The broadband initiative is one of the largest joint regional investments ever made in Troms. The new network will put the region in the best possible position to meet growing demands for digitalisation in the public sector, and provide predictable high speed infrastructure across the region. Together with nLogic, Bredbåndsfylket Troms is building a new 10 Gb/s network for all municipalities and the county authority in Troms.

The procurement, “Network equipment and associated services”, started with a dialogue conference in March. The process is now complete, and Bredbåndsfylket has selected nLogic as its network provider for up to four years.

Troms needs a network with greater capacity, higher quality and stronger security that meets both current and future digitalisation requirements. Public services must be available around the clock, 24/7/365.

“Health institutions will be very demanding users of the infrastructure. They operate around the clock and have strict requirements for stable and secure clinical systems. This can be solved with physical and logical redundancy, guaranteed bandwidth and prioritisation,” says Ole-Johnny Johansen, CEO of Bredbåndsfylket.

Upper secondary schools face growing numbers of connected devices, and both teaching and exams are becoming digital.

“Teaching uses audiovisual presentations, classes are shared with other schools online, and exams are going digital too. This requires high capacity and robustness, as well as stronger security,” Johansen continues.

The new network will also open up more collaboration across municipalities, both within Troms and with other parts of the country.

“The chosen solution will make a major contribution to digitalisation and public sector renewal across the whole region,” says Johansen.

Bredbåndsfylket sets high requirements for lifespan and certifications. The goal is to build and operate a fibre based backbone network of high international standard throughout Troms. All town halls and county offices and institutions will be connected, just over 200 locations in total. nLogic’s solution is based on HPE Networks products, with nLogic consultants providing design, advisory services and expertise. Routers are used in the core and distribution network, with switches as CPE at the edge and access layer. Wireless was also part of the tender, and here nLogic will deliver an integrated solution from Ruckus Wireless.

Until now, Bredbåndsfylket’s network services have been delivered by a third party. The aim of the procurement was to establish its own network for service delivery, with Bredbåndsfylket owning both the equipment and the optical fibre. The project covers a new logical network design, purchase of suitable equipment, and installation and implementation of services.

“nLogic offered a forward looking technology solution with innovative products, and demonstrated a very high level of expertise during the tender process. We look forward to working with a dynamic partner that meets our expectations to be responsive and deliver as promised,” says Johansen.

Bredbåndsfylket is now investing in a new network, with Juniper Networks as its new technology vendor.

“I have high expectations for Juniper’s technology and nLogic’s expertise, both in terms of operational reliability and stability. Security and robustness are key to delivering an even better network to all our customers and owners,” says Johansen.

Aboud Bredbåndsfylket

Bredbåndsfylket Troms AS was founded in 2003 and is owned by Troms County Authority and 24 of the county’s municipalities. The company was established to support the county’s goal of building high speed broadband infrastructure throughout Troms. The network is designed to enable efficient collaboration, public sector renewal and cost savings through joint procurement of services. Troms County Authority took the initiative partly because ensuring good infrastructure is a public responsibility, and no commercial players were willing to take on the risk of such a large project.