United Group has tapped Ekinops to build optical fibre networks for its Croatian subsidiary, Telemach Hrvastska.
The company – whose telecommunications brands include Telemach, Vivacom, SBB, and Nova – expects to invest more than EUR 500 million over the next five years to extend its optical fiber networks into new areas across its Southern European footprint, as well as upgrading existing ones.
“United Group is committed to empower Croatia and Southeast Europe with innovative and future-proof connectivity solutions across mobile and fixed services,” says Željko Batistić, Vice President Technology, United Group. “Central to this is a fibre optic network that’s both robust and flexible enough to meet the needs of subscribers today and as demands evolve.”
Ekinops’ 200G and 400G FlexRate single carrier solutions are being combined with its Flex Grid ROADM architecture to enable the long-term flexibility needed across both the regional and core networks. With the proposed architecture, including the Ekinops advanced software control and creation mechanisms of Celestis NMS, United Group and Telemach Hrvatska can upgrade networks easily and quickly by simply adding new circuits to the main hub locations.
A single WDM platform offers a coherent solution for urban and regional long-haul networks, accommodating unpredictable bandwidth demands in densely populated areas, as well as interconnecting with other United Group hubs. The compact and power-efficient solution gives a further boost to cost effectiveness.
“United Group’s commitment to enhancing Croatia and the Adriatic’s connectivity is invaluable to the region’s digital transformation,” says Frank Dedobbeleer, Group Vice President Sales EMEA & APAC at Ekinops. “By moving to 200 Gbps and 400 Gbps channel services, United Group will be able to activate bandwidth-intense and delay-sensitive applications in the upcoming 5G era.”
