JT Group Begins FTTH Trial

ISLE OF JERSEY - JT Group (formerly Jersey Telecom) is testing its new fiber-to-the-home network with help from 24 households - and they're giving the new service great reviews. Additional homes are being added to the trial every day, and within the next few weeks, about 500 households will be connected, some with speeds up to 1 Gbps. More than 350 applications were received within the first 48 hours of opening the trial, and JT engineers have been working since then to get the network laid and homes connected.

Adrian Renouf, a freelance IT professional and one of the first to be connected, says, "It makes a considerable difference when streaming TV programs over the Internet, as the pictures come up immediately; there is no need to wait while the buffering takes place. I am currently getting a download speed of 50 Mbps and an upload speed of 40 Mbps, which makes it so much easier to work with pictures or to use more complex websites." Renouf previously had 4 Mbps service.

His experience is echoed by Mark Stockwell, whose 4 Mbps connection was boosted to 84 Mbps: "We are a family of four with multiple devices accessing the Internet at the same time, such as PCs and laptops, an iPod and PS3s. The fiber connection makes it possible for the family to use those devices at the same time without noticing any drop-off in quality. I also particularly noticed the increased upload speeds, which makes sending emails with attachments much easier. Streaming TV was smoother, quicker and had better picture quality. Also I sometimes work from home, and connecting into my work system was much better with fiber."

JT is planning to extend the fiber optic network to every home and business on the island by 2016. During the current three-month trial, participants will be asked for detailed feedback covering everything from the installation experience to the service itself. Their comments will be used to finalize the wholesale products and will help JT and its wholesale partners develop the new fiber broadband services that will be offered to islanders in the near future.

Graeme Millar, CEO of JT, says, “Clearly it takes time to replace the island-wide copper cable network, and we need to do that in stages to minimize disruption and gain appropriate access to the 42,000 homes. Thankfully, when we laid the copper, we did it in such a way as to make it as easy as possible to replace, which will help to keep that disruption to a minimum.

"I'm delighted the fiber broadband trial is now well under way, and the first islanders are already benefiting from the new service; we have also just taken on our first new staff to help deliver the Gigabit Jersey project, so it is definitely all going forward as we planned, and is a very exciting time both for JT and for the Island as a whole. There is of course some way to go, but these are important initial milestones."