Gigaclear, a rural ISP in the UK, has selected EXFO’s remote fiber testing and monitoring solution to support expansion plans.
EXFO’s technology will allow the ISP to ensure “first time right” deployment to reduce fault finding and truck rolls during operation, and fault identification once in service, from just a few strategic, central locations within its network.

Gigaclear’s network is already present in over 650 rural communities covering more than 22 counties across the South-West, the Midlands and the South-East of England, and more than 300,000 premises are already connected to its FTTP network.

The Internet service provider is in the advanced stages of expanding its network to provide its services to thousands more premises in the counties of Essex, Hertfordshire, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire over the next few years.

UK fiber providers must accelerate build times from 1.5 million homes passed per year (in 2019), to 6 million homes passed by 2025, installing more than 500,000 kilometers of fiber in the process.

EXFO’s technology will help Gigaclear reduce network deployment and turn-up time in pursuit of its fully-funded build target of 500,000 premises by December 2023, contributing to the Government’s goal of connecting 85 percent of UK premises to gigabit-capable broadband by 2025.

EXFO’s remote fiber testing and monitoring solution is based on fixed OTDR test equipment placed at strategic central locations across the network. Through optical switching, the solution automates and speeds up the execution of tests throughout various phases of the network lifecycle, from deployment to operation.