WiredInUSA May 2016

Subsea upgrade

Mini-grid on trial

Transworld Associates (TWA) a Pakistan Internet and international connectivity provider, has contracted with Huawei Marine to upgrade its TW1 submarine cable system. Commissioned in 2006, the 1,300km TW1 submarine cable system connects Pakistan, UAE and Oman. The 100G upgrade will combine submarine and terrestrial systems into a unified network by utilizing Huawei’s WDM/OTN product OSN 8800/9800. The upgrade is planned to increase the operational and management capabilities of the TW1 system, while substantially lowering operating costs. Huawei’s OSN 8800/9800 platform and 100G transmission technology will multiply the original system design capacity by six. “The 100G upgrade will increase system capacity to meet the expectations for high quality international connectivity services for our customers,” said Kamran Malik, president of TWA. “The flexible upgrade solution delivered by Huawei Marine will provide options for us to upgrade to 400Gb or 1Tb in the future, which will allow greater flexibility while enabling us to maintain our quality and reliability commitments to customers.”

Australia’s first mini-grid trial has been launched in the Melbourne suburb of Mooroolbark. Fourteen homes with residential solar systems and batteries will generate, store and share renewable electricity with each other as a mini-grid using their local power lines. AusNet Services MD Nino Ficca described it as “an exciting trial” and thanked the residents for their willingness to participate. “We’re now installing the solar systems, batteries and associated communication equipment,” Mr Ficca said. Over the next 12 months, AusNet Services will focus on monitoring consumption levels and behaviors for each participating household so that individual houses can be disconnected from the electricity grid, operating solely on the solar energy generated and stored in their batteries. AusNet Services ran a three-year battery storage trial to examine how residential batteries can export electricity into the grid to support the network during peak demand times, or during unplanned outages.

wiredInUSA - May 2016

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