Optical Solutions Inc. has announced the formation of the Muni Consortium, a select group of telecommunications companies and consultants dedicated to helping municipalities and utilities successfully deploy ultra high broadband networks nationwide via passive optical networking (PON) technology.
"When we started planning the Borough of Kutztown's fiber-to-the-home deployment three years ago, we didn't know which companies out there in the marketplace truly had the industry experience and expertise to help us plan, finance, engineer, or implement our fiber-optic deployment," explains Frank Caruso, director of information technology at the Borough of Kutztown in Kutztown, Pa. "I am proud to serve as an advisor to this new Consortium, which now gives municipalities a place to go to for help with finance questions, regulatory issues, engineering resources and equipment."
The Borough of Kutztown recently won a "2003 Governor's Award for Local Government Excellence" from Pennsylvania's Department of Community and Economic Development for its municipal broadband network.
Utility Manager Dave Mikonowicz of the Reedsburg Utility Commission in Reedsburg, WI also serves as an advisor to the Muni Consortium, and agrees it will be a valuable resource to other utilities that want to deploy broadband in their communities--but don't know where to begin. "Reedsburg's access network is under construction now, but when we began looking at how to implement broadband in our community, there was no centralized place to go for education and resources," he contends. "This portfolio of experienced companies will now help other utilities successfully streamline and deploy their own municipal broadband networks."
Members of the new Muni Consortium include:
•IAggregate Networks
•I Brunetti DEC
•I Burns & McDonnell
•I Cable System Services (CSS)
•I CHR Solutions
•I Compo Digital
•I Corning Cable Systems
•I e-Copernicus
•I Fiber Planners
•I LightRiver Technologies
•I Optical Solutions
•I Spiegel & McDiarmid
Tony Sachetti of Optical Solutions will introduce the Muni Consortium at the American Public Power Association's (APPA) "Fiber-to-the-Home Discussion Forum" meeting hosted by Provo City Power, in Provo, Utah, March 10-11, 2003. For more information about the conference, please visit www.appanet.org.
The Muni Consortium will officially launch its website Thursday, March 13 at www.municonsortium.com. The site will include a directory of all members and educational content focused on municipal broadband deployments.