EoW May 2010

corporate news

CEO for high-voltage cable firm

At the FTTH Conference 2010 in February, the FTTH Council Europe unveiled the latest figures showing which European countries were leading the way in the penetration of fibre-to-the-home at year-end 2009. Although Sweden, Norway and Slovenia maintained their places in the top five, they were overtaken by Lithuania, which made a dynamic jump to the number one position with 18 per cent FTTH penetration. All four countries now have penetration rates greater than 10 per cent. France and Portugal broke into the ranking for the first time, helped by strong deployment of fibre infrastructure as well as marketing efforts to engage subscribers. FTTH uptake in both countries is expected to continue to increase rapidly as both countries also rank in the top ten economies in terms of the availability of FTTH. In absolute figures Europe has reached 2.5 million subscribers – 3.5 million if Russia is also included. The majority of subscribers (77 per cent) are concentrated in seven countries, in the following order: Sweden, Italy, France, Lithuania, Norway, The Netherlands and Denmark. Amongst these seven, five countries now have more than 200,000 connected subscribers. FTTH Council Europe – Belgium Fax : +32 2503 2277 Email : info@ftthcouncil.eu Website : www.ftthcouncil.eu Dubai Cable Company (Ducab), one of Middle East’s top power cable makers, has appointed Jon Vail as CEO of its newly launched subsidiary, Ducab HV Cable Systems. The announcement came exactly a year after the company announced the formation of the joint venture company in which Ducab has a 50 per cent holding with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) and Abu Dhabi Water and Electricity Authority (ADWEA) holding 25 per cent each. Ducab is jointly owned by the governments of Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The new company will sell cable systems in the voltage range of 66kV to 400kV, covering the highest voltage currently used in the GCC and operating as the first dedicated high-voltage facility in the region. Once fully operational, the company plans on selling over Dh1 billion of cable and associated services annually, approximately 60 per cent of which will be consumed in the UAE. The company has also confirmed the construction of a new dedicated factory at the Jebel Ali site. Machinery installations will begin later in 2010. Dubai Cable Company – Dubai and Abu Dhabi Email : ducab@ducab.com Website : www.ducab.ae FTTH take-up gathers pace

Correction of contact details

In the March issue of EuroWire, within the armouring and reinforcing of cables feature, the website address of Flymca was incorrect. Please note that Flymca’s correct website address and contact details are as given below. Flymca – Spain Fax : +34 942 55 9865

Email : flymca@flymca.com Website : www.flymca.com

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EuroWire – May 2010