Sweden benefits from Gigabit Ethernet network

NEWS Packet Engines and Swedish multimedia company Utfors are setting up a Metropolitan Area Network between Stockholm and Uppsala. The network will be the first of its type in Europe. The Gigabit Ethernet network will begin a series of extensive tests this morning. When it launches on 1 November it will provide voice over IP, video on demand and Lan (local area network) services over 80km of fibre optic cable and Packet Engines enterprise routing switches. Bernard Daines, president and CEO of Packet Engines, said: "This is the way to build the network of your dreams." He claimed that networking faces a "triple witching hour" with cheaper routing switches, the mass move to IP and the availability of dark fibre changing the distinction between local and wide area networks. He believes that these three factors will create an effective global Lan. He conceded that the market for dark fibre is less evolved in Europe than in the US.