FONS' FTTP picked in Iowa

May 18, 2005 Marlborough, MA -- Fiber Optic Network Solutions (FONS), a provider of optical connectivity products, announced today that Mahaska Communications Group (MCG), an Iowa-based service provider, has selected the FONS Pathways outside plant platform for the implementation of the provider's "Fiber to the World" network, which will deliver FTTP services to the college community of Oskaloosa, Iowa.

According to a press release, FONS' Fiber Distribution Hubs (FDH) will be placed strategically within MCG's network, in order to facilitate service connections and to provide a primary convergence point for locating optical splitters in outside plant locations.

The company says its FDH product offering includes 144-fiber and 216-fiber configured enclosures, available in either pole or pad mounting arrangements for aerial or below-grade deployment applications. According to the company, these enclosures are to be located in the outside plant area between the feeder and distribution segments of MCG's network, enabling easy access for service turn-up, maintenance, and testing. The company says the lightweight, breatheable NEMA-4 rated enclosures provide environmental and mechanical protection for cables, splices, connectors, and passive optical splitters.

Each enclosure comes equipped with low loss optical connectors and optical splitters. The company says the key benefit of the re-enterable enclosure is that splitter ports contained within may be rapidly allocated, allowing for efficient interconnection of customer services.

According to a press release, MCG's fiber-optic service offering will include local and long distance telephone, high speed broadband Internet, and digital cable television, with additional services planned for the future.