AFL’s AccessWrap™ Installation Doubles Across Europe, Driven by Increased Bandwidth Requirements

Swindon, United Kingdom and Spartanburg, SC – AFL, an international manufacturer of fibre optic cable, equipment and accessories, announces that installation of AccessWrap has doubled over the past two month due to the increased need for broadband capacity exposed by COVID-19. Installations have been made in Germany, France, Ireland and the UK, giving access to thousands of customers in rural and urban areas.
 
Part of the SkyWrap® family, AccessWrap is a fully dielectric cable that is wrapped around phase conductors up to 50 kV using lightweight installation equipment. AccessWrap utilises existing power line infrastructure and installation causes minimal disruption to service. Using this technology alleviates issues with land access and areas of difficult terrain plus it supports connectivity where terrain and line-of-sight issues make wireless less reliable.
 
“AFL’s Swindon facility has been recognised as a key supplier by our UK and European power utility customers, who have requested our help to keep supporting their critical infrastructure during the COVID-19 pandemic,” explained Paul Bennett, general manager for AFL’s European office. “Our known expertise in this area combined with our complete solution and experienced engineers who work side by side with the power companies own line crew during installation have been the main reasons they’ve put their trust in us.”
 
With 38 years of experience, AFL’s SkyWrap and AccessWrap have crossed a myriad of environment conditions and technical challenges with success. The cables are ideal for difficult to reach locations. The installation equipment is lightweight and can be transported easily, by car, truck or plane, and most notably by donkeys and quad bikes for some of the most remote areas.
 
More than 32,000 km of SkyWrap and AccessWrap have been installed globally and many of the early installations are still in service today. While AccessWrap allows installation over medium voltage distribution lines, SkyWrap can be installed on high voltage transmission lines up to 300 kV. AccessWrap provides fibre counts up to 48 and SkyWrap has up to 288 fibres.
 
Bennett continued, “We all hope the pandemic will be over soon, but some of the lifestyle changes it has caused, particularly working from home are predicted to stay, which in turn will keep us and our power utility customers busy with AccessWrap for the foreseeable future.”
 
AFL provides complete turnkey solutions which include line survey, cable, hardware and machine supply, project and installation management as well as warranty and maintenance services. For additional information on AFL, its products and services, visit www.AFLglobal.com.

About AFL
Founded in 1984, AFL is an international manufacturer providing end-to-end solutions to the energy, service provider, enterprise and industrial markets as well as several emerging markets. The company’s products are in use in over 130 countries and include fibre optic cable and hardware, transmission and substation accessories, outside plant equipment, connectivity, test and inspection equipment, fusion splicers and training. AFL also offers a wide variety of services supporting data center, enterprise, wireless and outside plant applications.
 
Headquartered in Spartanburg, SC, AFL has operations in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, Europe, Asia and Australia, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Fujikura Ltd. of Japan. For more information, visit www.AFLglobal.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and “like us” on Facebook. Review our blog or subscribe to our bi-monthly e-newsletter.

Contacts
Joann Lawrence
Sales & Marketing Assistant, AFL Europe
+44 1793 647 269
Joanne.Lawrence@AFLglobal.com    

Corie Culp
Public Relations Manager, AFL
864.433.5409
Corie.Culp@AFLglobal.com