DARK FIBER AT AVANTIS

[BIZ: Avantis, December 8]
Avantis, the European science and business park, working with the Dutch Isilinx foundation, is going fiber optic. René Seijben, the president of Avantis, and Antoine Hannemann, the director of the Isilinx foundation, signed an agreement on November 30, on the basis of which businesses at Avantis and new businesses that arrive there after January 2008 will be able to use a fiber optic network. “The Aachen/Heerlen World Trade Center is already part of the system and this will give new business at Avantis an ultra modern flexible option for data transmission”, said René Seijben on signing the contract.

The implementation will be in the hands of Avantis Services NV, Avantis’ park and facility management company. Clients of Avantis Services can choose among three packages for optimal connection speeds with an additional option for assistance with point-to-point links using managed dark fiber. This is a particular fiber optic system without the additional infrastructure. Fiber waiting to be used, allows for networks with unlimited scope at other locations within The Netherlands and elsewhere.

Isilinx has made Avantis a very attractive offer in comparison with its competitors. “It’s between 10% and 50% cheaper,” says Antoine Hannemann. But there is even more. There is a Dutch and German backup which means that if there is cable damage anywhere within the system, another route can be chosen and the system remains intact. Isilinx was set up in Heerlen in 2005, and provides fiber optic networks for the municipalities of Heerlen, Kerkrade, and Maastricht and for other towns in South Limburg too. On November 13, in Exton, Pennsylvania, in the US, it was noted that Isilinx had received a BE award for 2007 in the geo-spatial communications category for the Isilinx fiber optic project in South Limburg. Avantis offers businesses in its science park unlimited options, and growth sectors, such as automotive, energy, health, attach a great deal of importance to rapid digital communication. Avantis is concerned with all levels of communication, whether it be road, rail, air or the digital highway.
http://www.avantis.org/