Ericsson on future of $15m Porirua fibre optic plant
Fibre ducting plan is the company's first outside of its home base of Sweden; will make gear for the UFB and the Rural Broadband Initiative.
The local telco industry has been abuzz this morning with news that Ericsson is closing its cable business in Europe.
However, Swedish company's NZ spokesman, Quentin Bright, says the closure has no bearing on Ericsson's $15 million fibre optic cable factory recently opened in Porirua - a project cited by Wellington Mayor Celia Wade-Brown to counter Prime Minister John Key's recent claim that Wellington is a "dying city."
"It's business as usual. The New Zealand fibre ducting facility will continue as planned and we will continue with our commitment to our New Zealand customers," Mr Bright tells NBR.
"This announcement relates to a Swedish-based plant supplying the European market."
Ericsson plans $15m fibre optic plant for Porirua
February 21, 2013: Ericsson says it will build a plant in Porirua that manufacture fibre ducting for the public-private Ultrafast Broadband (UFB) and Rural Broadband Initiative (RBI) rollouts.
ICT Minister Amy Adams says the company is investing $15 million in the plant, which is the first of its kind outside Ericsson's home base of Sweden.
It will employ around 30.
Ericsson says the Todd Park facility has the potential to supply other fibre projects around Asia Pacific.
The Swedish company does not have a core contract with a major telco at the moment (Telecom's primary network infrastrucure partner is Alcatel-Lucent; Vodafone's Nokia-Siemens and 2degrees' Huawei).
But it made good headway with the UFB tenders, landing contracts to supply Chorus (responsible for around 70% of the rollout by premise) and Northpower (which holds the UFB contract for Whangarei).
NBR staff
Thu, 23 May 2013
Thu, 23 May 2013
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Ericsson on future of $15m Porirua fibre optic plant
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