KTVO brings optical fibre to southern and western Lapland in Finland

Tue Sep 27 12:25:00 2022

KTVO (Kaakamon tietoverkko-osuuskunta / Kaakamo Data Network Cooperative) has been building an ELY-supported fibre optic data network in the villages of Tornio since 2014. Nestor Cables has supplied cables for the project.

The project was launched in the spring of 2013, when a door-to-door survey in Kaakamo revealed that residents of the area would be interested in acquiring fibre optic connections to their homes. Eventually, 212 properties in Kaakamo joined the fibre optic network through the project.

The successful project quickly attracted interest in other villages in the area. Since the first project, the fibre optic network has been built in stages:

  • Project I: Kaakamo
  • Project II: Kyläjoki, Laivaniemi, Laivajärvi
  • Project III: Rauhokari, Kirkkokari, Raumo
  • Project IV: Lautamaa, Kantojärvi, Arpela
  • Project V: Liakka, Yli-Liakka
  • Project VI: Sotisaari (area of the city of Kemi)

The map below shows the networks built by 2022.

The basic speed of the built fibre optic network is 200/200 Mbit/s. KTVO wants to offer its customers fibre optic connections with sufficient capacity for the needs of today's households and for the growth of telecommunications volumes in the future. Optical fibre is the only way to ensure a high-speed Internet connection, and the end user also does not need to share the capacity of the optical fibre connection with other users.

By summer 2022, KTVO has built a fibre network of about 330 kilometers. A total of 921 properties have joined the networks. After the cost of joining to the fibre network, end users pay a monthly price for the subscription based on the speed they choose.

At Nestor Cables, we like to visit our customers' construction sites when the opportunity arises. We visited KTVO's construction site on a sunny June day, when the network was built in the Vojakkala area.

Over the years, we have supplied KTVO with, for example, the non-metallic FYO2RMU 3,5 kN direct buried cable, the highly durable FYOVD2PMU direct buried cable and the FZVD2PMU Flex direct buried cable with a flexible structure. OptoBox 4 termination boxes and NC-140 outdoor termination boxes have also been delivered for their projects.

Part of the network was implemented through a special type of construction, where the electric cables are installed in the same trench as the fibre optic cables. In this case, the trenches only need to be opened once, which saves both time and money and the nerves of the area's residents.

Thanks to Jarmo Ruohola, CEO of KTVO, with whom we got to visit the construction site!