Prysmian Cables & Systems (Milan, Italy) announces that its current contract with Andorra Telecom will help the Principality of Andorra become the first country to provide a direct optical fiber link to all homes (FTTH) and businesses. By its completion in 2010, all 35,000 homes and businesses will be connected by fiber, providing them with ultra-high-speed broadband services.

The project is based around Prysmian's VertiCasa cable system, which is designed to bring optical fiber directly to residents in all types of buildings, including high-rise and multiple dwelling units (MDU).

VertiCasa was chosen for the project due to the easy fiber access and breakout it provides, reducing installation times and the need for skilled labour, therefore lowering overall costs. The system comprises a main riser cable of up to 48 fibers, which can be branched directly to individual subscribers on different floors of an MDU, without the need for splicing of the fiber within the riser of the building.

Jaume Salvat, CEO of Andorra Telecom, said, “We are extremely proud to be implementing such a project here in Andorra. It demonstrates the commitment of Andorra Telecom to providing the best possible information infrastructure across the country, and with the support of Prysmian and the VertiCasa system, we will soon have all our citizens provided with a direct fiber link.”

According to Prysmian, the VertiCasa system was designed with the MDU environment in mind and is proving to be ideally suited to the infrastructure requirements in Andorra.