Harrisonville Telephone Company (HTC) taps Ribbon for optical network upgrade

HTC, an Illinois-based independent provider, is leveraging Ribbon’s IP Wave solutions to update its optical network.

The service provider, which has had a long-running relationship with Ribbon, will leverage Ribbon’s NPT IP Routing and Apollo Optical Transport solutions. HTC serves three Illinois counties to the southeast of St. Louis.

Ribbon’s IP Wave solutions, architected to enable providers to build and operate multi-layer data and optical networks, fuse optimized hardware and automation software within an open architecture. Further, they allow the agility needed to rapidly create and implement new services.

HTC will leverage these platforms to further enhance its business services product line while supporting its growing base of residential fiber broadband and fixed wireless access subscribers.

“We turned to Ribbon for an expandable solution that can keep up with our customers’ increasing bandwidth requirements,” said Craig Hern, Vice President of Operations from HTC.  We also appreciate the quality of their USA-based technical support teams.”

For its part, Ribbon has continued to ramp up its sales and support for regional and rural providers like HTC. During the second quarter, the vendor reported that rural broadband was 15% of its North American IP Optical sales.

The company expects RDOF, ReConnect and BEAD trio could help further bolster rural sales. While Ribbon forecasts that its market share in the rural market could grow as BEAD funding grants are allocated next year, the smaller size of these providers means these providers roll out facilities slowly due to their size.

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