wiredInUSA December 2020

Lasers reach beyond fiber

Phase 5 contract

Ducab HV will supply and install high voltage cabling for Phase 5 of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park (MBR Solar Park). The Phase 5 project will demand approximately 275km of cable, with all relevant accessories and terminations. The project will be executed over three plots of 300MW each, and is said to be among the most cost-effective solar parks in the world. In addition to cable and accessory supply, Ducab HV will be responsible for cable installation, acting as cable subcontractor appointed by Shanghai Electric of China. The latest project award follows Ducab HV’s work on the 132kV system for Phase 3 of the same facility.

Image courtesy of Liquid Telecom

Econet, which owns African wholesale network Liquid Telecom, is looking to use laser beams to carry data traffic in areas where fiber is impractical. The company is working with Project Taara, an Alphabet venture, to install laser beams carrying up to 20Gbps for up to 20km over areas where it is impractical or not economically viable to install fiber. Norman Moyo, Econet’s executive for new enterprises, said: “This technology and our partnership with Taara forms an important building block towards realizing our vision of a digitally connected future that leaves no African behind.” Project Taara has a pilot in India’s Andhra Pradesh, where the mountainous terrain makes conventional fiber networks difficult: the company is using free-space optical communications (FSOC) as an alternative. The lasers can connect cell towers as well as Wi-Fi hotspots, said Mahesh Krishnaswamy, general manager of Project Taara.

wiredInUSA - December 2020

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