PiteEnergi and "community initiatives" bring true broadband to rural areas

When it comes to fibre-to-the-home, rural areas have generally been considered non-lucrative. But this is all changing. With the help of PacketFront's intelligent broadband solution and local "community initiatives", home owners in Piteå - even in the far outskirts of the area - will be given access to very cost effective telephony, TV and Internet services, provided by competing service providers. This is made possible by that utility company PiteEnergi is extending their area of business and becomes a communication operator for true broadband services.

Piteå - a city looking into the future

Piteå is a Swedish city located merely 150 kilometres south of the Arctic Circle. The closeness to nature is obvious; mountains, wilderness and archipelago are within reach, and yet it is a modern and technologically advanced town. Piteå has 40 500 inhabitants, but the numbers are growing. Piteå is progressive and has taken its first steps towards becoming a key centre for development of the events and experience industry. Recently, yet another reason to move to Piteå has come about! Access to true broadband has proven to be an important parameter in people's choice of housing, and currently the inhabitants of Piteå will get access to better and more competitive broadband services.

PiteEnergi becomes broadband communication operator

AB PiteEnergi is a Swedish utility company, partly owned by the municipality of Piteå and partly by Vattenfall AB. Their areas of business are delivery of electricity, heat, broadband (and other) services, mainly within the municipality of Piteå. Their electricity comes from the water power stations in the North of Sweden, and the production of heat is based mainly on excess energy from Kappa Kraftliner's factory in Piteå.

In the late part of the 1990:s, two separate radio-based networks were built in the Piteå area. The main purpose of these networks was to connect business parks in the city. In 1999, PiteEnergi made the decision to enter the broadband market, and in order to quickly get into the market, they bought one of the radio-based networks. However, PiteEnergi quickly realized that fibre is the media for the future, and since then, the company has been very busy deploying fibre.

True broadband goes rural!

PiteEnergi is now adding to their areas of business and enters the market for True Broadband Networks.

- The fact that PiteEnergi is establishing themselves as a true broadband communication operator is very exciting, and also important for the region, says Martin Thunman, CEO of PacketFront.

PiteEnergi's strategy includes bringing broadband to the rural areas surrounding the city of Piteå - areas formerly considered non-lucrative in fibre broadband network contexts. The recipe for success is based on new technologies and so called "community initiatives". The community initiatives consist of the agreement that PiteEnergi will dig and blow fibre to the villages' boarders, and the villages themselves will bring the fibre the last mile out to the homes.

An open network with competing service providers

PiteEnergi plans to connect 4000 broadband customers in four years. The goal is to create a truly operator independent network, enabled by PacketFront's Intelligent Broadband Solution.

	Sune Berg Net Manager

- We chose PacketFront's solution since their technology is purpose-built for true broadband networks and therefore gives us the ability to effectively handle many and differentiated services on a single infrastructure, says Sune Berg, Net Manager for PiteEnergi.

PiteEnergi will not develop any services themselves. Instead, they will allow and encourage established service providers to deliver services in the network. The goal is to offer a wide variety of services, provided by multiple service providers. In this situation, parameters such as quality and price will be in focus, and the end-users will have true freedom of choice.

The services will not consist merely of Internet access. The network will also offer telephony and TV over IP, and in the long run other services as well.

Technical Platform by PacketFront

The plan for multiple services and competing service providers rests on PacketFront's access technology. PacketFront leads the market for purpose-built, intelligent solutions for IP-based, True Broadband Networks. The solution enables flexibility in choice of business models and thereby it increases possibilities for operator profitability.

- Our products enable open and controllable networks with low OPEX and very low barriers of entry for service providers, says Martin Thunman. This, in turn, leads to possibilities to create freedom of choice and a wide service selection for the end users in the area. PiteEnergi will leverage from a business model that has the true potential of becoming lucrative. PiteEnergi's initiative for open networks definitely places them in the forefront of the Swedish - and international - broadband market, concludes Martin Thunman.

The network consists primarily of singlemode fibre to family home areas. When it comes to family homes in down town Piteå, the infrastructure is already in place. In addition, 3 villages outside of Piteå are ready for connection, and at least 5 more villages will be connected during 2003. But PiteEnergi's plans don't stop there! In a near future they will offer cost effective Internet, TV and telephone services to apartments as well.

- The usage of PacketFront's technology has opened up a great deal of opportunities, says Sune Berg. Neighbouring cities are very interested in cooperation with us, and different organisations and business in Piteå are starting to realize the endless opportunities that our network will offer. The only thing we are lacking right now is enough time to handle all the opportunities, Sune Berg concludes.