Lightower Fiber Networks chooses MRV for Carrier Ethernet support

Optical transport systems vendor MRV Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRVC) says it has supplied its OptiSwitch Carrier Ethernet 2.0 (CE 2.0) service demarcation and first-mile aggregation platform to Lightower Fiber Networks. Lightower, a longtime MRV customer, required the additional systems as it has expanded the footprint of its fiber-optic network.

Lightower uses the OptiSwitch platform at its customers' premises to support Carrier Ethernet and metro area transport services. As it expanded its service area in the U.S. Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Chicago metro regions, it made sense to buy more equipment. MRV asserts Lightower likes the OptiSwitch because of its compact, high-density, low-power design; the platform's ability to enable automated service provisioning and service-level agreement (SLA) verification capabilities also are selling points, the company adds.

"Lightower is committed to supporting the strict requirements from organizations like financial institutions, healthcare organizations and cloud and content distributors," said Damon Fortune, senior vice president of engineering for Lightower. "As we grow our network, we will continue to make value and operational excellence a priority while we help our customers ensure optimal application and network performance. Strategic partners allow us to leverage the right network solutions at a competitive price. And, with MRV solutions at the customer premises, we can ensure our customers' critical data is delivered without latency and at the highest quality."

Lightower's fiber-optic network covers approximately 30,000 route miles throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwest (see, for example, "Lightower adds 270 route miles in Greater Baltimore" and "Lightower completes Fibertech Networks merger"). The company serves more than 15,000 service locations, including over 250 data centers and more than 5,000 wireless towers.

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