EoW July 2011

corporate news

City benefits from expertise

Draka Communications has won a consulting, licensing and training contract with e.wa riss Netze, a fibre services venture jointly owned by the public utility of the city of Biberach and EnBW, an energy provider for southwest Germany. e.wa riss Netze (networks) will benefit from Draka’s FTTH expertise and application of the DrakaXSNet software suite in the evolution of its existing high speed fibre network serving the citizens of Biberach. “We are now implementing new, cost-effective development processes to support the planning, expansion and documentation of our fibre network,” said Michael Preiss, CEO of e.wa riss Netze GmbH. “In Draka we have found an innovative partner with a wealth of knowledge.” Following research and comparison studies involving various planning software solutions, e.wa riss Netze concluded Draka XSNet to be the best, most flexible option and a valuable asset for cost efficiency when constructing FTTx networks. Draka’s intelligent software allows network builders to identify an optimal solution, enabling total cost of ownership reductions during the network construction phase. “This is a wonderful opportunity to contribute to Biberach’s community fibre network development, as well as being an excellent reference for other local authority projects around Europe,” said Edgar Aker, director marketing and product management, Draka Communications Telecom Solutions, EMEA. Together with network planning company E9, e.wa riss Netze began building the fibre infrastructure for its ewacom branded fibre services in Biberach. Services began in January 2010, and today offer business districts and residents of Biberach attractive triple play service packages with flat rate options from €39,90 to €69,90 and speeds of 50 Mb/s up to 150 Mb/s. Located on the river Riss in south western Germany, Biberach has

▲ ▲ The city of Biberach – a significant industrial area benefitting from high performance broadband infrastructure

essential activities of a distribution network provider – managing the installation/construction, development and the marketing of power and gas grids. The optical fibre network has now become an important division of e.wa riss Netze. Draka Communications – Netherlands Email : info@draka.com Website : www.draka.com

a population of 32,000 and is a significant industrial location within the area. The regional utility and energy companies realised that building a high performance broadband infrastructure would be an important pillar for the development of the community, ensuring a high level of universal services for businesses and citizens. In 2009, e.wa riss Netze GmbH was set up as a 50% joint venture between the utility companies, focusing on the

Record new all-time sales Leoni generated new all-time high sales and earnings in the first quarter of 2011. The provider of cables and cable systems to the automotive sector and other industries increased its consolidated sales to the end of March 2011 by about 38 per cent year on year, to €910.7 million. In so doing, Leoni grew in virtually all regions and exceeded expectations in both of its divisions. The unabated, heavy demand from the automotive industry was the basis for this strong performance. Free cash flow improved to a negative figure of €8.2 million (previous year: outflow of €61.1 million), representing a significantly better outcome compared to the first quarter results in previous years. Net debt thus increased only slightly versus the end of 2010 to €458.3 million (31 st December 2010: €444.6 million). Leoni AG – Germany Fax : +49 911 202 3455 Email : info@leoni.com Website : www.leoni.com

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EuroWire – July 2011