Vodafone is expanding the fiber optic network in Dresden as part of a funding program in order to provide around 6,000 households and companies with faster Internet. The group relies on new laying methods that are intended to enable faster expansion than traditional, more expensive civil engineering. Also included is nano-trenching.
The expansion in Dresden is scheduled for the next two years and comprises a total of 6,000 households and companies, half of which are considered undersupplied because only speeds of less than 30 Mbit/s can be offered. The federal government, the Free State of Saxony and the state capital are providing more than 21 million euros in funding for these 3,000 addresses. Vodafone will expand the other 3,000 addresses on its own. A total of 210 km of fiber optics are to be laid. The focus is on the districts of Cossebaude, Eschdorf, Gohlis, Hosterwitz, Mobschatz, Oberwartha, Pillnitz, Schönfeld, Weißig and Weixdorf.
The construction work that began in the middle of this year is expected to be completed relatively quickly by the beginning of 2023. Several new laying processes, some of which Vodafone is testing in pilot projects, are intended to help. Minimally invasive is the decisive term that describes a laying method without major tearing open of the road surface, nature and other infrastructure. These new methods should be able to be carried out faster, cheaper and with less disability for residents and travelers than conventional civil engineering.
creates nano-trenching 600 m per day
In the Eschdorf district of Dresden, for example, nano-treching is being used, ie “nano-trenches” that only reach a few centimeters into the asphalt and accommodate the fiber-optic cables. The depth of the cut varies between 6 and 18 cm, depending on the number and type of cable strands to be introduced. In almost one step, the road surface is opened, cables laid and asphalt sealed again. Vodafone explains that it can cover distances of up to 600 m every day. In addition, explicit construction site facilities would be omitted or would only be necessary for a very limited period of time. Roads would only have to be blocked for a short time and only on one side.
Nano-trenching in Dresden (Image: Vodafone) In rural areas, on the other hand, especially for unpaved areas, Vodafone relies on the plowing method, in which a plow blade breaks a furrow in the ground and then the empty pipe or the underground cable is laid directly in it. With this laying method, which extends to a depth of up to 2 m and should be particularly economical, Vodafone can lay up to 5 km of fiber optic cables per day.
Flush drilling method drills horizontally
The flush drilling method is used when crossing buildings, streets and rivers Completion of the drilling process, which after the operation leaves an underground channel for the cables. Deutsche Telekom calls a comparable method the keyhole method, which also drills horizontally to the end point for FTTH in the building.
Spühlbohrung in Dresden (Image: Vodafone)