FEBRUARY 23, 2009 -- FiberLight LLC (search for FiberLight), provider of metro optical networking, has begun a statewide deployment of Fujitsu Network Communications' (search for Fujitsu) FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platforms (Packet ONPs) across Texas.
FiberLight says the network will bring premium managed communications services, including Ethernet, SONET, and wavelength connectivity options, to enterprise, government, content providers, and other service provider customers throughout its 1,500+ route miles.
"The communications world is facing an accelerating demand for bandwidth, and with our headquarters in Texas we have a unique perspective on the explosive demand coming from all across the state," contends Jim Hintze, senior vice president of marketing at Fujitsu Network Communications. "FiberLight is building a network with our FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform that not only positions them for today's bandwidth needs, but also allows them to scale to support the increasing, media-rich bandwidth needs of the future. The connection-oriented Ethernet capabilities of our platform also allow FiberLight to continue to support mission-critical, delay-sensitive services as their customers' requirements migrate from DS1s and DS3s to Gigabit and 10-Gigabit Ethernet circuits," he reports.
"When evaluating platforms to create our Texas network, we strongly considered solutions that would give us a low total cost of ownership," recalls Kevin Coyne, president and chief operating officer at FiberLight. "Our selection of the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE 9500 platform allows us to deliver multiple services with a single product that combines SONET, ROADM, and Ethernet capabilities. The platform easily scales to support higher capacities, thus allowing us to keep our initial capital costs down while giving us plenty of wavelengths for future growth. Operating costs are also reduced thanks to its small footprint and low power consumption," notes Coyne. "Our experience with other Fujitsu products made our decision easier because we know the product quality will help us maintain a superior customer experience."
According to Fujitsu, the FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet ONP provides the modular integration of Ethernet, ROADM, and SONET transport technologies into a single addressable optical networking class element. The platform's pluggable ROADM option and patent-pending universal switch fabric allow both circuit-based and packet-based traffic to be transported in its native format to create a universal optical infrastructure. Integrated Connection-oriented Ethernet transport technology delivers private-line quality packet aggregation and connectivity services with the operational robustness of optical networking, including transport-class software and database management, management interface functionality, and precision fault sectionalization, says Fujitsu.
Management of FiberLight's high-availability, mission-critical network will be provided by Fujitsu in the provider's two fully-redundant network operations centers (NOCs) located in Sunnyvale, CA, and Richardson, TX. With a range of vendor-independent network fault and performance monitoring capabilities, these
NOCs offer guaranteed, around-the-clock system protection.
"The business case for a NOC typically limits small companies to a single location staffed by personnel that must perform both provisioning and maintenance functions using the most cost-effective tools, which are usually not the most robust in the industry," admits FiberLight's Coyne. "Our decision to outsource with Fujitsu was driven by our desire to deliver a superior customer experience, which is made possible through Fujitsu's use of redundant facilities for protection, the best monitoring tools, and personnel who are experts on the equipment. This expertise means advantages in response time and restoration capabilities that directly affect our bottom line and our ability to provide an even higher level of service to our customers."
FiberLight also purchased Advance Hardware Replacement, which will guarantee that spare cards for the FLASHWAVE 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform system can be onsite anywhere in Texas within hours. FiberLight says it selected this service to eliminate the equipment, warehousing, and management costs associated with spares management, and to decrease equipment replacement times.
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