November 10, 2004 Merrimack, NH -- Metrobility Optical Systems has announced that PhilCom Corp., a telecommunications service provider in the Philippines, has selected and installed Metrobility's Radiance Optical Ethernet System to extend the provider's DSL capabilities throughout the Mindanao area.
PhilCom's new ADSL offering is based on IP/Ethernet and provides billable data rates based on usage. The service uses Metrobility's Radiance BWDM (bi-directional wavelength multiplexing) Access Line Cards in each remote DSLAM location to provide a 100-Mbit/sec Ethernet uplink to the central office over a single strand of fiber. The use of a single strand of fiber for both upstream and downstream traffic effectively doubled the fiber capacity, enabling PhilCom to support twice the number of users on its existing fiber infrastructure.
Braid Networks, a local system integrator, designed the solution for PhilCom. According to Benjamin T. Feldia, Jr., president of Braid Networks, "Since the remote DSLAM cabinets are not temperature-controlled, PhilCom required a conversion device which would not only operate reliably in temperatures which can reach 60 degrees Centigrade but also provide monitoring of the temperature in each cabinet. Metrobility's Radiance solution not only offers the copper-to-fiber conversion required to connect PhilCom's fiber infrastructure to the DSLAM device, but also provides the central office with real time temperature data within the outdoor cabinet."
"Because customers are billed based on usage, it is important that we maintain a very reliable connection," stated Eric Francis A. Soltero, AVP technical operations for PhilCom. "Metrobility provides a solution that enables PhilCom technicians to monitor conditions at each remote site without a truck roll. This has reduced the company's operational expenses and increased the reliability of service to the customer." PhilCom began deployment of the new DSL offering in June and expects up to 1,000 new customers during the first year.