Flexible manufacturing processes, bend-friendly and high performance fibers and the miniaturization of fiber infrastructure components help reduce carbon footprint and energy costs
ECOC2009, Vienna, September 21, -- Draka Communications, a global leader in the optical fiber industry has announced that its fiber business is aligning to address both public and industry concerns for sustainable development.
While initial FTTH network deployment does contribute to climate change impact (study conducted this year for the FTTH Council Europe by PWC's Ecobilan division ) this is offset by the positive environmental contribution of fibre to the home through social changes enabled by new services such as teleworking, telemedicine and home-based medical assistance which result in a much greater eco-efficiency on average over an estimated 15 year lifecycle. In addition, Draka has focused on the crucial deployment phase to further reduce its energy footprint. On the other hand, in emerging fast growing markets such as datacenters, new customer concerns about power consumption, cooling and environmental impact are now being addressed by using high data rate fiber cabling which resolves transmission limitations for 10 Gb/s Ethernet applications and beyond.
In a FTTH network roll-out, the most energy-intensive aspect of an FTTH infrastructure, Draka has developed an extensive FTTH passive network deployment approach combining smart software, friendly fiber, new duct technology and time-saving connectivity products. This not only optimizes multiple cost parameters, it delivers an energy-efficient solution to match the unique local conditions of each FTTH project.
Draka's bend-friendly BendBright-XS fiber is re-shaping the deployment process for next generation networks while stimulating miniaturization trends in connectivity hardware by allowing higher fiber density in tighter spaces. Easier handling, a significant factor in facilitating optical network roll-outs, reducing energy consumption, material costs and project man-hours. Fiber evolution such as 100 times bend-tolerance improvement adds value and total cost of ownership benefits
"In pure terms, this is innovative fiber technology at the service of reducing consumption and energy footprint without sacrificing product performance. " notes Laurent Gasca, Product Line Manager Single-mode Fiber and Coordinator for Draka Communications on Environmental Matters. "In our industry, Draka fiber manufacturing leadership helps us master all of the key building blocks down to the level of small-run, customized specialty fibers which are finding use in datacenter installations. "
These unique fiber attributes are made possible through the flexibility and performance of Draka's fiber manufacturing platform with its proprietary Plasma-activated Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD) process. This manufacturing process is particularly fine-tuned towards high-end optical fiber products like BendBright-XS for FTTH and MaxCap-OM4 for datacenters to create product characteristics which are essential for the environments in which the fiber is deployed.
Carbon disclosure project
Draka is a participant in the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) on climate change. The CDP represents 385 global institutional investors with more than $57 trillion in assets under management.. This year, as part of a voluntary disclosure action, Draka was singled out as one of the 10 highest scoring companies in transparency in The Netherlands.
Optical fiber market growth
Draka's Communications Group, which accounts for around 27% (around € 723 million in 2008) of Draka's revenue, specializes in supplying optical fiber, cable and complete solutions for the communications infrastructure market, with sales concentrated in Europe (approximately 65% in terms of revenue) and the remaining 35% roughly equally divided between America and Asia.
The optical fiber market performed better than Draka predicted in 2009. Total global demand remains stable, supported mainly by rapid growth in network investments in China (though demand in Europe and North America was down by around 15% due to the current crisis). Optical fiber prices (in US dollars) held firm everywhere except China, where vigorous growth exerted upward pressure.
About Draka
Draka (Euronext Amsterdam: DRAK), headquartered in Amsterdam, has around 9000 employees in countries worldwide and a 2008 annual turnover of € 2.7 billion. Draka has 68 subsidiaries in 30 countries in Europe, North and South America, Asia and Australia.
Draka's activities are divided into three groups: Energy & Infrastructure, Industry & Specialty and Communications. Draka Communications with its two business units, Telecom Solutions and Multimedia Specials, is a global market leader for the development, production and sales of fibers, cables and advanced network solutions. More information at www.draka.com.
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Attributes of fibers from the BendBright family that contribute to Green networks begin at the molecular level in the manufacturing process and are enhanced through the flexibility and performance of Draka's fiber manufacturing platform with its proprietary Plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition (PCVD) process. The process is particularly fine-tuned to optical fiber products in specialty markets
