Calix hypes 3 telco wins for its FTTP platform

July 19, 2005 Petaluma, CA -- Calix announced that three additional service providers will deploy FTTP using the company's standards-based broadband passive optical network (BPON) optical line terminal (OLT) line cards for its C7 multiservice access platform. According to Calix, all three companies had previously deployed the C7 platform to deliver DSL and other services to their customers.

The telcos include Bixby Telephone of Bixby, Oklahoma; Cambridge Telephone of Cambridge, Idaho; and Randolph Telephone of Asheboro, North Carolina.

Bixby Telephone, an independent telephone company near Tulsa, Oklahoma, will support greenfield fiber deployments using the FTTP OLT line card.

"We originally purchased the Calix C7 to provide POTS and DSL for our all-copper plant. However, we were attracted by the idea that we could use the system to upgrade to fiber for greenfield deployments," comments Lynn Pike, general manager of Bixby Telephone. "We looked at a number of different FTTP vendors, but it made most sense to stay with one consolidated system that could serve our existing copper plant while providing an easy transition to fiber and other revenue-generating services. As more people start using higher-bandwidth services, the C7's 200-Gbit/sec backplane will give us room to grow."

Cambridge Telephone says it provides the type of services usually offered by telcos serving larger suburban and urban deployments to subscribers in remote rural areas.

"The Calix C7 is perfect for an independent telco. It's small, cost effective, easily managed, and provides multiple systems, including FTTP, in one device," comments Dan Morris, facilities manager of Cambridge Telephone. "Competing FTTP solutions require you to buy an entire box, and you have to train your people on another system. At Cambridge, we're using the new FTTP OLT line card to start offering video services in the near future."

Randolph Telephone, with 16,000 access lines, says it has transitioned most of its legacy network to the C7 platform, and is now updating its installation with the FTTP OLT blade.

"It's not worthwhile to pull copper to greenfield locations; the trend is to fiber, and the Calix OLT blade lets us be part of that trend," says Frankie Cagle, central office manager of Randolph Telephone. "With the C7, we can pull fiber and copper from the same shelf, so we can continue to serve existing neighborhoods with copper and pull fiber to new developments nearby. Initially, we'll use FTTP to offer video and tiered services."

Calix says its C7 platform allows service providers to begin offering IP-based video entertainment services over DSL, and to migrate subscribers to FTTP as desired, while retaining their investment in video encoders, middleware, IP set top boxes, and the access and transport network. The platform supports up to 2,400 ultra-broadband fiber or copper interfaces in a single 7-foot rack, with an aggregate of 1-Tbit/sec in backplane bandwidth. According to the company, despite its large capacity, carriers can deploy the platform economically, even in environmentally harsh locations.

"We're seeing a rapid uptake of FTTP across our customer base, both for greenfield deployments and for brownfield applications where advanced services such as IPTV can benefit from the added bandwidth," remarks Mitch Fleming, vice president of independent operating company sales at Calix. "Interest in FTTP is being driven by a number of factors - FTTP technology has proven [itself], the economic benefits of FTTP have been established, and telcos are finding that adding FTTP OLT line cards to our proven Calix C7 platform is a graceful, low-risk way to begin deploying FTTP. And because the FTTP OLT is simply another blade in a system that supports a number of services, the incremental cost of adding FTTP to the Calix C7 is extremely low."

The company says its FTTP OLT line cards minimize risk and maximize flexibility for service providers evolving their access networks toward FTTP. According to the company, because service providers can integrate support for FTTP into the same C7 platform that delivers ADSL2+, the risks inherent in deploying new technology are substantially mitigated. According to the company, the C7 has 200-Gbit/sec of backplane capacity - enough to allow providers that use its FTTP line card to deliver identical service bundles, including IPTV, HDTV, and video on demand to both fiber- and copper-connected subscribers.