Lighting up the sewers

Bournemouth sewers might not smell too pretty, but they are pretty useful places to lay down an inexpensive fibre optic network.

And that's exactly what Newton Le Willows-based H2O Networks has in mind. Work will begin on the deployment of the fibre within the next six months, bringing next generation broadband and connectivity to all homes and businesses in the town.

This will be the largest so-called Fibrecity project in Europe and the company will be funding and providing the network at a cost of around £30m.

The majority of the fibre will be put in the sewers using H2O Networks' patented FS (Fibre Optical Cable Underground Sewer) System. The fibre will provide high bandwidth to all Bournemouth's businesses and more than 88,000 homes at speeds far exceeding current DSL or cable modem speeds, typically by tens or even hundreds of Mbps.

Bournemouth Borough Council was keen to see the town become the first Fibrecity as, not only is it renowned as a tourist destination, it is also a regional centre of education and business.