almere) Home.

Blog Posting Number: 1316

Tags: fiber, fibre