BCL Completes Upgrade To Napier And Gisborne Links

BCL completes upgrade to Napier and Gisborne links

20 December 2004 - TelstraClear is the first telecommunications company to make use of upgraded voice and data links into Napier and Gisborne.

Broadcast Communications Limited (BCL), New Zealand's wireless communications network company, has completed a major upgrade of its digital microwave radio network into the two cities, significantly increasing voice and data capacity.

BCL Managing Director Geoff Lawson said the appetite for bandwidth was increasing in many regional centres and communications links had to keep pace to ensure regions could stay competitive.

"Until now Gisborne especially has been constrained by limited bandwidth. BCL's upgrade opens up more options for companies such as TelstraClear in the region," he said.

He said the increased capacity enables BCL to offer more flexible and cost-effective services to phone and Internet companies. It also increases the amount of back-up capacity to improve reliability and safeguard emergency calls in the event of an outage on existing links.

The new digital microwave radio links add significant extra voice and data capacity into Gisborne and complements existing fibre links into Napier, adding increased network protection.

BCL has invested close to $1 million in the upgrade, which has seen multiple 155 Mbps digital microwave radio bearers and other new equipment installed on five BCL transmission sites in the region.

Mr Lawson said each 155 Mbps bearer had the capacity to carry the equivalent of around 4,000 compressed simultaneous voice calls. The upgrade also means additional bandwidth can be quickly and cost-effectively added to meet future demand.

ENDS

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