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The campaign to renew the fibre optic network has surpassed all expectations by far. More than 20,000 customers out of a total of 35,000 are now enjoying the benefits of the new ONT, terminals that users have installed on the wall of their homes.

The renovation project of the active fibre optic network was initiated last March in Sant Julià de Lòria. Since then, this parish, the zone of Santa Coloma and la Massana have also been completed. We are currently working in the area of Andorra la Vella and Escaldes-Engordany, which has the highest concentration of customers and which is expected to finish by the end of October, to then move onto Ordino, Encamp, Pas de la Casa and Canillo.

The director of Andorra Telecom, Jordi Nadal, wanted to highlight the warm welcome from the customers and the help they have given the technicians in order to change the terminals. “A project of this kind always entails inconvenience and makes the complicity of our customers more necessary than ever, without whose collaboration it would be impossible to meet the ambitious targets that we had set," he mentioned.

After changing the ONT a satisfaction survey is carried out. The average mark from customers achieved to date is 8.05 out of 10 points, a figure that demonstrates, according to the company, the acceptance of the customers.

The main objective of the change of the fibre network has been to gain stability and robustness. In this regard, it has led to a drastic fall of incidents. Therefore, the rate of incidences of the new ONTs is 80% lower compared to the previous devices.

Nadal indicated that this was a priority for the telecommunications company. He also reminded us that, at the time, Andorra was the first country in the world to be totally connected by fibre: “Successive technological developments made it necessary to take a new leap forward." The director general recalled that it is one of the most important projects tackled in recent years, with an investment of 6.5 billion euros.

Another of the advantages of the new network has been an increase in maximum browsing speed from 100 Mbps to 300 Mbps. In the direct measurements of the ONTs, the average speed recorded has been 285 Mbps.

A daily average of 180 homes

The symbolic figure of 20,000 customers who have migrated was reached last Wednesday. The process is complex because it requires thorough planning of the work force and a very precise operation to arrange appointments through the call centre. Since the beginning of the project, we have achieved an average of 145 homes per day, reaching 180 daily changeovers.

In total, 37 technicians from specialised companies in the country are participating. The average time of each installation is around 32 and a half minutes.

In parallel with the intervention, the company offers users the possibility to have a router installed by Andorra Telecom. The fact that it is owned by the telecommunication operator and Huawei, manufacturer of the devices of the active fibre network, should mean there are fewer incidents and they can be dealt with faster. The director of the fibre renovation project, Gerard Bosch, highlighted that 35 percent of customers decided to go with the new router and this figure is expected to increase based on the good initial acceptance.