Zhone Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE) has extended its range of professional services with the launch of EZ FiberService by its Global Service and Support (GSS) team. EZ FiberService will provide turnkey network installation and provisioning of FTTx networks for service providers.

Operators worldwide require ongoing support for deployments and upgrades, which translates into a need for professional services such as project management and network design, says Zhone. Given the global economic conditions and the customized needs of each service provider, combined with the complexity of fiber connectivity, the company reckons the additional guidance and support it can provide will help its customers deploy FTTx networks in a timely and cost-effective manner.

The Zhone EZ FiberService is part of Zhone's EZ Service portfolio and will offer:

• engineering, furnishing, and installation (EFI) service (site engineering, installation, configuration, provisioning, test, and turn-up)
• network deployment services (assist customers in roll-out, management and maintenance of network, project management, network design, engineering, and integration, as well as network upgrades)
• network maintenance (network performance analysis, troubleshooting multi-vendor interoperations).

"The timing of Zhone’s launch of its EZ FiberService is pivotal as service providers globally are moving toward both fiber- and Ethernet-based residential and business services and will need ongoing assistance with expert professional services to design and implement their next generation network," said David Emberley, research manager of telecommunications equipment at IDC.

For more information on FTTx/access systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.