Bluebird Network middle-mile network uses ADVA FSP 3000

Broadband stimulus awardee Bluebird Network is deploying the ADVA FSP 3000 in the Missouri Ultra-High Capacity Middle Mile Project, according to ADVA Optical Networking. The project aims to add 1,500 miles to Bluebird’s existing 4,500-mile network that spans Missouri and Illinois.

The carrier formed via the integration of Bluebird Media, Missouri Network Alliance (MNA), and Illinois Network Alliance (INA) in 2011. A $45 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grant from the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and a $10.5 million in-kind contribution from the state of Missouri, as well as private investors, are funding its new fiber-optic infrastructure, which should be in place by this fall.

The network will support 10-Gbps services for local last-mile providers of residential and business services and over 100 community anchor institutions. Bluebird expects to support video on demand, telemedicine, remote education and testing, IPTV and HDTV, video conferencing with multiple users, remote computing, real-time medical-image consulting, and transfer of electronic medical records, among other applications and services.

“Introducing high-speed Internet services in rural areas can be a daunting challenge because they often are limited to bandwidth-constrained infrastructure and legacy technologies,” said Michael Morey, president and CEO with Bluebird Network. “In Missouri and Illinois we’ve created a robust, 6,000-mile network that relieves fiber exhaust, upgrades on SONET infrastructure, and brings sometimes unprecedented services to the 59 counties funded by the grant. ADVA Optical Networking’s DWDM system and management software provide our network with the scalable optical transport and simple flexibility to match capabilities with data demands across both legacy and new infrastructure.”

The ADVA FSP 3000 supports up to forty 100-Gbps wavelengths. The platform’s ROADM capability and RAYcontrol GMPLS control plane enable Bluebird to use a combination of hardware pre-provisioning, point-and-click configuration, and flexible provisioning.

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