MARCH 1, 2010 -- Cincinnati Bell Inc. has selected the VersaLink 7501 Wi-Fi Gateway from Westell Technologies Inc., a provider of broadband products, outside plant telecommunications equipment, and conferencing services, to provide in-home routing and home networking services to customers of its Fioptic service.
Fioptic customers are served by Cincinnati Bell's fiber network, which enables the delivery of rich personalized media experiences. Fioptic supports multiple high-speed broadband service tiers and advanced video services, including the high-quality, high-definition television (HDTV), video-on-demand (VOD), and standard-definition television programming available to consumers.
The Westell VersaLink 7501 Wi-Fi Gateway is designed to address the increased broadband networking demands of today’s high-performance Internet services, says a company representative. The gateway connects via Ethernet to Cincinnati Bell’s fiber-optic service and then reliably distributes Internet connectivity throughout the customer’s premises via its integrated Wi-Fi access point. In addition to broadband access, the VersaLink 7501 also provides advanced Voice-over-Wireless features that support the seamless delivery of voice services using UMA (Universal Mobile Access) and “dual-mode” mobile handsets that include Wi-Fi.
"Westell has been a Cincinnati Bell partner for many years and has extensive experience in fiber optic service deployments," says Darrick Zucco, vice president and general manager, Wireline Services at Cincinnati Bell. "We are pleased with the high level of reliability and performance provided by the VersaLink 7501, as well as its ease of use. These characteristics were important to us in choosing this product, as they reinforce the overall benefits the Fioptic service offers to our subscribers.”
"We are excited to continue our work with Cincinnati Bell to provide the best possible experience to their customers. Cincinnati Bell's expanding use of fiber in its network is responding to consumer demand for more and more bandwidth, and we believe the VersaLink 7501 is the right choice to ensure this enhanced service capability is matched with an equally capable home gateway," says Chris Shaver, vice president and general manager, Customer Networking Solutions at Westell.