By Lisa Burroughes, 13 August 1998 18:13
NEWS Businesses in the Netherlands are to get a high-speed SDH (synchronous digital hierarchy) microwave telecoms network. Esprit Telecom will link up six cites, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with its pan-European network. Keith Harmen, director of network engineering at Esprit, said: "Microwave is a transport medium which fits the Netherlands' physical landscape well, and provides a cost effective method for increasing capacity in a short time." He added that because the microwave receivers have been installed on the same masts as the existing PTT ones, it gives Esprit easier and cheaper access to the PTT network, "so that the cost savings can be passed on to the customer". Being based on SDH, the telco claims it can offer its customers a more reliable service as it automatically re-routes itself at times of failure. Esprit is currently rolling out a fibre optic network across the rest of Europe, but Harmen insists microwave technology is not just a short-term solution for the Netherlands. Although it currently wouldn't work in many countries, it is capable of carrying 300 million call minutes a year.
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