An optical fibre network is created along mine railway tracks in our region

A group of enthusiasts wants to transform Katowice and its neighbouring citites into a city-campus, where thanks to modern technology and flow of information it will change from a traditional Silesian city of heavy industry it will change into a modern information centre, supporting the sale of knowledge. The frame for this idea is the already existing optical fibre network connecting 20 cities of the region. It has its origin in ... the mining guild of sand mines. The optical fibre network is created along railway tracks, which have not been used for a long time.

Flow of data

What connects cities, higher schools and companies from Katowice, Chorzów, Gliwice, Jaworzno, Będzin, Knurów, Ruda ¦l±ska, Sosnowiec, Rybnik, Bytom, Pyskowice, Siemianowice ¦l±skie? Recently - no problems in sending data via optical fibre network. Thanks to this network, these cities surpassed other districts, as regards opportunities for acquiring investors. They also got a chance of development based on modern technologies. The optical fibre network was created on the initiative of the company TKP SA founded in Gliwice in 2002. Today, the activity of this company consists largely in making optical fibre networks, which connect 20 Silesian cities, available to the interested parties. - Of course, there is nothing strange about that, this is a practice universally used in telecommunications trade, with only one exception: this is the only company in Silesia rendering such services and the only one which was created entirely on the basis of capital raised in this region - says Tomasz Pietrzak, the company spokesman. And where does the connection of modern technologies with sand mines come from? On the basis of agreements with subjects that were once members of the Mining Guild of Sand Mines[Gwarectwo Kopalń Piasku], and Mining Railway Transport [Górniczy Transport Kolejowy] the right to create telecommunications lines along railway tracks was taken over. At present, the optical fibre network covers about 1,500 km2, an area inhabited by over 2 million people. It is not only cities that make use of the opportunities given by the network, but also all Polish telecommunications operators and big companies acting in the region: Kompania Węglowa, ING Bank ¦l±ski, Getin Bank and PCC Rail.

No investment duplication

Public institutions also joined the network: the Silesian University of Technology, the Medical University of Silesia, the police. - The Silesian University of Technology has already established cooperation with the Silesian Optical Fibre Networks, http://3s.pl. This company has optical fibre infrastructure in the area of the Silesian Agglomeration, which for the Silesian University of Technology, as the operator of the Silesian Academic Computer Network, is of great significance. We are not able to create ourselves our own infrastructure in all necessary areas ourselves - says Paweł Do¶, press spokesman of the Silesian University of Technology. - Cooperation with 3s.pl makes it possible to use the existing company resources and to avoid duplication of expensive investments. The Silesian Optical Fibre Networks are also popular with operators of cable television and over 30 local operators of the Internet network. - The vision of the management board of 3s.pl to transform Katowice and its neighbouring cities into a city-campus, where thanks to modern technology and flow of information heavy industry will change into modern, information industry, supporting the sale of thoughts and ideas, is quite interesting - says Pietrzak. So far, wiring up Silesia with optical fibres resulted in attracting new investors to the region - mainly from abroad - who create jobs thanks to low costs and ready infrastructure. Soon, a service interesting for an average Pole, e.g. video on request, will be available to the cities taking part in the undertaking.

(source: Beata Sypuła, Dziennik Zachodni, 17 October 2006)