Housing Development Corporation (HDC) has extended the FTTH (Fiber-to-the-home) connections to the Hiya flats developed by Maldives Airports Company Limited (MACL) and State Electric Company Limited (STELCO).
HDC stated that the FTTH connections were extended as part of the planned expansion of the Open Access Network (OAN) and fiber connections to upcoming developments in Hulhumale’. The connections were extended to 384 apartments developed by MACL and 360 apartments developed by STELCO.
The city-wide FTTH network is a strategic infrastructure asset being established at present by HDC to create the fundamental platform required in a smart city ecosystem. Residents living in the first 6,720 Hiya flats have been using HDC’s FTTH connections to obtain internet and cable TV services. FTTH has several advantages to both the community and the service providers.
HDC stated that the readily available FTTH connectivity in the apartments are a necessity for the residents to obtain the internet, TV and other similar services quickly as soon as they move in. Additionally, the FTTH connections can give the residents greater speed, more service range, easy and flexible choices. FTTH has been useful for individuals seeking to keep pace with high-bandwidth Internet applications and home entertainment options such as high-definition video on demand.
Furthermore, HDC stated that service providers can also benefit from the FTTH, as they can provide connections instantly to households without having to keep them waiting for too long to install the physical cabling. FTTH will also increase the subscriber rate for service providers and significantly reduce the installation time and costs to service providers.
Additionally, HDC’s network and FTTH can minimise road digging, and it will be a future-proof scalable network, and a cost-effective model for service providers. In addition to the considerable reduction of capital expenditure on infrastructure, network maintenance costs for service providers will also be reduced, thereby giving the service providers more time and resources to focus on their core business. HDC stated that the open access network is a vital infrastructure component.