Officials at the signing
Dewa to utilise G-PON fibre service on substations
DUBAI, April 22, 2015
Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has signed a partnership with Etisalat to utilise the Gigabit-capable Passive Optical Network (GPON) on the Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) backbone fibre network on all its 29,000 substations.
The first phase will cover 3,200 substations in four zones across Dubai and will be completed by the end of this year, said a statement.
Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, managing director and chief executive officer of Dewa, said: “As part of the Dubai Smart City initiative launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to make Dubai the happiest and smartest city in the world, with the best possible standards of living for its residents, visitors and citizens, we have signed partnership with Etisalat in support of its key role in building the communications infrastructure. Phase one of this project will be completed by the end of 2015.
“Smart grids are a main component of smart cities, and we are building the world's first network that covers everything all the way to the customer, from generation to transmission to distribution.”
“The smart grid will include demand side management, asset management, automation, transfer stations, automation of distribution networks, and the integration of systems and smart meters that will enhance living standards and happiness in Dubai. We will also involve all stakeholders as our partners in dealing with the smart grid and provide services that save time, effort and resources,” said Al Tayer.
“Dewa is investing Dh7 billion ($1.9 billion) in the smart grid initiative to support the Smart Dubai initiative, as well as its smart initiatives to produce solar electricity in buildings, connecting them to the grid, and building the infrastructure and charging stations for electric vehicles,” he said.
Saleh Abdullah Al Abdouli, CEO of Etisalat, said: “We are pleased to be a part of this strategic partnership to enable DEWA to provide smart safe and reliable services based on Etisalat’s G-PON fibre optic network. This network provides high-speed connectivity and reliability.
“This partnership supports our efforts to deliver fibre optic and 4G network capabilties to support the public and private sectors in the UAE. This will drive local technology forward to achieve the smart government vision and establish the UAE’s leading position on a global level.” - TradeArabia News Service