Vattenfall

Germany: SPIE and Vattenfall Eurofiber drive the expansion of the fibre-optic network in Berlin

Published on 25 November 2022

Berlin, 25 November 2022 SPIE, the independent European leader in multi-technical services in the areas of energy and communications, has been engaged by Vattenfall Eurofiber, a joint venture for the expansion of a high-performance fibre-optic network in Berlin, to lay the foundations for the network roll-out. For a smarter capital city, Vattenfall Eurofiber will equip 500,000 Berlin households with fibre connections, thus enabling fast, stable and energy-efficient Internet.

Good planning is half the battle

SPIE Deutschland & Zentraleuropa will take on the approval and implementation planning for the fibre roll-out, initially in the form of a pilot project for an area of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district. For the project team from SPIE WirliebenKabel in the City Networks & Grids operational division, the first step is to obtain the relevant approvals and permits from the district and senate authorities.

“Because of the many stakeholders involved in utilities, administration and infrastructure, it is especially important in Berlin to win the authorities’ support for projects such as the fibre roll-out through transparency and willingness to engage in dialogue,” explains Mirko Hentschel, Head of Planning and Geoinformation at SPIE WirliebenKabel.

“Vattenfall Eurofiber is here to make Berlin smarter and more sustainable. We are delighted to have gained SPIE WirliebenKabel as a strong and dynamic partner for the planning of the fibre expansion project. Together, we will achieve an even faster network connection for Berlin households,” says Adrian de Korte, Chief Technical Officer of Vattenfall Eurofiber. 

“As a provider of end-to-end solutions for the roll-out of fibre-optic networks, we know that excellent planning is the foundation for the success of the entire project,” adds Hermann Hertling-Greifeneder, Managing Director of SPIE WirliebenKabel.

Strong team for strong performance

The roll-out area in Charlottenburg is one of Vattenfall Eurofiber’s more than 200 in Berlin. As well as obtaining approvals, the team led by project manager Tobias Feitsch is also defining the technical parameters and specifics for the expansion of the fibre-optic network in compliance with official regulations and the client’s material and planning requirements. This includes determining the cabling procedure, but also selecting appropriate pipe and cable types and drawing up splice plans. The large number of underground cables already in place in Berlin is a particular challenge here. “A major task is to prepare the planning data in a target format defined by the customer in order to guarantee the error-free import of the complex and heterogeneous data model into the network management system,” explains SPIE project manager Tobias Feitsch.

Cooperative partnership

This is the first project that Vattenfall Eurofiber and the multi-technical service provider have implemented together. “We are delighted with the assignment and that we can actively drive the expansion of the fibre-optic network in Berlin. We are enjoying a constructive, positive and cooperative partnership with our customer,” says Carsten Zipfel, operational manager at SPIE WirliebenKabel. If the pilot project is a success, additional clusters in other districts to be equipped by Vattenfall Eurofiber could also be planned by SPIE.

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