CDE Lightband, formerly the Clarksville Department of Electricity in Clarksville, TN, has selected Clearfield Inc. (www.clearfieldconnection.com) to provide the fiber management platform for one of the largest FTTH initiatives in the country. CDE Lightband�s FTTH network is deploying 860 miles of fiber to deliver voice, video, and data communication services to the more than 54,000 electric customers in the 96,000-square-mile service territory in northwest Tennessee. Clearfield, one of a team of vendors currently supplying product and services on the project, is currently fulfilling its initial order totaling nearly $1 million. Using Clearfield�s FieldSmart system, CDE Lightband says it will reduce its cost of deployment as users are added using a �Plug & Go� approach�adding 12 ports of fully protected fiber at a time.
Alloptic (www.alloptic.com), developer of RF over glass (RFoG) and PON equipment for cable TV, telecom, and private network operators worldwide, has announced that Hintze ITC is deploying its GEPON system in three key smart city projects in Mexico. The Alloptic access equipment is used for bidirectional communications, monitoring, and surveillance. Hintze says that its customers are leveraging the efficiency of PON to quickly and affordably expand security networks beyond where point-to-point networks could be used cost-effectively, and that Alloptic�s PON equipment allows customers to use a single infrastructure for both security and communications services.
Calix (www.calix.com) has announced the �wide deployment� of Calix 700G GPON optical network terminals (ONTs) across Minnesota. Service providers deploying the 700G ONTs for residential and business use include Paul Bunyan Telephone Cooperative, Garden Valley Telephone Co., and Consolidated Telecommunications Co. (CTC). The 700G line is Calix�s most recent GPON ONT offering. The company claims its devices are the world�s most widely deployed line of GPONs, citing data from industry research firm Dell�Oro Group. Minnesota, which also boasts a key development center for the Calix ONT line, leads all states in overall Calix ONT deployment, representing more than 10% of the company�s U.S. total.
JDSU�s (www.jdsu.com) NetComplete service assurance system and associated IP test probes have been selected by Deutsche Telekom to support delivery of its IPTV service. It ensures early recognition of changes in the quality of the streaming video signals, including any decrease in signal strength; prioritizes issues based on alarm levels; identifies the cause of service quality problems; and provides reporting tools. JDSU says its system addresses challenges by constantly monitoring IPTV video streams at the most important points in the network. The end-to-end approach ensures the correlation, capture, and confirmation of network performance data necessary for top-quality transmissions, say company representatives.
Ekinops (www.ekinops.net) reveals that TelemaxX Telekommunikation GmbH, a telecommunications service provider, has deployed the Ekinops 360 optical transport platform in its network in Germany. TelemaxX is using the Ekinops 360 in its backbone, connecting more than 11 major cities, including Frankfurt, Karlsruhe, and Eppelheim. According to Ekinops, TelemaxX will be able to maximize capacity of its fiber network and eliminate amplification sites while extending its geographical reach, thanks to the new transport platforms. The Ekinops 360 platform provides aggregation of Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) and STM-16 traffic over 10 Gbits/sec. The capacity of the TelemaxX network can be extended further up to 32 channels at 10 Gbits/sec.
Swiss municipal electric utility ewz has selected Alcatel-Lucent�s (www.alcatel-lucent.com) Triple Play Service Delivery Architecture (TPSDA) to deliver high-speed broadband voice, video, and data services to residential and business customers in Zurich. The network will provide a standards-based Open Access Network (OAN), allowing users to select services from many service providers. The contract also includes network maintenance. Under the contract, Alcatel-Lucent will deploy a complete end-to-end network, including its 7450 Ethernet service switch, the OmniSwitch 6850 Ethernet access switch, and the 5620 service aware manager for integrated network and service management, as well as residential and business customer premises devices.
Net Insight (www.netinsight.se) has received a further order from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) to upgrade and expand the Eurovision Nimbra network. The order contains an upgrade of the Eurovision backbone network with Net Insight�s Nimbra 680 switch as well as more Nimbra One and Nimbra 340 access nodes. The upgrade is initially driven by large requirements from the major TV broadcasters in Europe to cover the Olympic Games in Beijing. The order will be delivered during 1Q08.
Verizon Business (www.verizon.com) says it is working closely with its Asian partners to activate the U.S.�mainland China portion of the Trans-Pacific Express submarine cable in July, a month in advance of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China. TPE is the first next-generation, high-capacity undersea system to link the United States with mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea. Verizon Business teamed up with charter TPE Consortium team members China Telecom, China Netcom, China Unicom, Korea Telecom, and Chunghwa Telecom (Taiwan) to expedite the longest leg of the 18,000-km (more than 11,000 miles) cable system.
ZTE Corp. (www.zte.com.cn) says it has won a tender from Pakistan Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (PTCL), the biggest state-owned operator in Pakistan and an affiliate company of multinational carrier Etisalat, to build part of the country�s largest WDM backbone transmission network. The project, an expansion of the PTCL 400G WDM backbone network also exclusively won by ZTE last year, will involve the deployment of a WDM ring in Quetta and a WDM chain from Rawalpindi to Mensehra. The network coverage will span up to 6,000 km running through most of the major cities and regions, carrying more than 60% of long-haul data, voice, Internet, and other services in Pakistan. The entire network is based on IP over DWDM to run PTCL�s core IP backbone network using DWDM equipment.
Thailand�s Khon Kaen University (KKU) has implemented an all Alcatel-Lucent data network to deliver e-learning, voice, and Internet services to the faculty and its students. KKU�s Gigabit Ethernet backbone network comprises 90 km of optical fiber linking 8,500 connection points throughout the 120 buildings on campus. The network allows KKU to deliver converged services including Internet access, instant messaging, voice over IP (VoIP), video teleconferencing, and e-learning programs, say KKU representatives. The infrastructure combines Alcatel-Lucent OmniSwitch 7000 switches (forming the network core), OmniSwitch 6600 and 6800 switches (spread through the network for aggregating data), and OmniStack 6100 and 6300 switches (providing access for the nodes).
The Fiber Optic Association (www.thefoa.org) has created a new certification program, �Fiber Optic Network Design,� which covers the particulars of how fiber-optic networks are designed within the context of complete communications systems or construction projects. The FOA Certification is focused on the unique aspects of fiber-optic network design, assuming the fiber-optic designer works with project managers overseeing the complete project design. Prerequisites for the certification include having a FOA CFOT (Certified Fiber Optic Technician) certification to ensure knowledge and experience in fiber-optic technology and installation.
IBM (www.ibm.com) says its scientists have built the world�s smallest nanophotonic switch with a footprint about 100� smaller than the cross-section of a human hair. The switch could be used to transfer information inside a computer chip by using photons instead of electrons. The switch could significantly speed up chip performance while using much less energy, IBM says. As many as 2,000 switches would fit side-by-side in an area of 1 mm2, easily meeting integration requirements for future multi-core processors. The device is able to route a large amount of data since many different wavelengths can be switched simultaneously. With each wavelength carrying data at up to 40 Gbits/sec, it is possible to switch an aggregate bandwidth exceeding 1 Tbit/sec, says IBM.