Month: January 2017

JT is getting off to an exciting start in 2017 with a major investment in the ‘Internet of Things’. This allows everyday devices to collect and share data via a cutting-edge wireless network. JT, in partnership with Digital Jersey, is now building the Island’s first Long-Range (LoRa) Wide Area Network. This allows devices to access the internet without using 3G/4G or WiFi.

It means that Islanders will be among the first people in the world to experience – and benefit from – the next generation of internet technology. JT is already a global leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) with over one million JT SIM cards connecting devices worldwide. These include things like heart monitors in Canada to payment systems in West Africa. It has been working closely with Digital Jersey to develop plans for a smart island. Allowing other companies interested in IoT technology to use Jersey’s LoRa network as a test bed for their own products and services. The technology used in a LoRa network is designed to connect low-cost, battery-operated sensors over long distances in environments that were previously too challenging or expensive to connect.

Potential examples of a LoRa network include:

– Connecting data from sensors allows monitoring traffic congestion feeds or pedestrian footfall counts. A dynamic ‘safer journey’ planner could be created for Jersey.
– Sensors recording temperature, air quality and humidity could give asthma sufferers greater knowledge of their environment. Thus, allowing them to better prepare for the day and manage their symptoms.

Tom Noel, Managing Director of JT Wholesale, said: “LoRa is a relatively new technology but its potential in the IoT space is already considerable. IoT will fundamentally change how we live, work and do business. By building this network, and taking an open, collaborative approach, with Digital Jersey and others, we truly explore the potential of a LoRa network. Ultimately, helping our customers to engage with this exciting new world of IoT technologies.”

Tony Moretta, CEO of Digital Jersey, said;
“By working closely with JT, as well as the other members of our Test Bed group including Government and the utility companies, we can investigate the great potential of the Internet of Things. Thus, improving life in Jersey and growing our digital economy. We’re a small country. We can get all the key players around the table working together. So, we should be able to take a lead and create a smart island to attract technology developers. But also to encourage new start-ups and ultimately create new businesses and jobs. JT’s strengths in this area are a real asset for Jersey and their support is invaluable.”

END

Notes to Editors.
For further information, please contact Julien Morel at Direct Input. Telephone (+44) 1534 735253 or email julien@directinput.je

JT has now completed 70% of its planned connections to Jersey’s new fibre broadband network.

A little over 34,000 properties were listed to be connected when the first property was equipped with fibre in May 2012. By the end of 2016, JT had swapped just over 24,000 homes’ and businesses’ broadband connections to the new high speed/capacity network.

In the last four-and-a-half years, the actual number of broadband connections in Jersey has risen by about 10%, or 3,000. So, JT expects to have connected over 37,000 properties by final completion.

The project was split into three phases. Firstly, installing the main computer system to sit at the heart of the new network. Secondly, running fibre-optic cabling within easy reach of every broadband customer in Jersey And then finally, connecting all of those customers directly to the new network. The first two phases are 100% complete, with the third just reaching the 70% mark.

2016 was the best year yet for connections, with the engineering teams completing more than 8,000. That connection rate has got quicker each year.

The Gold-Standard Connection

JT’s fibre-optic broadband project –  known as Gigabit Jersey – has seen the Island leap to 3^rd place in the world. That is, in terms of the percentage of broadband customers directly connected to the internet with fibre-optic cabling. For comparison, in November  2016, the U.K. Government lamented the fact that less than 2% of U.K. properties have what they described as the “gold standard” of direct-to-the-home fibre broadband connections.

Fibre broadband is vital if Jersey is to keep up with new technologies. It provides guaranteed data speeds for customers. And also enables quicker, and higher capacity, connections to the internet.

As the world moves further into the ‘internet of things’ – in which many home devices are all connected together over the internet – fibre broadband is essential if Islanders are to enjoy the full benefits of the digital revolution.

Serving the Island for Decades to Come

JT’s Director of Corporate Affairs Daragh McDermott, commented:
“We are really proud of the Gigabit team for what they have achieved in 2016. It’s been our best year yet in terms of the number of properties connected to fibre. It sets us up really well for 2017.

“We fully appreciate that there are Islanders waiting for their fibre connection. We would like to reassure them that we are progressing as quickly as we can. If anyone wants to find out when they will be connected, we would ask them to check our website. Here the estimated connection dates are published.

“In effect we are replacing the Island’s entire broadband network, and are planning to do it more quickly than has been done anywhere else in the world. Such a large and complex civil infrastructure project takes time. However, once it is done, it will serve the Island well for decades to come.

“This network has put Jersey ahead of nearly every other jurisdiction in the world. Now they are trying to work out how they can catch-up. We’re looking forward to the forthcoming States’ Digital Policy Framework. This will help the Island to realise the full potential of having fibre-optic cabling going all the way to homes/offices of all broadband customers.”

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Issued by Direct Input. Telephone 01534 735253 or email julien@directinput.je

NOTES TO EDITORS
 JT is a full-service Tier-1 global consumer and business enterprise provider with over a 120-year’s heritage based in the Channel Islands.  JT offers a domestic and global customer base a range of world-class services. Some of these include; voice and data; consultancy; co-location; leading-edge data hosting; internet; security; cloud back-up; fixed and mobile technologies; e-Gaming; M2M; Cloud Services (IaaS); fully managed IT services; and wholesale solutions.

Across 11 global locations, JT employs about 600 staff. Thus, providing products and services to over 1 million subscribers globally.