Media AU

UCG’s Auckland Office hosted a visit on Thursday 15 April from Australian Consul-General and Senior Trade Commissioner Craig Knowles. The visit was prompted by the strong relationship that UCG has with the Queensland Trade and Investment Office.

UCG Executive General Manager Roger Crellin took the opportunity to show Mr Knowles the new ENE.HUB SMART.NODE ® technology that is underpinning the development of Smart Cities. Addressing UCG staff, Mr Knowles talked about the key role that fibre networks and connections play in delivering health and education infrastructure.

Below: Hon Craig Knowles addressing UCG Auckland staff

Above: Roger Crellin, UCG Executive General Manager, New Zealand, showing Australian Trade Commissioner Craig Knowles the ENE.HUB SMART.NODE ® . Also pictured is Richard Simpson, Director of the Queensland Trade and Investment Office

Universal Communications Group (UCG) has achieved a major win by being awarded a tender to
deliver critical telecommunications infrastructure to the Federated States of Micronesia in a project
supported by the World Bank. UCG will design a Fibre to the Home network in the three main
islands of Yap, Pohnpei and the Kosrae States of Micronesia, a project which UCG Group CEO
Muralee Siva describes as a “game-changer” for the Pacific nation.

The Federated States of Micronesia is an archipelago of 607 islands covering 2.6 million sq km just
north of the equator in the western Pacific Ocean. UCG is one of New Zealand and Australia’s
leading suppliers of a range of broadband design and construction services, particularly for next
generation broadband networks. The contract was tendered by Federated States of Micronesia
Telecommunications Cable (FSMT Cable), supported by grant funding from the World Bank.

FSMT Cable is an open access wholesale only infrastructure provider and is a key part of the FSM
Government’s strategy to unlock the digital potential of the nation. “This is a way of introducing new
players into our market to make sure that there’s competition, that there are options for our citizens
in the telecommunications field,” stated FSM President David Panuelo. “We’re confident that this is
going to definitely benefit our citizens.” he added.

“Expanding access to world class telecommunications services will promote private sector
investment in digital services and establish the critical foundations for digital government services
and the digital economy for this country of 105,000 people,” Mr Siva said.

“Providing connectivity to households, businesses, schools and government will facilitate
unconstrained access to the recent investments in undersea fibre connectivity between FSM and
the wider world. This is a fantastic initiative for the people of FSM and we believe it is a very
effective model for other, equally resource-challenged Pacific nations,” Mr Siva said.

“The recent COVID-19 crisis has also highlighted the need for improved telecommunications to
support people working in isolation as well as supporting expanding economies throughout the
region. Importantly, COVID-19 will be no barrier to the implementation of this project because our
skilled management team have developed systems and processes that enable remote training for
the FSM local team in the prerequisite skills required to deliver a successful deployment of the UCG
designed FTTH (Fibre To The Home) networks. This skills transfer is a vital component of building
local capability for the operation and future expansion of local networks,” Mr Siva said.

“The project underscores our UCG values of innovation, team-work and integrity which have been
recognised in the awarding of this contract. We are extremely proud of the work of our Australian
and New Zealand teams who have combined their expertise to deliver a great outcome for this
small Pacific nation,” Mr Siva said.

Universal Communications Group (UCG) has established a new Smart Cities Business Unit to
support growing demand for services outside the traditional telecommunication markets and has
appointed Ian Hatton as the General Manager Smart Cities to support the growth in the smart city
space. UCG Group CEO, Muralee Siva, said “The establishment of the new Business Unit is the
next logical step for UCG which reflects the growing demand for smart city solutions, including
remote working, automation, near real-time information and always-on technologies. We are
excited to have Ian, who is one of the pre-eminent leaders in this field, join our experienced
Executive Team as part of the Group’s continued growth”.

Mr Hatton was responsible for the implementation of Australia’s largest IoT network in one of South
East Queensland’s largest and leading councils, delivering financial, environmental and economic
benefits, including smart metering for a local water utility over a large-scale LoRaWAN network and
cutting edge, cloud-based data analytics and data science tools.

Mr Hatton has also led the construction of a new council-owned optical fibre network which was a
key enabler to successfully hosting one of the biggest major international sporting events ever held
in Queensland, and achieving capacity increases and substantial direct and indirect financial
benefits. The network also supports the operation of the largest free public Wi-Fi network in
Australian local government, realising millions of dollars in direct and indirect benefits for over 2
million users to date.

This new Business Unit builds on UCG’s 25 years of telecommunications experience, and reflects
the global shift towards smart city investments.

“The recent COVID-19 crisis has significantly accelerated the work from home and smart city
agendas. We believe that the continued move towards smart technologies and remote working will
gather pace in the coming years, requiring enhanced underlying telecommunications networks and
integration across previously separate operating environments” said Mr Siva.

UCG is delighted to announce an extension to its UFB2 and UFB2+ contract with Chorus to 31st March 2022 and a continuance of the successful UFB1 contract, providing subcontracted Delivery Partners with security of future workflow at this uncertain time.

Chief Executive of UCG, Muralee Siva, said today that UCG is delighted to further cement what has been a successful and long-standing relationship with Chorus and the New Zealand public in the delivery of the Ultra Fast Broadband initiative.

“The announcement of this extension comes at a very good time, both for UCG and for our Delivery Partners, as it delivers sustainability and longevity of works to the whole delivery chain, as we navigate the fallout of the COVID19 pandemic,” said Mr Siva.

“We moved early to adapt our business to the new conditions imposed by the Covid19 outbreak. This included new safety protocols for staff, ensuring appropriate supplies of PPE were available and adapting our works processes, to ensure households are kept safe during their installation to the Chorus UFB network,” Mr Siva said.

“This agreement to extend our contract will allow us to focus further on the types of innovative projects that have characterised our most recent engagement with Chorus, such as the upgrade to UFB for Auckland Transport’s CCTV smart-sites.”

Andrew Carroll, Chorus’ GM Customer & Network Operations said, “Now more than ever, Chorus has a critical role to play in getting New Zealanders connected to the best possible broadband. “We’re pleased to be extending our close relationship with UCG, so they can continue their valuable work in connecting homes and businesses across the country to our fibre network. They have played a significant role in connecting the many of the 800,000 plus fibre connections we have built in the last four years,” Mr Carroll said.

On January 2nd, 2019 the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads – Metropolitan Region, announced (via Tenders.Net) the award to UCG of a contract to undertake an audit, compile a database of optical fibre network assets, and perform functions of maintenance and ongoing repair works.

Busways provide a form of bus rapid transit, comprising separated bus-only corridors, complementing the region’s rail network to provide faster, more efficient bus services to residents of South East Queensland. As a coordinator of South East Queensland’s integrated public transport system, the client maintains responsibility for the busway facilities. These facilities are supported by intelligent transport systems that require high-speed transmission of information from one site to another through a network of optical fibre cables. The considerable existing optical fibre network have been installed progressively as the busway infrastructure expanded over many years.

Recognising that the current optical fibre records do not allow the required visibility to most effectively operate and maintain the optical fibre network Assets, the Department called for tenders in mid-2018.

UCG was awarded the contract and is required to undertake an audit, compile a database of the optical fibre network assets, and undertake regular maintenance and repair works.

UCG CEO Ralf Luna stated, “UCG is very proud to have been chosen by the Department to establish a system to manage and support the Busways fibre optic network. It is a welcome endorsement of our growing asset management and service assurance capability. We have been focusing on supporting local and state government for some time now and this project highlights many of the things UCG is capable of.”

UCG are one of the leading suppliers in the Australia-New Zealand region, of a range of broadband design, cabling and construction services, particularly for next generation cable networks.

Media contact: Rafael Luna
Phone: +61 4 1342 6111

A number of UCG’s New Zealand management team recently attended Chorus’s annual “Service Person of the Year” (SPOTY) awards for the 2016 period.

It is an event where Chorus recognises the excellence of a number of front-line people across its four service companies (UCG, Visionstream, Broadspectrum and Downer). This was the first time UCG attended, and we were very well received by our peers and customer. UCG’s Consents Team were recognised by Chorus as the TEAM OF THE YEAR. We see this as an awesome recognition and our team as well-deserved inaugural winners of this award. Chorus’ Mark Mayerhofler, who works closely with UCG’s Consents Team, stated “…very well deserved recognition, we are all really proud of your achievement here.”

UCG nominated Cellwatch as our delivery partner team of the year for service excellence which was endorsed by Chorus and presented as part of their awards. Amando Tanquintic accepted the award on behalf of Cellwatch.

It is always great to celebrate excellence and success, and look forward to ensuring more celebration at next year’s awards.

For further information contact Paul Trotman on (NZ) 0800 961 223.