Connectivity services – dark fibre

The Institute of Telecommunications Technology of Tenerife (IT3)

IT3 is a neutral telecommunications operator created by ITER with a mission to promote and develop the internal and external connectivity of Tenerife through its involvement in various local and international projects that seek to strengthen and expand knowledge-based society in Tenerife and, by extension, the rest of the Canary archipelago.

IT3 is deploying a dark fibre hub – the Tenerife Telecommunications Hub (AITT) – connecting road and rail infrastructures across the island of Tenerife, available to any operator, under an open competitive regime.

In its initial phase, the hub will connect the metropolitan areas of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna with the landing station for numerous undersea cables (NAP).

In stages, the hub is to become a ring connecting all the coastal conurbations around Tenerife and into the island’s interior, providing connectivity and access to broadband on the part of each and all of the island’s municipal councils.

Description of the ITnetwork

The electronic communications services network developed and operated by IT3 is an entirely passive fibre-optic network intended for dark fibre leasing. IT3 aims to extend the fibre-optic infrastructure to all municipalities of Tenerife with a view to strengthening and expanding knowledge-based society on the island.

In addition to the segments shown in the above image, IT3 offers its customers the option to establish new segments, as required to connect their clients to the existing network, subject to conditions detailed below.

The IThub runs buried in pipelines related to road and rail infrastructures in Tenerife, with a maximum capacity of 504 optic fibres and redundant segments.

The optic fibres are compatible with the technical requirements for signal transmissions by third parties under the following rules:

  • General, main and access segments: ITU-T G.652d.
  • Special cable termination segments: ITU-T Recommendation G.655c.

The accompanying diagram shows the IT3 network’s place in the general architecture of its client network, highlighting the nodes that interconnect both networks and the applicable liability limits.

Services

The services offered by IT3 to the wholesale telecommunication infrastructures market entails making a certain number of optic fibre pairs available, throughout its network, to its customers as dark fibre.

The service may be contracted as a straight lease or through an indefeasible rights of use (IRU) purchase agreement. In both cases, the service provides for the maintenance of the cable under a service level agreement (SLA), as explained in the relevant section.

Two different types of service are offered, according to the type of optic fibre and geographical area:

1. Dark fibre transport:

This service provides the client with a physical fibre-optic connection between two designated points, by linking different sections of the IT3 fibre-optic network. This physical fibre-optic connection is available to the client to enable it to establish the necessary connections and services, together with the telecommunications equipment supporting these.

This service is offered to operators of electronic communications in general. Geographically, the service is available across the entire IT3 network.

2. Undersea cable land terminal Terminación Terrestre de Cable Submarino:

This service enables operators who require a fibre-optic connection between their ‘beach manholes’ (BMHs) and the control centres that oversee and operate the undersea cable.

This service is targeted at electronic communications operators who connect their undersea cables to BMHs covered by the IT3 network. Its geographical scope is limited, therefore, to the routes involved in connecting each BMH with its corresponding control centre.

Dark fibre transport service

The dark fibre transport service can be defined as establishing a means of transmission between two fibre-optic connection points. This involves physically connecting (fusing) sections of optic fibres along the IT3 network.

Providing the dark fibre transport service encompasses all activities involved in establishing that physical connection between the agreed connection points.

The customer can make use of this means of transmission during the contracted period, connecting to it the relevant telecommunication equipment. It is not allowed, however, to sublease or otherwise transfer to third parties the use of all or part of the link, or any channel or wavelength thereof.

Undersea cable landing extension service

The undersea cable landing extension service is defined as providing an optical fibre connection between the terminal BMH and the control centre that oversees and operates the undersea cable.

Provision of this service encompasses all activities involved in establishing that physical connection by fibre-optic cable between the control centre and the terminal BMH.

The customer can make use of this means of transmission during the contracted period, connecting to it the relevant telecommunication equipment. It is not allowed, however, to sublease or otherwise transfer to third parties the use of all or part of the link, or any channel or wavelength thereof.

Service level agreements

Aims

The IT3 quality objectives relating to the provision of point-to-point dark fibre transport services and undersea cable landing extension services, whether redundant or not, are to be detailed in an agreement covering the following parameters:

  • The quality, stability and security of the various infrastructural elements.
  • The timescales for delivery of the links in the existing infrastructure.
  • Timescales for the resolution of faults.
  • The completion of scheduled works.
  • The availability of the links.

IT3 is responsible for developing the entire installation related to these services. For this reason, IT3 is diligent in providing the facilities and procuring the supply, delivery and success of all its services in the terms and conditions that apply, and whether the services are provided directly or through subcontractors. In such cases, the subcontractors selected by IT3 will be duly empowered and qualified to provide these functions, removing in every case any responsibility on the part of the client for any failure, shortcoming or negligence in relation to IT3’s obligations or those of its subcontractors.

Response times for service provision

With regard to both current services and the planning, contracting and supply of new services, IT3 undertakes to observe the following timescales:

  • Feasibility study: The maximum time for an operator to respond to a feasibility study request is 10 working days (not including the project run times).
  • Service activation: The maximum time between receiving a service request and activating it is 22 working days (not including the project run times).
  • Full service delivery: The total time limit for ensuring the service is fully operational: 99.73% (8,616h).

Network maintenance

IT3 provides throughout its network and to where its responsibilities end, whether at the cable termination stations or at client’s optical fibre servers, corrective and preventive maintenance services.

With regard to corrective maintenance, service level agreements (SLAs) are in place to cover repairs of faults and the procedure for reporting incidents and how these are handled.

  1. Corrective maintenance: This covers all activities related to the resolution, either definitive or palliative, of a problem detected by IT3 or by its customers. Where IT3 detects and reacts to a problem before the client does, then the corrective maintenance action will be “proactive”. If it is the client who first detects the fault and informs IT3, then the corrective maintenance will be “reactive”. In general, all activities included in this group will be proactive or reactive, according to who identifies the incident.
  2. Preventive Maintenance: This applies to all activities designed to prevent problems from occurring. That is, activities that are focused on averting problems with the network. With the aim of always pre-warning customers about planned preventive maintenance that will disrupt service delivery, the affected clients should be consulted in advance by providing them with a Works Schedule and giving them the opportunity to define the least disruptive time to carry out the works.