ATLANTA, GA Enhance Your Community With Advanced Fiber Networks The Atlanta conference encompasses a 9-state region: Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana Low Rates to Expire Soon. Meet the Economic Meet Our Conference Development Chairman Partner, NGN Public Officials: Economic $ 175 “NGN built this network so that the Development Conference schools, hospitals, businesses and Series community could take ownership of it and use it to improve lives.” – Paul Belk, CEO TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 FIBER FOR THE NEW ECONOMY Preconference Day Why Conference Site: Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Hotel Workshops • Seminars Jim Baller We can all learn from the successful, and NGN, our Evening Reception Atlanta? partner at the Broadband Communities 2017 Economic President, Baller Stokes & Lide, P.C. Development Conference, has a lot to teach us. Helping Communities Take Control Dynamic city’s a hub of new initiatives WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 Ten years ago, visionaries from counties and core anchor to fulfill broadband’s promise Jim Baller is the nation’s leading telecom attorney institutions in North Georgia teamed up with the goal of Main Event Sessions dedicated to representing state and local governments, boosting the region’s economic development through Of Their Broadband Futures municipal utilities, non-profit organizations and private Breakfast • Breaks high-speed broadband infrastructure. What started with a entities seeking broadband solutions. He has served as laudable idea moved quickly into reality as the company Luncheon Renaissance Concourse the chairman of all six Broadband Communities Economic received the nation’s first BTOP (Broadband Technology Evening Reception Development Conferences and is committed to developing Opportunities Program) federal grant in 2009 to build 1,100 Atlanta Airport Hotel up-to-the-minute programming that helps communities miles of new fiber. NGN now manages in excess of 1,600 Registration Now Open One Hartsfield Centre Parkway understand what they can do to maximize the potential miles of network for its members, providing them with THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 economic benefits of advanced broadband networks, as gigabit connectivity that rivals the fastest in the world. And Atlanta, GA 30354 November 7 – 9, 2017 Main Event Sessions rapidly and efficiently as possible. continued growth is definitely in its future! Breakfast • Breaks 404-209-9999 Luncheon Conveniently located at Hartsfield – WHAT YOU WILL LEARN: Hosted by Jackson Atlanta International Airport How you can successfully leverage your fiber for economic development Discover how to get businesses to make the most of your fiber-based broadband investment. Who You Will Meet:

Live Rural. Work Global. Local, State and Federal Officials How to successfully plan for, monetize and manage your broadband investment Economic Development Professionals Explore best practices for developing broadband strategies for the knowledge economy. Investors Learn the strategies necessary to foster collaboration with economic development agencies. For More Information: Public and Private Network Operators Differentiate your community with advanced broadband connectivity. www.TownsAndTech.com Business Leaders and Entrepreneurs Discover how your community can become a magnet for the tech industry. Financial Institution Professionals To Exhibit Or Sponsor Contact: Community Anchor Institution How to successfully fund your advanced communications project Irene Prescott • [email protected] I 505-867-3299 Officials from fields including Education, Find out about a variety of successful public and private efforts to fund fiber networks. For Assistance Contact: Medical, Public Safety and Security Get timely information about federal investments in broadband communities. Electric Cooperative and Telco Leaders Explore both traditional and creative new financing mechanisms, including working with private-sector [email protected] • 877-588-1649 Broadband Champions network providers, entering into public-private partnerships and collaborating with vendors. EDITOR’S NOTE Building a Fiber- CEO Barbara DeGarmo / [email protected] Connected World PUBLISHER Nancy McCain / [email protected] EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Masha Zager / [email protected] EDITOR-AT-LARGE Steven S. Ross / [email protected] The annual FTTH Top 100 list is a window into what’s ADVERTISING SALES ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE going on in the industry. Irene Prescott / [email protected] EVENTS COORDINATOR Dennise Argil / [email protected] he Fiber-to-the-Home Top 100 obsolete and aren’t going to. In COMMUNITY NEWS EDITOR Marianne Cotter / [email protected] list is one of the biggest projects fact, wired and wireless networks the Broadband Communities are (finally) converging. Next- DESIGN & PRODUCTION T Karry Thomas team tackles each year. We sift through generation PON and 5G wireless an enormous amount of information are compatible both technically and CONTRIBUTORS Rollie Cole, before deciding which companies to financially, and each will support Sagamore Institute for Policy Research list and what information to include the rollout of the other. David Daugherty, Korcett Holdings Inc. about each one. As you can imagine, • Vendors and service providers are Heather Burnett Gold, Fiber Broadband Association there are many more than 100 great gearing up to support the internet of Joanne Hovis, CTC Technology & Energy FTTH companies. For us, the result is things, which may change people’s Michael A. Kashmer, Digital Broadband more than the list you see in this issue; lives as much as broadband did. Programming Consultant W. James MacNaughton, Esq. it’s gaining a panoramic view of the • Planning and design of FTTH Christopher Mitchell, Institute for industry. Certain themes come up again networks are becoming more Local Self-Reliance automated and more sophisticated – Henry Pye, RealPage, Inc. and again, with variations each time. Bryan Rader, UpStream Network The most pervasive theme is the and increasingly based on analysis of Craig Settles, Gigabit Nation unstoppable growth in bandwidth revenues as well as costs. Robert L. Vogelsang, Broadband • Tools for operation and Communities Magazine demand – but, of course, that wasn’t news to us and probably isn’t to you, maintenance of FTTH networks either. are becoming more accessible and BROADBAND PROPERTIES LLC Another of this year’s major themes, more map-based. CEO the shift from hardware to software, • FTTH operators are looking Barbara DeGarmo is discussed in more detail in the beyond the traditional demarcation VICE PRESIDENT, BUSINESS & Bandwidth Hawk column. In the point and taking more responsibility OPERATIONS for ensuring a good in-home Nancy McCain enterprise IT world, virtualization was seen as a way to cut costs and simplify broadband experience. CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD • Open-access networks are becoming Robert L. Vogelsang network management. In telecom, it’s turning out to be a way to add services simpler to manage, and they VICE CHAIRMAN appear to be gaining support from The Hon. Hilda Gay Legg – and therefore revenues – quickly and easily. On an FTTH network, the municipal and private deployers as BUSINESS & EDITORIAL OFFICE well as from service providers. BROADBAND PROPERTIES LLC number of services that can be added is 1909 Avenue G • Rosenberg, TX 77471 nearly infinite. As always, we asked executives 281.342.9655 • Fax 281.342.1158 Here are a few other themes we of profiled companies to share their www.broadbandcommunities.com noted during the preparation of the insights, and this one, from Larry FTTH Top 100 list: Thompson, the CEO of Vantage Point Broadband Communities (ISSN 0745-8711) (USPS 679-050) (Publication Solutions, seemed to sum up perfectly Mail Agreement #1271091) is published 7 times a year at a rate of $24 per year • Recent advances in copper and the spirit of the industry: “We design by Broadband Properties LLC, 1909 Avenue G, Rosenberg, TX 77471. Periodical coaxial technologies haven’t made postage paid at Rosenberg, TX, and additional mailing offices. networks for applications that haven’t FTTH obsolete and aren’t going POSTMASTER: Please send address changes to Broadband Communities, been invented yet because we believe PO Box 303, Congers, NY 10920-9852. to. Many incumbent telcos and better broadband means better lives.” v CANADA POST: Publications Mail Agreement #40612608. Canada Returns cable companies, as well as new to be sent to Bleuchip International, PO Box 25542, London, ON N6C 6B2. Copyright © 2017 Broadband Properties LLC. All rights reserved. market entrants, are making large investments in fiber. • Recent advances in wireless technologies haven’t made FTTH [email protected]

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TM Simply Exceptional Connections Contact US TODAY 800.677.6812 [email protected] TABLE OF CONTENTS

COVER STORY IN THIS ISSUE 24 FTTH Top 100 List / PROVIDER A BBC Staff Report PERSPECTIVE Leaders and innovators in the fiber-to-the- 8 Creating a New Brand / home arena for 2017 By Bryan J. Rader, UpStream Network Launching a new brand is a good way to notify the world FEATURES that you’ve solved some problems. MDU STRATEGIES 20 20 Property Owners Can Be MULTIFAMILY Internet Providers / BROADBAND By Jim Sauter, NovaONE Networks TECHNOLOGY A new model for multifamily 10 The FCC Looks At broadband is gaining traction: Multifamily Housing / Owners are investing in fiber By Valerie M. Sargent, connectivity and offering high-quality Multifamily Broadband Council bulk internet service to residents. Bulk billing is in the crosshairs of the FCC’s most recent broadband notice of inquiry. CONFERENCE COVERAGE 80 Visions of the Network of the NEW WORLD Future in Orlando / OF VIDEO By Steven S. Ross, Consumers Seek TV Broadband Communities 12 BROADBAND Alternatives / APPLICATIONS The Fiber Broadband Association By Michael A. Kashmer, – formerly the FTTH Council – Digital Broadband 14 Education Initiatives Drive broadened its technology base, but Programming Consultant Fiber Demand / By Rollie Cole, its conference emphasized fiber to Video streaming services are Sagamore Institute for Policy Research the home as the ultimate goal. competing more strongly Speakers and exhibitors at the 2017 with traditional pay TV. How can cable operators keep their SXSWedu conference – junior sibling TECHNOLOGY of Austin’s giant SXSW – showed why customers? students’ demand for bandwidth will 84 VoIP Services Boost continue to rise. Broadband Revenues / THE GIGABIT By Kevin Mitchell, Alianza HIGHWAY DIGITAL INCLUSION A cloud-based VoIP offering allows Accelerating Broadband broadband providers to tap into 92 Connecting the Unconnected / Deployment / 16 the large residential and SMB voice By Heather Burnett Gold, By Lev Gonick, DigitalC markets without incurring capital Fiber Broadband Association A dedicated, high-speed broadband expenses. The FCC examines what policy network to connect the unconnected changes will help providers is a game changer for Cleveland. upgrade their networks.

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENTS COVER Visit www.bbcmag. com for up-to-the-minute 2 EDITOR’S NOTE news of broadband trends, New York artist technologies and deployments BANDWIDTH HAWK Irving Grunbaum 6 celebrates the MARKETPLACE ADS FTTH Top 100. 88 twitter.com/bbcmag 90 ADVERTISER INDEX / CALENDAR

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Another Detour for Rural Residents

Welcome to the world of white boxes (for the haves) and white spaces (for the have-nots).

By Steven S. Ross / Broadband Communities

hat will historians make of a year in which major range of emerging generic “white box” network equipment. national carriers gobbled up content providers SDN becomes SDA – software-defined access. W and, after years of fighting the FCC on net The idea is to run these operating systems mainly on neutrality, decided they could simply redefine it instead? A year Linux x86 computers (cousins to our laptops) near customers. in which the White House took six months to add broadband The approach is scalable – the more customers, the more x86 to its list of infrastructure worthy of construction, but the FCC computers. It’s faster and more secure than sending data back summoned a large group of legal, technical and political minds deep into the cloud. And it’s more reliable because mistakes will to a Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee (BDAC) to affect few customers, if any. Corning and other fiber producers devise ways to streamline network deployment rules without note that it works even better with higher fiber counts – which bigly annoying existing large carriers? increases overall deployment cost by just a few percent. A year in which equipment vendors came close to FOR THE HAVE-NOTS completing their transformations into software companies, leaving the manufacture of most fiber and copper electronics, But what about areas with low population density? Fiber is still an option, given the right conditions (lots of poles with even the most advanced models, to a few big players like Nokia cheap access, short drops, not many trees or rocks in the and Huawei and to nearly anonymous factories? In which a few ground), even down to four or five customers per route mile. nimble, smaller players such as Calix and ADTRAN pushed The fiber can be supplemented with point-to-point wireless, intelligence to the network edge and even to users’ premises which generally does not require tall towers and offers lots of while mighty Microsoft bragged about placing major bets on bandwidth, but can be unreliable in bad weather. scraps of leftover TV “white spaces” spectrum to deliver – wait For even lower densities, Microsoft proposes long-distance for it – wait longer –wait some more – 3 Mbps (well, maybe 10 Wi-Fi using the white space “buffer” spectrum between old Mbps in some places, Microsoft hopes) by 2022? UHF TV channels. In the United States, white spaces are The contrast between companies such as ADTRAN, scattered around 600 to 700 MHz, varying by region. It really Calix, Cisco and Corning, which envision 10 Gbps fiber is Wi-Fi – the IEEE standard for this technology is 802.11af. networks that instantly, and in most cases automatically, A typical installation would be on a tower that serves adjust to network traffic loads – and Microsoft, which has a customers up to 10 miles away and provides 3 Mbps. goal of helping 2 million rural U.S. customers gain any kind Microsoft and others have been building a database for of access through cranky, slow wireless, exposes the contrast prospective deployers to find out where the channel scraps between the broadband haves and the have-nots. are. Its first U.S. deployment was a 2009 test in Claudville, FOR THE HAVES Virginia, where Microsoft partnered with Dell and Spectrum Bridge. Working with existing and potential ISPs such as The Open Network Operating System (ONOS, onosproject. rural electric co-ops, it has proposed connecting 2 million org) is an open-source operating system for running software- by 2022 for $10 billion – $5,000 a premises for one rural defined networks. About 50 partners have signed on. Calix resident out of every 20. How is that competitive, given the offers what is, at least for the moment, a more mature low revenue potential? operating system of its own, AXOS, with a particular focus Has the United States really sunk that low? v on the network edge. Oversimplifying a bit, vendors and users can build their own modules to snap into ONOS or AXOS (or similar operating systems coming soon) and control a wide Contact the Hawk at [email protected].

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Creating a New Brand

Launching a new brand is a good way to notify the world that you’ve solved some problems.

By Bryan J. Rader / UpStream Network

ne of my first tasks after joining a new company – member asked a property manager, “If Large Cable attended a Access Media 3, a multifamily broadband provider party you were throwing, who would they be?” The property O– was to develop a new brand. The company lacked manager quickly smiled and said, “The one who RSVPs that a reputation for quality of service, client care or disciplined they’re coming to the party and then never shows up!” operations. Although it had recently improved, customer Another regional manager said, “Oh, they would show up. perceptions were strong, and memories of prior mistakes They would drink all the beer and never get anything done!” hadn’t faded. Throughout the research process, we had many I heard from many people in my early days here. “Don’t conversations like this about our competitors and about just put lipstick on a pig,” some said. “Make real change, and ourselves. It helped build the right mood storyboard for the then rebrand,” said others. Yet they didn’t realize how much change had already occurred. We had elevated quality of MDU industry and where the opportunities were. service. We were doing same-day appointments. Call center This led to our goal of identifying who we wanted to be. volume had dropped by 30 percent; service tickets had been What should the essence of our brand be? High tech? High cut in half year over year. touch? Approachable? Affordable? However, market perceptions lagged operating realities. Our agency experts guarded us against using outdated Thus, rebranding was a key part of the relaunch strategy. I words, phrases or imagery that didn’t fit where we were saw it right away. Many associates lacked pride in the current headed. They pointed out characteristics of others in the brand, and property owners viewed us as they did many other industry that they liked or thought weren’t effective. service providers. We needed to fix that. Ultimately, we found the right brand and logo design, We searched for a communications plan that included which fit our go-forward strategy and communicated the a brand to give the industry a way to rethink who we were right image to our team, our clients and even our competitors. and what we were about, so we hired a boutique branding I knew we had it right when I showed the new brand to a agency from Chicago to assist us with this process. We told condo board president on my phone in a meeting. “That,” he these experts we wanted to start anew. This was a “control- said, “is a company I would do business with.” I smiled. “You alt-delete” moment, a re-entry process. We weren’t really already do.” renaming the existing company; we were actually launching a The final step was to present the new brand to the entire new platform. organization and engage everyone in the process. We did this IT TAKES TIME with an exciting “brand reveal” party filled with music, fun They quickly got it and went off to work. When I sat down team photo ops, T-shirts, new brand swag and a celebration of in their conference room a week or two into the project, I the future. thought I would be looking at sample logos, designs, colors, Launching brands is nothing new (see Altice, XFINITY names. But there was nothing in their presentation other than and Spectrum). But it is one of the most important parts of a an outline. strategy, as my branding agency pointed out, and can be a key “It doesn’t work that quickly,” they said. “First we need to component of future success. I’m confident in our new brand understand your customers and your competitors and identify as we continue to “up” our game and “stream” ahead. v your market position.” They explained that this would help build a “mood board,” a “brand pyramid,” a “SWAT analysis” and ultimately the new brand and logo. Bryan J. Rader is the president of UpStream Network, a So we went out in the field. We visited many properties and broadband provider (formerly Access Media 3). Reach him at talked to on-site personnel. In one meeting, an agency team [email protected] or by phone at 314-540-1114.

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www.AFLglobal.com/BBC 864.433.0333 MULTIFAMILY BROADBAND TECHNOLOGY The FCC Looks At Multifamily Housing

Bulk billing is in the crosshairs of the FCC’s most recent broadband notice of inquiry.

By Valerie M. Sargent / Multifamily Broadband Council

hen I was in property management, overseeing NEXT UP: FCC INQUIRY ON BROADBAND ancillary services at apartment communities, I was ACCESS Walways concerned with the telecommunications Shortly after the reply deadline for the MBC petition, services my company put into apartment communities and the FCC opened a notice of inquiry (NOI) on improving how they would benefit the residents and the company. Yet competitive broadband access to multiple-tenant environments news of government activity related to those voice, video and (MTE). It seeks comment on “ways to facilitate greater data services did not regularly come across my desk. consumer choice and enhance broadband deployment in Some owners and companies are very aware of this type of multiple tenant environments.” This NOI will have a direct activity, thanks to their legal teams and the associations that impact on broadband deployment in the multifamily industry represent them at local and national levels. Others get caught nationwide. It goes well beyond San Francisco. up in running their businesses. If you’re like me, you may see One item the FCC is looking into is bulk billing informative newsletters appear in your inbox and think, “I’ll get agreements. Any multifamily owner that has bulk billing to it later, when I have more time” – and then never get to it. agreements in place could find that this business model is News of government inquiries may slip through the cracks, in jeopardy. but they still impact owners’ communities. In fact, they may The NOI states that “some providers argue that certain have direct negative impacts on owners’ bottom lines and the state regulations intended to encourage competitive services residents have come to depend upon and love. MTE access may actually hinder their ability to provide a competing service. For instance, in a separate proceeding, BACKGROUND: THE SAN FRANCISCO the Multifamily Broadband Council (MBC) argues that ORDINANCE some measures aimed at promoting competitive MTE The Multifamily Broadband Council (MBC) petitioned access may have the perverse effect of stifling broadband the FCC earlier this year to preempt Article 52 of the San competition by privileging large, well-financed network Francisco Police Code, enacted by the city of San Francisco providers over smaller ones which may be unable to enter “to prohibit owners of multiple occupancy buildings from into certain contractual terms (for example, undisturbed use interfering with the choice of communications services of inside wiring or bulk billing arrangements) that may be providers by occupants.” necessary to secure the financing needed to deploy networks Though the ordinance appeared to be pro-consumer, to multi-tenant buildings.” MBC quickly saw it would create an environment in which The FCC is seeking comment on the current state of only very deep-pocketed companies could ultimately benefit broadband competition in MTEs. It asks for information on or survive, thus reducing the competition the ordinance the following questions: purported to promote. A small provider or owner cannot justify investing • Does building-by-building competition for exclusive in multifamily infrastructure if the investment may be marketing, bulk billing and access to wiring provide undermined by the potential loss and disruption of the greater opportunities and incentives for companies to infrastructure – as may happen in an environment shared by deploy or upgrade wiring and compete in MTEs, thus a potentially unlimited number of providers. Stakeholders preserving the benefits of competition for consumers? that supported MBC’s petition and opposed Article 52 filed • Is there any evidence of a market failure in the provision comments saying the ordinance would ultimately strip property of broadband service to MTEs and their residents? rights from owners, and they feared that similar ordinances • Are there technical or operational challenges associated would be enacted in other cities. (The FCC has not yet ruled with the use of a single facility by two or more providers? on this petition, and post-deadline ex parte comments are still • If so, what consumer harms are associated with these being accepted at www.fcc.gov/ecfs. Search for Filing 17-91.) challenges?

10 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 • Under what circumstances, if any, should the government wants to know whether banning such arrangements would have a role in dictating the terms of contracts between help or hurt competition. Owners and providers should ask service providers and building owners? themselves how banning these arrangements would impact their bottom lines and ROI. How would it impact pricing? MBC is particularly concerned with the third and fourth What about service? points, which concern the technical or operational challenges The goal of competition is to lower prices and provide involved in the use of a single facility by multiple providers. If more innovation. Owners typically want a say about what is contention among providers led to mass disconnects and poor happening on their properties. The NOI is opening a line of quality of service, and no service agreements were in place, it questions on how best to promote broadband deployment and would be difficult to enforce service levels. In other words, if competition in MTEs. the San Francisco ordinance conditions went nationwide, an The deadline for opening comments is July 24, and reply owner would essentially have no control over what happens to comments are due by August 22. To submit a comment, the wiring in his or her building. go to www.fcc.gov/ecfs/. Search for Filing 17-142, and look HOW TO PARTICIPATE for “Improving Competitive Broadband Access to Multiple The FCC is trying to determine whether any state and local Tenant Environments.” In giving your input, you are protecting your business and regulations inhibit competition in multitenant environments. v Commissioners want to consider whether the FCC should your valuable assets, along with residents’ quality of service. revisit its 2010 decision to not take action regarding bulk billing and exclusive marketing arrangements. They also Valerie Sargent is a multifamily speaker, trainer and executive want to consider how revenue-sharing and exclusive wiring consultant, and she serves as the executive director of the arrangements affect competition. Multifamily Broadband Council. Contact her at vsargent@ FCC Chairman Pai is looking for the big picture – mfbroadband.org or 949.274.3434. For more information, visit potential barriers to entry for competitors, including www.mfbroadband.org or www.valeriemsargent.com. MBC incentives, contracts and bulk billing arrangements. He Government Relations Committee work informed this article.

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Did you like this article? Subscribe here! JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 11 NEW WORLD OF VIDEO Consumers Seek TV Alternatives

As video streaming services become more sophisticated and add original content, they compete ever more effectively with traditional pay TV. What strategies can cable operators use to keep their customers?

By Michael A. Kashmer / Digital Broadband Programming Consultant

able operators were stunned by Facebook’s recent to reach customers with on-demand offerings and special announcement that it plans to build out an live events, all ad supported. Author Andrew Burger, in a Cecosystem of original content. The mega-companies Telecompetitor article, shows why subscription video on known as FANG (Facebook, Apple, Netflix and Google) demand (SVOD) subscribers are sought after and should be continue to move deeper onto the private turf of cable a priority for traditional cable operators. SVOD subscribers networks, and so do internet service providers. tend to be younger than the average adult broadband users. Eli Gelman, CEO of Amdocs, issued a spot-on analysis of Forty-four percent are under 34, and they are more tech-savvy this development in June: “In the communications space, the as well as faster to adopt new technologies. These are all good industry giants are bringing content in house to bundle with indicators for video providers. their broadband services and lift their brands. We expect this Finally, cable operators can try improving customer service trend to accelerate both in North America and overseas, as and lowering fees. Many subscribers are fed up with years of noted by innovative communications providers like Globe in careless service from their franchised cable companies. They the Philippines curating entertainment content, or Astro in have come to loathe their local cable monopolies. Malaysia developing local content.” Years of shoddy service with few, if any, escape routes However, the Facebook pledge to dive headlong into the makes consumers cynical – a natural response. Regular rate internet entertainment business shouldn’t take anyone by hikes with no fair explanations, burgeoning “mystery fees” suprise. Facebook has almost 2 billion users and a huge pile of and municipal delays in adding providers contribute to cash to expand its business. Its move sounds a bit like Amazon’s consumers’ desire to cut the cord. planned takeover of Whole Foods, which makes a lot of sense. Thirty-seven percent of respondents spend at least $101 An OTT food delivery platform would make a tasty addition. per month on cable TV. Some households spend more than Rather than making and delivering great salads, Facebook will $150 per month. The latest add-on fee is called a “Broadcast produce and distribute entertainment on a grand scale. TV Surcharge.” My household pays $3.99 a month for this new fee, along with a “Sports TV Surcharge” of $4.97, which HOW WILL CABLE FIGHT BACK? CAN IT? has been around for a few years. These surcharges counter any The cable and broadcast companies don’t have a plan to lost revenue cable companies pay to the broadcast networks compete with the growing list of streaming providers. Some to carry their programs. Advertised cable prices do not cable operators claim a fresh industry approach is needed to include these surcharges. What new surcharge will be next? stop subscribers from cutting the cord. One such approach Equipment? Entertainment? is to embrace the “stickiest” programs. The stickiest shows Readers of this magazine know that municipalities should hold viewer engagement. Right? entering the broadband business increasingly opt to provide According to the comScore index, the five top-rated shows broadband video rather than traditional pay-TV services. for viewer engagement are three Hallmark shows and two With vision, dedication and political clout, municipalities, VH1 shows. Small cable networks such as Hallmark and electric and water companies, and other local entities avail VH1 have played second fiddle to their richer, more successful themselves of newer technology, cheaper and better channel cousins from the very beginning of cable. These smaller nets choices, and caring customer service. They have a clear view have an uphill battle to launch. They may compete with of the future of entertainment. v similar programming (foreign language nets come to mind) and survive with lower subscription fees, if any. Mike Kashmer has worked in cable TV for more than 30 years in Another approach to forestall cord-cutting is to use the distribution, finance and programming. His experience includes tools of the digital world. Cable operators can fine-tune network startups and foreign-language programming. Reach subsegment identification and marketing demographics Mike at [email protected].

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Education Initiatives Drive Fiber Demand

Speakers and exhibitors at the 2017 SXSWedu conference – junior sibling of Austin’s giant SXSW – showed why students’ demand for bandwidth will continue to rise.

By Rollie Cole / Sagamore Institute for Policy Research

n March 2017, I made my third annual Microsoft Hololens costs roughly $3,000), visit to the SXSWedu conference to everyone expects the hardware to get faster, Iresearch trends in educational technology. better and cheaper quickly. I witnessed two important new trends, saw an Pearson and Microsoft have launched a expansion in the reach and depth of existing project to use holographic bodies in medical trends and even saw some meta-trends that school training; the British Museum is creating validated the overall growth of the market. static, manipulatable 3D images of many of its More than ever, education relies on fast, reliable holdings. Holographic files are large, and though broadband. It’s easy to see why students and amateurs can readily create static versions, the their parents continue to be among the most professional expertise to create authenticated avid proponents of fiber broadband. manipulations is rare and expensive. So even though 3D images and virtual worlds can be HOLOGRAMS created in one place and shipped elsewhere like The use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented old-fashioned paper textbooks, many people will reality (AR) to make educational presentations want to access and store them online. immersive is growing rapidly. One important With AR, a holographic image or annotation subset of AR is the use of holographic images – appears to be placed in the real world that a think of Pokémon characters running through student sees. Again, much of the material could the park but with an educational purpose. be stored on local servers that send AR material Learners can view these 3D images from any and receive “real-world” material from close by, angle and perhaps manipulate them to add but delivering AR material and computation color, parts (arms to a broken statue or a roof from central servers is far more economical. to a ruined building) or annotations. Although DIGITAL PERSONALIZATION state-of-the-art hardware is expensive (the A one tutor, one learner system can be a very effective way to teach and learn, but it is expensive. Software, including various forms of artificial intelligence, can more economically create a specialized learning environment for Software, including artificial intelligence, each learner. Such programs may vary the can create a specialized learning material presented, the method of presentation and the order of presentation based on each environment for each learner. student’s learning style. They may also vary

14 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 how student and teacher assess progress and identify areas to emphasize going forward. Again, the hardware and software could all be local, but tremendous economies of scale are within reach if the bulk of the content and computation takes place in central servers. Khan Academy, now the official test prep program for the College Board tests that roughly one-third of U.S. high school seniors take, is moving into this area. Though Khan Academy offers ways to run its material on local servers, almost no one accepts that offer because of the technical requirements and storage size of the material. Pearson’s HoloPatient can be downloaded and placed in any medical teaching environment. McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Summit Learning and many other vendors also offer digital personalization – all personalization, and they hint that standardized ways of measuring those running on the vendor’s servers. they soon will include AR and VR for criteria and reporting the resulting ONLINE TESTING, DIGITAL immersive learning. The publishers measurements. This initiative, called TEXTS AND GAMIFICATION distribute their texts from centralized the Courseware in Context Framework, was developed by Tyton Partners in Trends I reported on in 2016 that servers because the educational collaboration with the Online Learning have expanded in the last year include institutions were unwilling and unable Consortium, with support from the Bill online testing, digital textbooks and to expand their equipment and human and Melinda Gates Foundation. As of gamification. Standardized tests, such resources to distribute the materials. March 2017, the framework focuses on as the College Board SAT and others for The inclusion of game elements digital courseware for higher education. lower grades, were first offered online into learning environments has The third is concerned with the several years ago. The trials revealed the also expanded in reach and depth. interoperability among the digital need for robust broadband with good For example, Kahoot, which offers offerings, especially those that technical support. Since then, as more educational games online, has more purport to track learners and learner schools have obtained better broadband, than 40 million learner users. One of outcomes. The Michael and Susan Dell the use of online testing systems has the book-signing authors featured at Family Foundation developed a set of grown, although it is not yet universal. SXSWedu was Yu-kai Chou, author standards for such data, called EdFi (for Alongside standardized testing has of “Actionable Gamification.” Again, educational file format). Working with grown the use of online assessments offline gamification is possible, but the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that employ such test-like procedures teachers and learners tend to take and several educational institutions, as multiple-choice questions. These advantage of the games already the Dell Foundation launched assessments include smaller standardized developed and distributed online. InnovateEDU as a nonprofit to advocate versions and personalized assessments the benefits of interoperability and called dynamic quizzing. In dynamic THREE META-TRENDS the adoption of EdFi or its equivalent quizzing, the material covered in later I observed three initiatives (perhaps by buyers and sellers of products that quizzes varies based on the strengths and better called meta-trends) that confirm receive or publish educational data. weaknesses students showed in earlier the expansion and general acceptance Any of these individual efforts ones. Use of such systems has grown of markets for internet-based might fail, but they signal the growing dramatically year-to-year. educational technologies. The easiest maturity of the market for digital When digital textbooks were first to describe is a new product called educational materials – and therefore published, they were static electronic CatchOn from a Dallas-based firm of the growing maturity of the demand copies of paper textbooks. They quickly the same name. CatchOn gives school for robust broadband everywhere became popular because electronic districts the ability to track the use of teaching and learning take place. v copies were cheaper to update, produce new digital materials and presumably and distribute than paper. Much has to analyze use versus costs, learning changed in the past three years. The outcomes and other metrics. Rollie Cole is a senior fellow at the major publishers of paper textbooks The second meta-trend is an Sagamore Institute for Policy Research. now talk of digital platforms that attempt to develop standardized You can reach him at rolliecole@gmail. include online assessment and digital criteria for choosing new products and com.

Did you like this article? Subscribe here! JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 15 DIGITAL INCLUSION

Connecting the Unconnected

A dedicated, high-speed broadband network to connect the unconnected is a game changer for Cleveland.

By Lev Gonick / DigitalC

ecently, DigitalC – a civic tech online, yet one in three students has no internet collaboration that partners with the access at home. More than 3,000 children are RCleveland community to design in some form of foster care or at risk of timing technology-driven programs and services – out of support systems provided by the county launched Connect the Unconnected with a in Greater Cleveland. Internet access for youth goal of connecting the 50 percent of Cleveland in foster care is rare except for those who enroll residents who have no wired broadband access. in public universities so they can gain shelter Nationwide, families in neighborhoods with instead of sleeping on the street or in a car. median household incomes below $34,800 – This is the other America. More than 47 the lowest fifth of neighborhoods – are million in the United States are without internet five times more likely not to have access to access – 47 million Americans with real faces, broadband than households in areas with a circumstances, hopes and dreams. Nearly a median income above $80,700 – the top fifth. third of African Americans, Hispanics, and In Cleveland, the average household salary Native Americans do not have internet. Digital of the 8,802 families living in public housing equity is the 21st-century civil rights challenge is $7,572 per year. Nearly a third of those for the United States. It is neither color blind with housing choice vouchers are working nor independent of class, age, ability or location. poor. Today, internet access in the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority is measured in A DEDICATED HIGH-SPEED the hundreds of residents. Cleveland is the third NETWORK least-connected city in the United States behind There is no silver bullet, no elixir, no one-size- Detroit and Brownsville, Texas. fits-all solution to connect the unconnected. Twenty percent of the residents of the For the past 15 years, Cleveland has made an Lutheran’s Men’s Shelter, the largest homeless intentional effort to design, build, manage shelter in Ohio, are returning vets. Without an and operate its own digital infrastructure. I internet connection, residents can not apply for do not mean the city of Cleveland. DigitalC public housing, a job or a myriad of VA, city is a nonprofit spinoff of OneCommunity, and county services. which in turn was a rebranding and scaling of Dr. Adam Perzynski of MetroHealth OneCleveland, launched in 2003 by a group of in Cleveland recently concluded that, after civic-minded technology leaders in Cleveland controlling for income and education, as a catalyst for leveraging technology for broadband access is the single most important community impact. We at OneCommunity social determinant of health and wellness. spent much of the decade from 2006 to Students in Cleveland’s Metropolitan School 2016 designing, constructing, managing District all take a battery of standardized tests and operating what became a large regional online. Seven of 10 teachers assign homework fiber optic network in Northeast Ohio that

16 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 connected thousands of community anchor institutions. In November 2015, the board of OneCommunity agreed to accept a $50 million investment by MC Partners to accelerate and deepen the investments we sought for digital infrastructure through Everstream, OneCommunity’s for-profit arm. As part of that agreement, we retained significant fiber optic capacity (through a legal arrangement known as IRUs) for our continued work in R&D, grants and mission-related activities. DigitalC’s Connect the Unconnected network leverages community anchor institutions that have a presence on OneCommunity’s fiber optic backbone. The first ring is a fully redundant network designed by engineers from Siklu, a leading provider of millimeter-wave (mmWave) wireless technologies. Many Siklu antennas have been deployed for WebPass, the wireless provider recently acquired by Google Fiber. Anchored to our fiber at St. Vincent Charity Medical Center, the antenna arrays for the Connect the The first ring of the Connect the Unconnected network builds off the OneCommunity backbone. Unconnected network in Cleveland have between one and three antennas per building, allowing us to extend fiber-like services. All the buildings copper wiring to provide residents with touch with loved ones, and seeking in the ring are connected at gigabit a symmetrical service of, on average, opportunities for workforce training, speeds. The installation team from 25–30 Mbps. That’s a service offering digital upskilling and looking up health Agile Networks tethered and calibrated I would be very happy with, could I care records. the Siklu mmWave antennas and then receive it in the suburbs. The Lutheran Men’s Shelter, the connected the wireless antennas from Given the well-documented northernmost node on ring one, brought the rooftops to the demarcation points challenges of leveraging the pervasive its connection from the rooftop to its in the respective communications legacy copper plant in cities such as computer lab via fiber optics. A group rooms, typically in the basement of Cleveland, this pilot program provides of 30 men immediately signed up for each residential tower. proof positive that technology solutions training. As the first computers were DigitalC reached out to Actelis can, with relatively modest investment connected to the network, a speed Networks to design a solution to requirements, provide all copper- test was performed at each station. connect the internal copper wiring connected customers with an FCC- The shelter now has one of the fastest plant through its switching technology defined, acceptable source of high- internet connections in the entire city. to the gigabit mmWave antennas speed bandwidth. via a fiber optic link. The team from More than 1,000 men and women BUILD IT, AND THEY Actelis terminated the copper wiring in live in homeless shelters in Cleveland. WILL COME (NOT) every apartment to customer premises As noted, 20 percent are returning Over the past 25 years, community equipment and a Wi-Fi switch as well as veterans. Another 60 percent are re- technology centers have consistently to their own switches in the demarcation entering the community after being demonstrated that making internet room in the basement of the residential incarcerated in prisons. These men and access available is a necessary but tower. Notwithstanding the promise of women are demonstrably interested insufficient condition to onboarding technologies such as G.fast, the Actelis in gaining access to the internet for those excluded from the digital solution turbocharged the existing digital literacy training, keeping in economy. Digital isolation can

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 17 DIGITAL INCLUSION Once the digitally isolated get connected, a requirement for the mmWave fiber extension project. We are already they overwhelmingly see the value of investing designing hybrid approaches to solve for these constraints. Our available in their own futures and paying for internet fiber footprint will allow us to plan access. and cost out the extension of fiber to advance connectivity. We are actively engaged with the R&D community and industry leaders in Cleveland to position our region for a strong, be overcome only by direct and social engagement, and a sense of research-led engagement to bring 5G contextually relevant engagement personal self-worth. The data also wireless test beds to Greater Cleveland. work with unserved and underserved show that once the digitally isolated Likewise, we anticipate adding members of the community. get connected, they overwhelmingly G.fast pilots and several other emerging Connect the Unconnected attempts see the value of investing in their own technologies to the mix. We have begun to be such a holistic, end-to-end futures and paying for access, and they design work on rings 2–4, building program. DigitalC is the catalyst, but prioritize the internet near the very top off the work in the midtown campus the entire program is delivered by and of their needs. district as we anticipate offerings through our partnership network. both east and west of the downtown Every city in the United States WHAT COMES NEXT? area. We have also been asked to has an e-waste stream ecosystem. The need for digital equity is as model extending gigabit connectivity In Cleveland, RET3 has long been compelling as it is urgent. Failing to to geographies around the Greater a partner in recycling computers act in a timely manner will lead only Cleveland area where poverty is quickly to support community needs. The to dystopian futures, with the threads encroaching, bringing with it the forward-leaning leadership at RET3 of the social contract fraying further as downward spiral of economic and social provides a certified solution for the divide continues to widen. challenges. Connect the Unconnected recycling e-waste for corporate and A national framework for is a good exemplar of the foundations enterprise Cleveland businesses connecting the unconnected has always for a meaningful civic internet of things and has long been engaged in been a desired end. Even a strong set to advance the quality of life in the supporting certified workforce of templates for statewide efforts to community and serve as a reference development programs. RET3 offers connect the unconnected would prove architecture for others. A++ certification, Cisco network valuable by having positive impact I want to end where I began. certifications, and a host of internship, on individuals, families and whole Designing and launching a reference re-entry and work-study opportunities. communities. However, there is little to architecture for a dedicated high- RET3’s gently used PC and Apple no prospect of a national policy move speed broadband network and all laptops and minitowers come with in this direction. Likewise, there is the attendant wraparound services TechSoup-certified software licenses. little prospect for statewide initiatives. and support is my definition of civic Another key part of Connect the American exceptionalism in broadband technology. Connect the Unconnected Unconnected is to tie the distribution has meant that the action to connect is about making a small contribution the 47 million Americans with no of computers and software to successful to a simple idea. When history is internet is happening in cities and with completion of eight hours of certified written, the ability to extend access rural utility co-ops and other locally training. The training is delivered to the digital economy and all its defined authorities. We can wait for by community partners such as opportunities is the surest way to bet enlightenment, or we can continue to the Ashbury Seniors Community on a future of prosperity for all of us. work on connecting the unconnected as Computing Center (ASC3). Digital Connecting the Unconnected is the a local issue. literacy trainers who have decades promise of supporting those unserved The technical architecture of the of experience and credibility in the and underserved to restart their dreams Cleveland Connect the Unconnected community are critical resources to and hopes for a better tomorrow. v raise the prospects of success. The program is scalable and replicable. empirical evidence bears out the value Hundreds of community anchor of this approach. Academic research institutions are on our network, Lev Gonick is the CEO of DigitalC, conducted in 2012 and 2013 affirms geographically dispersed around a nonprofit formed to help the city of that investments in digital literacy Greater Cleveland. That said, there Cleveland transition to a digital economy. training bear strong positive support are several technical constraints to Contact him at [email protected]. for employment prospects, greater such efforts, including the laws of This article first appeared in the responsibility for health information, physics as they relate to line of sight, DigitalC blog.

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Property Owners Can Be Internet Providers

A new model for multifamily broadband is gaining traction: Owners are investing in fiber connectivity and offering high-quality bulk internet service to residents.

By Jim Sauter / NovaONE Networks

he millennial rental boom is changing and streaming video and movie services have tenant expectations for internet replaced the traditional weekly sitcom. These Tconnectivity. Millennials are propelling a amenities are the basis of entertainment and major rental market increase. Though many are require a fast, reliable connection. saddled with student loan debt and make every Many apartment owners and property attempt to live economically after college, they management companies see these millennial were raised in the internet age and can’t imagine necessities as a challenge (for older buildings) life without high-speed broadband. and as an opportunity. In either case, they are Property owners are building apartment increasingly likely to take matters into their communities for millennials with attractive own hands rather than wait for telephone or amenities such as communitywide Wi-Fi cable companies to deliver the services their and indoor and outdoor electrical charging residents demand. Owners invest in bringing stations. Streaming movie and cable services, fiber to the building and then include high- video conferencing, working online and speed internet with the rent. Some provide shopping online are staples of millennial living. gigabit service for all residents, and others offer Apartment communities that cater to this a lower basic level of service and make upgrades population should be fiber internet capable. available for purchase. Being able to say a building is “fiber connected” Of course, most property owners have no is a valuable marketing tool that can make an desire to become experts in network installation apartment building stand out. or get into the tech support business. They can In fact, being able to market properties outsource these tasks – and still remain in control as gigabit capable is becoming increasingly of the service delivered to residents – by working necessary as internet is considered a must-have, with companies that provide complete, turnkey just like electricity. For millennials, social media solutions and even retrofit buildings with modern wiring and/or Wi-Fi options if needed. As an example, NovaONE Networks brings in fiber internet – typically gigabit – connections and then walks owners through the process of delivering internet service to tenants. Being fiber connected is a valuable In most cases, landlords include internet service marketing tool that can make an in the rent, but many offer upgrade options that cost considerably less than comparable service apartment building stand out. from phone or cable companies.

20 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 608 Real Estate offers 100 Mbps symmetrical internet access as an amenity to residents of 3twenty Apartments in Madison, Wisconsin. Photo Credit: M5 Creative M5 Credit: Photo

Property owners that offer internet for connectivity and help don’t necessarily have to offer voice property owners through and video services. Providing these the process of becoming an amenities is complex and time- internet service provider. This consuming and involves complex billing allows a landlord to pass some systems and support structures. In or all savings on to residents addition, millennials are much more and provide internet service interested in high-speed internet than that is better and cheaper in traditional phone and cable TV. The than the alternatives. This great majority of residents are satisfied increases the marketability with a simple connectivity package. If and revenue intake of their tenants need services above and beyond buildings. the package, it’s important that they There are some caveats. have the option to call the phone or Illegal, unethical or cable company for service. (In 3twenty inappropriate internet usage Apartments, the building shown here, by residents can be an issue. both phone and cable company services Owners should address the are available to residents.) “Keep it liabilities involved with simple” is NovaONE’s philosophy, and internet access before they “simple” high-speed internet is what start the process. millennials demand. Another problem is that older buildings may have poor BENEFITS TO PROPERTY infrastructure that makes it OWNERS challenging to deliver low- There are a lot of options for fiber cost, high-quality service. connectivity, including many options However, with wireless and property owners aren’t even aware innovative hardware now of. A turnkey solutions provider with available, fast, high-quality Fiber optic termination enclosure, main distribution expertise in the fiber leasing market internet can usually be frame and patch panel in 3twenty Apartments. can secure better pricing and terms delivered over existing wiring.

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 21 MDU STRATEGIES

A solutions provider can educate broadband service. Instead of waiting any building at a reasonable price. In landlords about the pros and cons for a phone or cable technician to properties (or property portfolios) that for tenants and property owners. For show up at move-in, residents can have cater to many different generations, example, NovaONE developed a their internet turned on when they are owners can sometimes take advantage dynamic model rooted in partnerships handed the keys. of differing generational demand with national fiber providers and Fiber-based internet speeds are patterns to increase their bandwidth integrators. This model can help typically synchronous – upload and oversubscription ratios. For example, property owners make the best choices download speeds are the same. This is millennials use the internet at different about internet connectivity for their becoming more and more important times from, say, residents of a senior properties. with gaming and cloud-based services. apartment building. Property owners should consider Residents who work from home also In summary, property owners can a number of possible scenarios. Some appreciate fast upload speeds. provide competitive internet service owners just want to market their Though some phone and cable in their buildings while still focusing buildings as “fiber connected” to attract companies offer bulk services – even on what they do best and what tenants; they don’t want to get into the gigabit bulk services – they typically interests them – leasing their space and details of setting up service or internal want to be sole providers and maximizing value for themselves and infrastructure. Other owners want v monopolize the building. This drives their tenants. to provide a full-scale ISP service for tenants. out competition, limiting tenants’ options. Millennials appreciate having Jim Sauter founded NovaONE Networks BENEFITS TO RESIDENTS options available to them. in 2010 to provide experienced, unbiased When internet service is bundled into Though millennials are the most telecom consulting and independent the rent, cost-conscious tenants can obvious market for this model of agent services that help businesses factor it in as a necessity and include internet service, it is applicable to other manage telecommunications services it in their budgets. Ease of access for segments of multifamily housing. It’s and reduce expenses. Learn more at residents is another huge benefit of bulk possible to get fiber into just about http://novaonenetworks.com.

22 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Did you like this article? Subscribe here! Danella delivers world-class communication utility infrastructure.

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A BBC Staff Report

Building a Fiber-Connected World” is industry was new. The list included nearly every the tagline of Broadband Communities broadband-related company that was even “magazine, and each year the FTTH thinking about fiber, some that planned to start Top 100 list recognizes organizations that are thinking about it soon, and some that specialized leading the way in this arena. in other broadband technologies entirely. Over When the Top 100 list was started, more the years, the list became increasingly focused than a decade ago, the fiber-to-the-home on fiber broadband. Even as FTTH electronics became commoditized and the number of companies making this equipment dwindled (see this issue’s Bandwidth Hawk column), the FTTH ecosystem became more complex, and ORGANIZATIONS ADDED the industry as a whole grew rapidly. The 2017 FTTH Top 100 list represents TO THE 2017 FTTH TOP 100 LIST many niches in this ecosystem. Optical ACRS www.acrsokc.com fiber and fiber cables; passive equipment for Actavo www.actavo.com connecting, protecting and managing fiber; Alianza www.alianza.com and active equipment for sending and receiving Altice USA www.alticeusa.com signals over fiber are the most basic components Charter Communications / Spectrum www.charter.com; of an FTTH network, along with software for Community Solutions www.charter.com/mdu planning, setting up and managing networks City of Ammon, Idaho, and for provisioning and billing fiber services. Fiber Optic Department http://ammonfiber.info The list contains many companies that design, Comsof / FiberPlanIT www.comsof.com; manufacture and distribute these essential www.fiberplanit.com products. Danella Companies www.danella.com To put these pieces together requires firms EntryPoint Networks www.entpnt.com that finance, plan, design, engineer, construct eX2 Technology www.ex2technology.com and install fiber optic networks as well as NBT Solutions / VETRO FiberMap www.nbtsolutions.com; equipment for digging, pushing, pulling and www.vetrofibermap.com attaching fiber. These, too, are represented. The SmartRG www.smartrg.com list also includes a variety of organizations that The Broadband Group / advocate for high-performance broadband or TBG Network Services www.broadbandgroup.com create the conditions that make FTTH more profitable.

24 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 or services to deployers TOP 100 AT A GLANCE • Introducing innovative technologies with game-changing potential, Fiber and Fiber Cable ...... | 30 even if they have not yet been Network Planning, Systems Integration, Design, Engineering, commercially deployed Construction, Installation ...... | 33 • Providing key conditions for fiber Network Testing, Monitoring and Management Services . . . . . | 36 builds, such as early-stage support Home Routers, Gateways and Related Equipment ...... | 45 or demand aggregation. Fiber-to-the-Home Electronics ...... | 47 To be listed among the FTTH Top Network Management Solutions ...... | 52 100, an organization may be based Optical LAN Solutions ...... | 54 anywhere in the world but must do Test and Measurement Equipment ...... | 55 business in North America. Except for FTTH Construction Equipment ...... | 56 broadband service providers, which are Distributors of Fiber Optic Products ...... | 65 inherently local, we give preference to Network Planning and Design Solutions ...... | 70 organizations that serve national rather Passive Components for FTTH Networks ...... | 72 than local markets. Overall size is unimportant, as is corporate form – in addition to for-profit companies, the list includes municipal providers, a telephone cooperative and several Finally, there wouldn’t be any fiber fiber networks. SmartRG, EntryPoint nonprofits. to the home if not for the owners – Networks and Alianza supply software Although some organizations on large and small, private and public, that helps operators monetize their the list focus entirely on fiber to the incumbent and competitive – that networks – SmartRG by automating premises or other fiber-based broadband invest in networks, decide what and home network support, EntryPoint technologies, most deliver or support where to build, operate networks and Networks by moving control of the a mix of broadband technologies. For deliver services. broadband access network to the some, broadband represents only a Companies newly added to the list subscriber edge, and Alianza by small part of their business. In making represent several ecosystem niches. providing cloud-based VoIP services. these selections, the editors considered Altice and Charter are traditional how important the organizations are to cable companies adding FTTH to SELECTION CRITERIA advancing fiber broadband rather than their infrastructure. Ammon, Idaho, In selecting the FTTH Top 100, how important broadband is to them. is a municipality building an open- the editors looked for organizations that advance the cause of fiber-based access fiber network. ACRS, Actavo, The FTTH Top 100 list was researched 2 broadband by Danella Companies, eX Technology by Marianne Cotter, Rachel Ellner and The Broadband Group are • Deploying networks that are large and Kassandra Kania and overseen involved in many aspects of planning, or ambitious, have innovative by editor-in-chief Masha Zager, with design, engineering, construction business plans or are intended recommendations and advice from and operational support for FTTH to transform local economies or editor-at-large Steve Ross. To nominate a networks. Comsof and NBT supply improve communities’ quality of life company for next year’s FTTH Top 100, software for planning and designing • Supplying key hardware, software email [email protected].

“Rural leaders know that to have strong economies, quality education and health care, and lifestyle options, broadband is necessary. After years of hard work, Minnesota is seeing the impact of partnerships among community leaders, state funders and community-minded providers. This winning combination is the way forward to connected communities that work for all.” – Kathleen Annette, President and CEO, Blandin Foundation

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 25 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

COMPANY WEBSITE PHONE KEY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES 3-GIS www.3-GIS.com 256-560-0744 Fiber network design and mapping software 3M Communications www.3M.com/telecom 800-426-8688 Interconnection, connection protection, fiber management, fiber pathways for broadband networks ACRS www.acrsokc.com 405-843-9966 Broadband engineering and consulting; construction management Actavo www.actavo.com 706-654-2298 Network design, engineering, construction and operation ADTRAN www.adtran.com 256-963-8000 Solutions for FTTH, Carrier Ethernet, packet optical transport, mobile backhaul, service migration and service management Advanced Media Technologies www.amt.com 954-427-5711; Distributor of fiber optic transmission equipment, headends, IP and 888-293-5856 QAM set-top boxes, cable modems AFL www.AFLglobal.com 864-433-0333; Fiber optic cable, fiber and copper interconnect products, optical 800-235-3423 connectivity, outside-plant hardware, fusion splicers, test equipment, training, design, engineering, integration Alianza www.alianza.com 801-802-6400 Cloud-based VoIP platform Alpha Technologies www.alpha.com 800-322-5742; Power systems for broadband communications 360-647-2360 Altice USA www.alticeusa.com Internet, video and voice services American Polywater Corporation www.polywater.com 800-328-9384 Cable-pulling lubes, cleaners and sealants AT&T / AT&T Connected www.att.com/communities Broadband internet, TV and voice services Communities Atlantic Engineering Group www.aeg.cc; 706-654-2298 Design and field engineering, aerial and underground construction www.atlanticfibernetworks.com and professional services for FTTH and smart-grid networks Baller Stokes and Lide www.baller.com 202-833-5300 Legal services, public policy advocacy Bechtel www.bechtel.com 415-768-1234 Engineering, procurement, construction and project management BHC RHODES www.ibhc.com 913-663-1900 Planning, design and construction of FTTx projects Biarri Networks www.biarrinetworks.com 877-730-1999 Fiber optic network design software and services Black & Veatch www.bv.com 913-458-2000 Consulting, engineering, construction, operations and program management services Blandin Foundation www.blandinfoundation.org 877-882-2257 Grant making, community leadership development and public policy programs C Spire / C Spire Fiber www.cspire.com/ 855-277-4734 Voice, video and internet access delivered over a fiber-to-the-home home-services/ network Calix www.calix.com 707-766-3000; Fiber access solutions for residential and business services, network 877-766-3500 and services management software, value-added software as a service CCG Consulting www.ccgcomm.com 202-255-7689 Regulatory, engineering, marketing, and strategy and planning services CenturyLink www.centurylink.com 318-388-9000 Data, voice, video, managed services, cloud and hosted IT solutions Charles Industries www.charlesindustries.com 847-806-6300 Fiber optic distribution enclosures and cabinets, fiber aggregation and demarcation interconnects and hubs, fiber cross-connects Charter Communications / www.charter.com; Internet, video, voice and managed Wi-Fi services Spectrum Community Solutions www.charter.com/mdu CHR Solutions www.chrsolutions.com 713-351-5111 Communications network and outside-plant engineering; network planning; managed NOC and managed IT services; telecom billing software Cincinnati Bell www.cincinnatibell.com; 513-397-9900 Telephone, data, video, wireless and information technology www.cincinnatibell.com/Fioptics solutions

26 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 * FEATURED COMPANIES APPEAR IN PURPLE *

COMPANY WEBSITE PHONE KEY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES City of Ammon, Idaho, Fiber Optic http://ammonfiber.info 208-612-4054 Gigabit internet access Department Clearfield www.seeclearfield.com 763-476-6866; Fiber distribution and protection systems for inside plant, outside 800-422-2537 plant and access networks Comcast Cable / www.comcast.com; High-speed internet, video and voice services over cable and FTTH XFINITY Communities www.xfinity.com/xfinitycommunities networks CommScope www.commscope.com 828-324-2200; FTTH electronics, cable and connectivity products 800-982-1708 Comsof / FiberPlanIT www.comsof.com; 416-594-9777 Software for FTTx network planning and design www.fiberplanit.com Corning Optical www.corning.com 828-901-5000 Optical fiber, optical fiber cable, fiber cabinets and splitters, fiber Communications connectors, terminals, MDU products COS Systems www.cossystems.com 800-562-1730 Demand aggregation software, BSS/OSS for managing open-access fiber networks Cox Communications www.cox.com High-speed internet, video, voice and home security services CTC Technology & Energy www.ctcnet.us 301-933-1488 Fiber and wireless broadband network design, engineering, assessment and implementation Danella Companies www.danella.com 610-828-6200 FTTH network design, engineering, construction and testing DASAN Zhone Solutions www.dasanzhone.com 877-946-6320 Network access equipment, passive optical LAN, Ethernet switching, mobile backhaul Design Nine / www.designnine.com; 540-951-4400 Broadband planning, design and project management; network WideOpen Networks www.wideopennetworks.us operations Ditch Witch www.ditchwitch.com 800-654-6481 Construction equipment for laying fiber Dura-Line www.duraline.com 800-847-7661 Conduit, cable-in-conduit, microducts and accessories Dycom Industries www.dycomind.com 561-627-7171 Engineering, construction, maintenance and installation services for telecommunications providers EntryPoint Networks www.entpnt.com 801-518-7333 Automated open-access platform EPB Fiber Optics www.epbfi.com 423-648-1372 Voice, video, data and smart-grid services provided over a fiber optic network ETI Software Solutions www.etisoftware.com 770-242-3620; Software products that manage broadband service fulfillment, 800-332-1078 activation and revenue assurance eX2 Technology www.ex2technology.com 402-817-7970 Project finance, design, installation, right-of-way development and maintenance EXFO www.exfo.com 418-683-0211; Telecom test and service assurance solutions 800-663-3936 Fiberdyne Labs www.fiberdyne.com 315-895-8470 Optical passive devices, fiber optic cable assemblies, termination boxes, MPO cables and cassettes Finley Engineering www.finleyusa.com 417-682-5531 Network design and engineering services Fujitsu Network Communications http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom 888-362-7763 Multivendor core, access and wireless network equipment; network management software solutions; end-to-end multivendor network project integration; other professional services GigabitNow www.gigabitnow.com 866-748-8066 Planning, design, construction, operation and support of gigabit fiber-to-the-home networks GLDS www.glds.com 800-882-7950 Subscriber management, billing, provisioning and workforce management software Google Fiber fiber.google.com Voice, video and gigabit internet services delivered over FTTH networks

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 27 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

COMPANY WEBSITE PHONE KEY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Graybar www.graybar.com 800-GRAYBAR Distributor of PON electronics; optical transport; fiber cabinets, (472-9227) enclosures and pedestals; fiber optic cable and drop cable; DC power; outdoor fiber terminals; hardened MSTs GVTC Communications www.gvtc.com 800-367-4882 Video, high-speed internet with 1 Gbps availability, security monitoring, local and long-distance telephone, advanced data services, Wi-Fi, Ethernet backhaul Henkels & McCoy Group www.henkelsgroup.com 1-888-HENKELS Planning, design, engineering, project management, construction (436-5357) and installation of wireline and wireless communications networks Hiawatha Broadband www.hbci.com 888-474-9995 Voice, video, data and wireless services over high-speed networks Communications Hotwire Communications www.hotwirecommunications.com 800-409-4733 Data, voice and video services delivered over fiber-to-the-home networks InfiniSys www.electronicarchitect.com 386-236-1500 Telecommunications network design for multifamily buildings, technology amenity engineering Institute for Local Self-Reliance www.ilsr.org; 612-276-3456 Broadband policy research and municipal broadband advocacy www.MuniNetworks.org Inteleconnect www.inteleconnect.com 734-604-1563 Telecommunications strategies for municipalities, campuses, developments and businesses iPhotonix www.iphotonix.com 214-575-9300 Optical network terminals, residential gateways, NFV software KGPCo www.kgpco.com 800-755-1950 Distributor of products for FTTH, including outside plant, central office, DAS, transmission and customer premises; supply-chain and distribution services Ledcor Technical Services www.ledcor.com/ 512-275-3500 Design, engineering, sales, construction and maintenance of wireless and wireline networks Leviton Manufacturing www.leviton.com 800-323-8920 Premises wiring, outside plant, central-office solutions and home automation products Magellan Advisors www.magellan-advisors.com 888-488-1767 Broadband and telecom planning, deployment and management services Mapcom Systems www.mapcom.com 804-743-1860 Visual operations system software, database administration, workforce management tools, training and consulting MasTec North America www.mastec.com 888-785-2171 FTTx deployment, outside-plant cabling, inside-plant construction and installation, splicing, testing, systems integration, maintenance Michels Corporation www.michels.us 920-583-3132 Fiber optic network construction, including outside-plant construction, structured cabling and fiber splicing and testing Mid-State Consultants www.mscon.com 435-623-8601 Communications engineering services Multilink www.gomultilink.com 440-366-6966 Fiber distribution and cable management solutions; network power supplies, enclosures and cabinets; MDU enclosures; raceways and pathways NBT Solutions / VETRO FiberMap www.nbtsolutions.com; 207-221-6627 Fiber mapping software www.vetrofibermap.com NEO Connect www.NEOconnect.us 970-309-3500 Consulting, design and engineering for middle-mile and FTTH networks Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com 908-582-3000 Equipment for fixed and mobile broadband access; software and services for network management OFS www.ofsoptics.com 770-798-5555; Optical fiber; optical cable; fiber management and connectivity 888-342-3743 products for homes, businesses and MDUs; splicers; network design services On Trac www.ontracinc.net 423-317-0009 FTTx consulting, design, installation and splicing services

28 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 COMPANY WEBSITE PHONE KEY PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Pacific Broadband Networks www.pbnglobal.com/ 888-339-8805 FTTH electronics, software for network management and provisioning Pavlov Media www.pavlovmedia.com 800-677-6812 Internet, video and voice services; secure home networking for apartment units Power & Tel www.ptsupply.com 800-238-7514 Distributor of fiber optic products and cable, optical networking electronics, test gear, IPTV, home networking solutions PPC Broadband Fiber www.ppc-online.com 315-431-7200 Armored polymer microduct and fiber cables for FTTH and MDU markets Preformed Line Products www.preformed.com 440-461-5200 Cable anchoring and control hardware and systems, fiber optic and copper splice closures, high-speed cross-connect devices Prysmian Group www.prysmiangroup.com 803-951-4800; Optical fiber and telecommunications cables 800-713-5312 Pulse Broadband www.pulsebroadband.net 314-324-7347 Fiber network and FTTH planning, design, construction management, provisioning, billing, customer care, video programming services and operations management Rocket Fiber www.rocketfiber.com 844-847-6253 Gigabit internet access SDT www.sdt-1.com 601-823-9440 Telecommunications infrastructure services, including structured cabling; engineer, furnish and install services; design and engineering SmartRG www.smartrg.com 877-486-6210 Solutions for FTTH, carrier-grade customer premises equipment; open-services platform for managing networked in-home devices; service provider tools for network optimization, insight, security Smithville Communications / www.smithville.com 812-876-2211; High-speed internet, IPTV, voice, managed services, cellular, home Smithville Telecom / 800-742-4084 automation and security services, cloud services, big data support, Smithville Fiber videoconferencing, consulting services Sonic www.sonic.net 888-766-4233 Gigabit fiber and DSL internet access, residential and business voice service, co-location, business networking Superior Essex www.SuperiorEssex.com 770-657-6000 Premises and outside-plant fiber and copper cable products, FTTH closures Team Fishel www.teamfishel.com 614-274-8100; Network design, engineering, construction, installation and 800-347-4351 maintenance services Telect www.telect.com 509-926-6000 Fiber optic and copper connectivity solutions, network power management, equipment racks and cabinets, cable management systems The Broadband Group / www.broadbandgroup.com 702-405-7000 Telecommunications master planning, network design and TBG Network Services engineering, financial modeling, construction management Tucows / Ting www.ting.com/internet 855-846-4389 Gigabit internet access TVC www.tvcinc.com; 888-644-6075 Broadband electronics, connectivity products, outside-plant www.maxcellinnerduct.com hardware, test equipment, fabric innerduct, conduit technology Vantage Point Solutions www.vantagepnt.com 605-995-1777 Telecom engineering and consulting services Verizon Communications / www.verizon.com; Internet, TV and digital voice services Verizon Enhanced Communities www.verizon.com/communities Vermeer Corporation www.vermeer.com 641-628-3141; Horizontal directional drilling equipment, utility and pedestrian 888-837-6337 trenchers and plows Viavi Solutions www.viavisolutions.com 408-404-3600 Fiber optic communications components, network optimization and test equipment Walker and Associates www.walkerfirst.com 800-925-5371 Distributor of communications networks products and services Zyxel Communications www.zyxel.com/us 714-632-0882; Customer-premises equipment and Ethernet switches for FTTH and 800-255-4101 FTTN networks

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 29 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST Ultimately, communities are limited by imagination and grit, not by opportunity. – Christopher Mitchell, Director of the Community Broadband Networks Initiative, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

3-GIS field crew, project management staff and other stakeholders to www.3-GIS.com access accurate, real-time network information. 3-GIS Design 256-560-0744 Services provides consulting services to municipalities and Key Products: Web-based tools and services for mapping, network builders considering and deploying FTTH networks. network design and management 3-GIS is headquartered in Decatur, Alabama. Summary: 3-GIS Fiber Network Solutions is a browser- based, GIS fiber design and asset management system – a single-platform solution for fiber network design, construction output and tracking, and fiber asset management. Built on Esri’s powerful ArcGIS Server platform, 3-GIS Fiber Network Solutions offers desktop and mobile tools for designing and 3M Communications documenting network assets during all phases of a network www.3M.com/telecom life cycle, including planning, design, construction and 800-426-8688 network management. Data can be stored in the cloud or on an organization’s server.The company recently introduced Key Products: Interconnection, connection protection, fiber Web JS, which supports multiple network views and Google management, fiber pathways for broadband networks Street View. The web-based architecture allows designers, Summary: The telecommunications industry has relied on 3M products for more than 50 years. 3M offers a full- fiber MDU broadband solution that makes deploying fiber quick and simple with minimal disruption to residents. 3M fiber pathways can be used in many applications – from FIBER AND FIBER CABLE inside single-family homes to apartment building hallways These firms supply optical fiber for fiber access deployments. – and they work seamlessly with field-installable 3M fiber connectors. The new 3M Clear Track Fiber Pathway is In this and subsequent tables, FTTH Top 100 companies are in bold. virtually invisible, so customers hardly know it’s there. From COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS enterprise to access to wireless, 3M draws on more than 45 AFL www.aflglobal.com technology platforms to create solutions for communications Clearfield www.seeclearfield.com networks worldwide. 3M’s Electronics and Energy segment, CommScope www.commscope.com to which the Communication Markets division belongs, Corning Optical Communications www.corning.com posted net sales of $4.8 billion in 2016. General Cable www.generalcable.com Hexatronic www.hexatronic.com Lite Access Technologies www.liteaccess.com Nexans www.nexans.us OFS www.ofsoptics.com PPC Broadband Fiber www.ppc-online.com ProLabs www.prolabs.com ACRS Prysmian Group www.prysmiangroup.com www.acrsokc.com Sumitomo Electric Lightwave www.sumitomoelectric.com 405-843-9966 Superior Essex www.superioressex.com Key Products: Broadband engineering and consulting, Telect www.telect.com construction management TeraSpan www.teraspan.com Timbercon www.timbercon.com Summary: Established in 1987, ACRS provides turnkey Tinifiber www.tinifiber.com/ engineering and consulting to rural telcos, cable TV operators, wireless ISPs, competitive providers, electric co-ops,

30 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 municipalities, Native American tribes and large carriers services. The company’s flagship Total Access 5000 platform across the United States. Services include feasibility studies, delivers fiber and copper access services across a pure financing acquisition, regulatory consulting (FCC licensing, Ethernet core, allowing mixed deployments of GPON CLEC and ETC filings and state corporation commission (including NG-PON2), active Ethernet, vectored VDSL2 filings and testimony), detailed engineering, construction and traditional T1 services. For services that require strict management and acceptance testing. The company has service-level agreements, the Total Access 5000 also provides extensive successful experience in acquiring RUS broadband MEF-based Carrier Ethernet services over wavelength, loans and grants and competitive Connect America Fund OTN, fiber, copper and TDM. In May 2015, ADTRAN awards for its clients. ACRS engineered the first full-motion announced a breakthrough in the economics of delivering distance learning network in the United States and the FTTP service based on NG-PON2 architecture. ADTRAN’s first FTTH system in Oklahoma. Recent projects include implementation of this 10 Gbps symmetrical, standards-based several FTTH networks for electric co-ops, including technology allows for simultaneous delivery of residential, Northeast Rural Services (Bolt Fiber Optic) and Valley business and backhaul applications on the same infrastructure Electric Association, winner of a Broadband Communities using different optical transceivers. Last year, ADTRAN Cornerstone Award. ACRS is headquartered in Oklahoma began XGS-PON trials with several 10 Gbps broadband City, Oklahoma, and has about 50 employees. customers. ADTRAN is based in Huntsville, Alabama, and had 2016 sales of approximately $637 million. Actavo www.actavo.com 706-654-2298 Key Products: Network design, engineering, construction and operation Summary: Actavo, formerly SiteServ, is an Ireland-based engineering company with expertise in telecom, water, Advanced Media Technologies power and building solutions. Actavo’s Network Solutions www.amt.com group surveys, designs, builds, upgrades and maintains fiber 954-427-5711; 888-293-5856 networks for Digicel, Liberty Global, SIRO, Virgin Media Key Products: Fiber optic transmission equipment, cable and Vodafone. Its recent expansion into North America, after modem termination systems, headends, IP and QAM set- buying part of Atlantic Engineering Group in 2015, added top boxes, cable modems AEG’s 120 network design engineers, who work globally. Actavo has 13 offices worldwide, including five in the United Summary: Advanced Media Technologies (AMT), a value- States: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Braselton, Georgia; Denver; added reseller of high-performance broadband products, and Kansas City, Missouri. Its global workforce totals 6,000. offers a complete line of DOCSIS, FTTH, IPTV and CATV products. AMT specializes in data solutions for private cable operators. It offers products from such leading ADTRAN manufacturers as Nokia, Amino, ARRIS, ATX Networks, www.adtran.com Actiontec, Blonder Tongue, Casa Networks, Harmonic, 256-963-8000 Olson Technology, Imagine Communications and ZeeVee. Key Products: Solutions for FTTH, Carrier Ethernet, packet Customers include major cable companies in the United optical transport, mobile backhaul, service migration and States and Latin America, telcos, private cable operators and service management entertainment and multimedia content delivery companies Summary: ADTRAN is one of the fastest-growing FTTH around the world. Located in Deerfield Beach, Florida, AMT vendors globally. Its solutions enable broadband expansion, was originally founded as DX Communications in 2003. The IPTV video deployment, business Ethernet service delivery, company keeps an extensive inventory in its 32,000-square- cell site and small-cell backhaul and converged network foot warehouse and employs more than 70 people.

“As electric power systems did in the last century, advanced communications networks are now increasingly driving and supporting simultaneous progress in just about everything that matters to communities.” – Jim Baller, President, Baller Stokes & Lide

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 31 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “The next 12 months are going to be the most important in the history of fiber as next-gen technologies not only increase connection speeds by an order of magnitude but play a leading role in network convergence. For many service providers, these same next-gen technologies will be the catalyst for the transformation to software-defined access, with a combined potential to drive 80 percent of costs out of the network.” – Geoff Burke, Senior Director of Corporate Marketing, Calix

AFL the FTTH field have no history of providing voice services. www.AFLglobal.com For a broadband operator without telephone equipment or 864-433-0333; 800-235-3423 expertise, using a cloud-based system is the simplest, most economical way to add a voice offering – typically a high- Key Products: Fiber optic cable, fiber and copper margin service. Alianza’s Cloud Voice Platform, a web- interconnect products, outside-plant hardware, fusion scale voice solution built for broadband providers, provides splicers, test equipment, training, design, engineering, the functions required to deliver and support VoIP-based integration residential and business phone services. The platform does Summary: AFL products, services and engineering expertise not require capital expenditure or the installation of complex help broadband providers improve their infrastructures equipment, and Alianza alleviates most of the operational and enable delivery of voice, video and high-speed data and regulatory burdens associated with phone services. Since communications. AFL’s product line includes fiber optic announcing a solution specifically for FTTH providers cable, connectivity, fiber management, outside-plant closures, in February 2017, Alianza has made inroads with electric demarcation devices, fusion splicers, test equipment and cooperatives and small municipalities installing fiber to the Light Brigade training and education. AFL plans, designs, home in rural areas of the United States. Founded in 2009 implements and maintains communications networks, and headquartered in Lindon, Utah, Alianza has more than offering solutions for MDU and master-planned community 50 employees. networks as well as for telephone, cable TV and wireless providers; utilities; hospitality companies; and enterprises. Last year, AFL expanded its FTTx portfolio with the release of its MDU product set. The new MDU products offer preconnectorized and splicing solutions to reduce the physical size of indoor splitter cabinets and terminals and to reduce overall installed cost. Founded in 1984, AFL is headquartered Alpha Technologies in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and is a division of Fujikura www.alpha.com Ltd. The company has more than 4,300 associates around 800-322-5742; 360-647-2360 the world and has operations in the United States, Mexico, Key Products: Standby, non-standby and uninterruptible Europe, Asia and Australia. power supplies; surge suppressors; enclosures and batteries; installation and construction services Summary: Founded in 1976, Alpha Technologies is a major player in power systems for the broadband communications industry worldwide. Alpha products provide critical power conditioning and emergency backup for video, data and Alianza voice networks. Alpha’s installation and construction services www.alianza.com include structure engineering, right-of-way and easement 801-802-6400 procurement, site preparation, equipment installation, system turnup and system testing. Customers in 50 countries include Key Products: Cloud-based VoIP platform major cable television system operators, telecommunications Summary: Though the early fiber-to-the-home deployers were service providers and full-service communications providers. mainly telephone companies, many of today’s new entrants to Alpha Technologies’ portfolio of FTTH powering options

32 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 includes the FlexPoint line of 12Vdc single-family solutions more than 1,000 employees, has sales and service centers in and the FlexNet line of 48Vdc multiple-dwelling-unit and the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, China small office–home office power supplies. In early 2017, to and Australia. It is a member of the Alpha Group, a global streamline fiber management at the headend, the company alliance of independent companies that share a common launched the Alpha Ultra High Density Fiber Panel, which philosophy: to create powering solutions for communications, combines ultra-high-density fiber capacity with connector commercial, industrial and renewable energy markets. access and a unique cable management system. Alpha, with

NETWORK PLANNING, SYSTEMS INTEGRATION, DESIGN, ENGINEERING, CONSTRUCTION, INSTALLATION (Excludes companies that provide these services only for networks they will own or manage.)

COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS ACRS www.acrsokc.com Ledcor Technical Services www.ledcor.com Actavo www.actavo.com/ Lite Access Technologies www.liteaccess.com AFL www.AFLglobal.com Magellan Advisors www.magellan-advisors.com Allied Telesis www.alliedtelesis.com MasTec North America www.mastec.com Alpha Technologies www.alpha.com Mesh Networks www.themeshnetworks.com Ansco & Associates anscoinc.com Michels Communications www.michels.us Atlantic Engineering Group www.aeg.cc Mid-State Consultants www.mscon.com Bear Communications www.bearcommunications.net Millennium Communications Group www.millenniuminc.com Bechtel www.bechtel.com MP Nexlevel www.mpnexlevel.com BHC RHODES www.ibhc.com/ Multicom www.multicominc.com Biarri Networks www.biarrinetworks.com Network Design Decisions Inc. www.nocplan.com Black and Veatch www.bv.com NEO Connect www.NEOconnect.us CCG Consulting www.ccgcomm.com/ Netcon www.netconamericas.com CCI Systems www.ccisystems.com/ New Age Communications Construction www.nacc-llc.com CHR Solutions www.chrsolutions.com Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com Communications Test Design Inc. (CTDI) www.ctdi.com OFS www.ofsoptics.com Corning Optical Communications www.corning.com On Trac www.ontracinc.net Conexon www.conexon.us ONUG Communications www.onugsolutions.com CTC Technology and Energy www.ctcnet.us Pace Engineers www.paceengrs.com Cyient www.cyient.com Palmetto Engineering www.palmettoeng.com Danella Companies www.danella.com Pinpoint Services www.pinpointservices.com/ Design Nine www.designnine.com Pulse Broadband www.pulsebroadband.net Deep Fiber Solutions www.deepfibersolutions.com Quanta Telecom Services www.quantaservices.com Dycom www.dycomind.com QYPSYS www.qypsys.com enfoPoint Solutions www.enfopoint.com S&N Communications www.sncomm.com/ eX2 Technology www.ex2technology.com SDT www.sdt-1.com Fiber-Tel Contractors www.fibertelcontractors.com Spectrum Engineering Corp. www.spectrumeng.com Finley Engineering www.finleyusa.com Stirling Lloyd www.stirlinglloyd.com Fujitsu Network Communications http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom Team Fishel www.teamfishel.com G4S Secure Integration www.g4s.us Tellabs www.tellabs.com GTS www.gts-yes.com Tellus Venture Associates www.tellusventure.com Henkels & McCoy Group www.henkelsgroup.com TeraSpan www.teraspan.com HunTel Engineering www.htleng.com Tilson www.tilsontech.com InfiniSys www.electronicarchitect.com Turnkey Network Solutions www.tkns.net Inteleconnect www.inteleconnect.com Uptown Services www.uptownservices.com J&R Underground www.jrundergroundllc.com Utilis www.utilisdesign.com Knet www.e-knet.com Vantage Point Solutions www.vantagepnt.com KGPCo www.kgpco.com Walker and Associates www.walkerfirst.com

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 33 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “We design networks for applications that haven’t been invented yet because we believe better broadband means better lives.” – Larry Thompson, CEO, Vantage Point Solutions

Altice USA imaginable – even special cable-blowing lubricants for air- www.alticeusa.com assisted installation of fiber optic cables. It also sells cleaners Key Products: Internet, video and voice services and other specialty chemicals, worker protection products, cable-pulling software, training videos, adhesives and duct Summary: After Netherlands-based telecommunications sealants. A new foam sealant product was released last year, corporation Altice acquired U.S. cable companies Suddenlink and a new water-based fiber-end cleaner came out this year. Communications in 2015 and Cablevision/Optimum in 2016 American Polywater is based in Stillwater, Minnesota, and to form Altice USA, the company quickly positioned itself sells its products in more than 50 countries. as a leader in the delivery of high-speed internet services in the United States. Within four months of its Cablevision/ Optimum acquisition, Altice USA nearly tripled the fastest AT&T / AT&T Connected Communities internet speed for Optimum customers, and the company www.att.com/communities has continued to expand its 1 Gbps broadband offering Key Products: High-speed internet, next-generation TV, in Suddenlink regions. In December 2016, Altice USA advanced mobile services, smart solutions for people and announced its five-year Generation GigaSpeed plan to build businesses a next-generation fiber-to-the-home network capable of delivering broadband speeds of up to 10 Gbps across the entire Summary: AT&T is investing to be a global leader in Optimum footprint and part of its Suddenlink footprint. the telecommunications, media and technology industry. Altice had already taken this route in Europe – its FTTH Between 2012 and 2016, AT&T’s total investment in the deployments in France and Portugal are on track to reach 22 United States, including capital investment and acquisitions million homes passed by 2022 and 5.3 million homes passed of spectrum and wireless operations, was nearly $135 by 2020, respectively. As of May 2017, the network upgrade in billion – more than any other public company. In the last the United States was already underway. Altice USA has been two years, it has undertaken a massive FTTH deployment operating under the Optimum and Suddenlink brands in the and now markets FTTH services to more than 5 million United States but recently announced it would transition to a customer locations across 54 metropolitan areas. It plans unified Altice brand by the end of 2018. Altice was founded to add 2 million locations in 2017 and reach at least 12.5 in 2001 by French entrepreneur Patrick Drahi and now million locations with fiber by mid-2019. As the largest operates in France, Portugal, Switzerland, the Netherlands, U.S. provider of pay TV, AT&T offers video entertainment the Dominican Republic and the United States. Altice USA, through its DIRECTV (satellite) and U-verse (IPTV) which serves approximately 4.9 million residential and business services. AT&T revenue for 2016 was $163.8 billion, and customers across 21 states, closed its initial public offering in the company employs more than 200,000 people in the June 2017 with a market valuation greater than $23 billion. United States alone. AT&T Connected Communities works with multifamily and single-family builders, developers, management groups and homeowner associations to provide American Polywater Corporation next-generation communications and entertainment services. www.polywater.com 800-328-9384 Atlantic Engineering Group Key Products: Cable-pulling lubes, cleaners and sealants www.aeg.cc; www.atlanticfibernetworks.com Summary: In 1973, Nelson Jonnes, a Minnesota research 706-654-2298 chemist, threw together some slippery ingredients in his Key Products: Design and field engineering, aerial and basement and began selling the mixture as a SCUBA-diving underground construction, professional services for suit lubricant. It was well received, but the potential income FTTH networks from that alone could not support his family of six. After a quick change in market focus, the company began selling the Summary: Atlantic Engineering Group (AEG), a pioneer in same technology to the telecom and power utility markets for fiber-to-the-home network deployment, helps lead the drive use as a water-based cable-pulling lubricant. It revolutionized to combine FTTH and smart-grid technologies into a single the industry, which until then had used mud, wax and grease business plan for municipalities and rural electric cooperatives. as lubricants. Today, American Polywater sells more than 20 The company, founded in 1996, specializes in the design and formulations of pulling lubes for every type of wire and cable construction of fiber communications networks. Though this

34 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Broadband Transforms Communities

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AD10494A Copyright © 2017 ADTRAN Inc. All rights reserved. FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST outside-plant specialist is headquartered in Braselton, Georgia, 500-member Coalition for Local Internet Choice, which it deploys in-house personnel and on-site project managers works to preserve and protect the right of local governments globally. AEG performs project management, business to make the critical broadband infrastructure decisions that modeling, service planning, engineering, underground and will affect their communities for decades to come. Founded in aerial construction, splicing, premises installation, headend 1983, Baller Stokes & Lide is based in Washington, D.C. It has activation, testing and many other professional and technical four full-time attorneys and a network of part-time local and services. It has completed design or build commissions for regional counsel across the United States. more than 100 networks, including 42 FTTH projects that total more than 2 million homes passed. Clients include municipalities, electric utilities, telephone companies, new market entrants and government agencies. To expand its E-Rate business, AEG established Atlantic Fiber Networks, which owns, designs, builds, manages and maintains educational wide area networks tailored to meet the needs of Bechtel educational institutions. In 2016, Actavo, an international www.bechtel.com engineering firm, acquired the division of AEG that specializes 415-768-1234 in design engineering, field services, GIS services and permitting. Both parties continue to collaborate on projects. Key Products: Engineering, procurement, construction and project management Baller Stokes & Lide, PC Summary: A global engineering, construction and project www.baller.com management company founded in 1898, Bechtel has completed 202-833-5300 more than 25,000 projects across 160 countries on all seven continents. For the Verizon Fios network, Bechtel engineered Key Products: Legal services, public policy advocacy fiber routes and hub locations in the Western and Mid-Atlantic Summary: This telecom law firm has a long, consistent record states. Currently, Bechtel is working with Google Fiber to of supporting the use of advanced broadband infrastructure build fiber to the premises and provide high-speed television to drive the development of economically strong local and internet service. Bechtel’s work for Google Fiber involves communities. The firm represents public and private entities designing and installing more than 15,000 miles of fiber in on a broad range of communications matters, both nationally cities across the Southeast, including Charlotte and Raleigh- and in more than 35 states. It is best known for its work Durham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Atlanta, in opposing state barriers to local internet choice. The firm Georgia. The company has 53,000 employees and operates has worked on many of the leading public communications four global businesses: infrastructure; nuclear, security and projects in the United States and was a consultant to Google on environmental; oil, gas and chemicals; and mining and metals. its Fiber for Communities initiative. As founder and president of the US Broadband Coalition, the firm’s president, Jim Baller, played a leading role in forging a national consensus on the need for a national broadband strategy and on the framework for such a strategy. He is co-founder and president of the nearly

NETWORK TESTING, MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT SERVICES COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS AFL www.AFLglobal.com INOC www.inoc.com Allied Telesis www.alliedtelesis.com Korcett Holdings www.korcett.com Atlantic Engineering Group www.aeg.cc Mesh Networks www.themeshnetworks.com Blue Rim Networks www.bluerim.net Michels Communications www.michels.us CHR Solutions www.chrsolutions.com Momentum Telecom www.momentumtelecom.com Design Nine / Wide Open Networks www.designnine.com; Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com www.wideopennetworks.us NovaONE Networks www.novaonenetworks.com Ericsson www.ericsson.com Pulse Broadband www.pulsebroadbandinc.com Fiberdyne Labs www.fiberdyne.com Satellite Management Services www.smstv.com GigabitNow www.gigabitnow.com Sifi Networks www.sifinetworks.com iGLASS www.iglass.net Viavi Solutions www.viavisolutions.com

36 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017

FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “Broadband demand (in terms of both desired speed and total monthly download) continues to triple about every three years, and this is putting huge pressure on traditional networks. Many networks are really feeling the pinch, and any older technologies, such as older DSL or older cable modem networks, are falling massively behind the demand curve. I foresee that anybody operating older networks is going to start feeling competitive pressure.” – Doug Dawson, President, CCG Consulting

BHC RHODES complexity of FTTx network planning and design. Founded www.ibhc.com in 2009 in Australia, Biarri Networks got its start developing 913-663-1900 software to design the 11-million-home Australian National Broadband Network and the 5-million-home Chorus New Key Products: Planning, design and construction of FTTx Zealand network. Over the last five years, Biarri software has projects been used to deliver successful networks across the United Summary: BHC RHODES provides civil engineering States, Asia and Europe. Biarri’s U.S. clients include Tier-1 services to telecom firms that build and maintain fiber telecommunications providers, design and engineering firms networks across the United States. It has designed such as ONUG Solutions, infrastructure data firms such as and managed thousands of miles of telecom network QC Data, fiber overbuilders such as Allo Communications, infrastructure for clients that range from small communities municipalities and public-private partnerships. and telcos to large international service providers. Its FTTx services include feasibility studies, cost estimating and budgeting; planning, layout and network architecture; GIS and AutoCAD mapping; hut site development and construction; outside-plant design; site surveys; right-of- way permitting and asset management. BHC RHODES customers include AT&T, Verizon, Level 3 Communications, Black & Veatch Cox Communications, C Spire, Unite Private Networks www.bv.com and numerous municipalities. Based in Overland Park, 913-458-2000 Kansas, with $20.6 million in 2016 revenue, BHC Rhodes is celebrating 25 years in business and has more than Key Products: Consulting, engineering, construction, 150 employees. operations, program management services Summary: Founded in 1915, Black & Veatch is a global engineering, consulting and construction company that specializes in telecommunications, energy, water and government services. An employee-owned company, Black & Veatch has approximately 10,000 professionals working in more than 110 offices worldwide and has completed projects Biarri Networks in more than 100 countries. Services include engineering, www.biarrinetworks.com procurement, construction, design, management consulting, 877-730-1999 asset management, environmental consulting and security. Black & Veatch has deployed more than 30,000 miles of fiber Key Products: Software for fiber optic network design for commercial carriers, cities and utilities and was selected by Summary: Over eight years, Biarri Networks has developed the Commonwealth of Kentucky as part of a consortium that a simplified, web-based approach to fiber optic network is building a statewide fiber backbone. Revenue in 2016 was planning and engineering. Its software platform, FOND, $3.2 billion. uses advanced technology, automation and optimization techniques, based on a patented algorithm, to remove the

38 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Blandin Foundation C Spire / C Spire Fiber www.blandinfoundation.org www.cspire.com/home-services 877-882-2257 855-277-4734 Key Products: Grant making, community leadership Key Products: Voice, video and internet access delivered over development and public policy programs a fiber-to-the-home network Summary: Since 1941, the Blandin Foundation, a private Summary: C Spire is building a 1 Gbps, ultra-high-speed foundation based in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, has been network in Mississippi to attract investment and economic dedicated to strengthening rural Minnesota communities. Its growth and pave the way for improvements in health Broadband Initiative, launched in 2003, helps communities care, education, civic life and municipal services. Using a educate citizens about the need for ultra-high-speed crowdsourcing model, the company began preregistration in broadband and plan and execute broadband projects. The December 2013 and started offering services in multiple cities foundation has published informational guides, sponsored in fall 2014. C Spire’s FTTH deployment in Mississippi is conferences and educational events, and supported many supported by its existing fiber optic infrastructure, which was feasibility studies for the development of robust, high-speed built to support the company’s LTE network and business broadband networks. It has supported implementation of services and includes more than 5,500 miles of fiber cable. broadband applications in schools, health care facilities and In 2016, C Spire launched two hurricane-ready “super other institutions and for home-based users and has promoted switches” to provide protection and service for customers broadband adoption in rural communities. Last year, Blandin in hurricane-prone areas. Recently, Madison County, selected six northeastern Minnesota communities for two- Mississippi, signed a franchise agreement to bring C Spire year partnerships with the foundation to advance local Fiber to residents in some of its unincorporated areas, and broadband initiatives. C Spire’s Business Solutions division announced it is building fiber optic infrastructure near 18 key business developments and industrial sites in DeSoto County, Mississippi. In the last

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JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 39 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “In three years, many apartments will be ‘smart,’ with the adoption of IoT [becoming] commonplace. The success of this adoption will require the deployment of a well-designed wired and wireless managed infrastructure and the use of technology-adept service providers capable of meeting owner and resident expectations.” – Richard Holtz, CEO, InfiniSys

year, C Spire also launched C Spire TV, a streaming app that CCG Consulting includes cloud DVR, eliminating the need for a set-top box. www.ccgcomm.com Based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, C Spire is privately owned 202-255-7689 and employs 1,425 people. Key Products: Regulatory, engineering, marketing, strategy and planning services; raising money for broadband projects Summary: In business since 1997, CCG is a full-service consultant for small communications carriers. The company specializes in launching new broadband ventures and making Calix existing businesses more profitable. CCG offers a wide range www.calix.com of regulatory, engineering, strategy and planning, operations, budgeting and billing services. CCG helps clients design, 707-766-3000; 877-766-3500 upgrade and maximize fiber, coaxial, copper and wireless Key Products: Fiber access solutions for residential and networks. CCG also offers direct operational assistance in business services, network and services management areas such as number portability, new product development, software, value-added software as a service cable programming, carrier disputes and billing audits. It is Summary: Calix serves more North American FTTx active in helping companies create workable public-private providers than all other equipment vendors combined. It partnerships. CCG is currently engaged in broadband studies also serves several international markets with fiber and for 13 municipal entities and expects to conduct about 20 copper access solutions. Calix intelligent access solutions such studies for the year. The company is also working with leverage its Calix Cloud software solutions. Calix Cloud is half a dozen electric co-ops that are considering entering the complemented by the GigaFamily premises devices, including fiber business. the GigaCenter. In 2015, Calix introduced the Access eXtensible Operating System (AXOS), which allows software CenturyLink functions in the access network to run independently of the www.centurylink.com underlying hardware. This brings SDN/NFV functionality to 318-388-9000 the access network. The number of applications using AXOS Key Products: Data, voice, video, managed security services, has expanded enormously in the past year – there now are at hosting, cloud and IT consulting services least 600 modules that plug into AXOS. Calix has shipped 23 million ports of fiber and copper access lines to providers that Summary: A global communications and IT services have more than 100 million subscriber lines. Headquartered company focused on connecting its customers to the power of in Petaluma, California, Calix had 2016 revenue of $459 the digital world, CenturyLink launched its 1 Gbps FTTH million and spent $100 million on research and development. service in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2013. Today, CenturyLink It has 1,100 employees. passes more than 1.5 million homes with 1 Gbps service and continues to expand the service. CenturyLink also offers Prism TV, an interactive IPTV service, in 19 markets, passing 3.3 million homes. CenturyLink offers network and data systems management, big data analytics, managed security services, hosting, and cloud and IT consulting services. The company provides broadband, voice, video, advanced data and managed network services over a robust, 265,000-route-mile U.S. fiber

40 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 network and a 360,000-route-mile international transport Community Solutions works with property owners and network. Headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, CenturyLink managers to deliver advanced services that attract residents, is an S&P 500 company and is included on the Fortune 500 increase property values and build on resident loyalty. Charter list of the largest U.S. corporations. With approximately announced in March 2017 that it plans to invest $25 billion 43,000 employees, CenturyLink posted operating revenue of in broadband infrastructure and technology in the next four $17.5 billion in 2016. years. Charter is increasingly bringing fiber to sites for some new builds and multifamily properties. In certain multifamily Charles Industries properties, the Spectrum Fiber WiFi offering delivers gigabit www.charlesindustries.com internet speeds to residents. 847-806-6300 CHR Solutions Key Products: Fiber optic distribution enclosures and www.chrsolutions.com cabinets, fiber aggregation and demarcation interconnects 713-351-5111 and hubs, fiber cross-connects Key Products: Summary: Charles Industries designs and manufactures Communications network and outside-plant buried distribution pedestals; indoor and outdoor power, engineering; network planning; managed NOC and battery and equipment cabinets; building terminals for both managed IT services; telecom billing software fiber and copper distribution; and below-grade handholes. Summary: CHR provides a range of engineering, business The company serves telecommunications, wireless, broadband and technology solutions to communications service cable, municipal, utility and government service providers providers. The company offers engineering consulting with end-to-end solutions tailored for both rural and metro and design solutions and services to ILEC, CLEC, power deployments. Charles focuses on creating solutions that and municipal service providers. By the end of 2016, it lower the cost of deploying FTTP, shorten installation time had designed FTTx networks to pass more than 500,000 frames and provide flexibility and reliability to fiber networks. premises. Services include preparing applications for loans Charles Fiber Pedestals, CUBE Cabinets, CFIT and CFBT and grants, broadband planning, performing high-level Building Terminals and TRUE Below-Grade Enclosures are and detailed designs of outside plant for FTTx networks, compact and lightweight yet provide excellent technician permitting, converting GIS/CAD files and implementing access and user experience. In 2017, Charles expanded its outside plant. CHR Engineering specializes in fiber small-scale MDU enclosure offerings, introducing new design and has expertise with a variety of communications building entrance housings and fiber hubs suited to apartment technologies, including xDSL, PON, active Ethernet, Carrier buildings, strip malls, shopping centers and campus Ethernet, fixed wireless, microwave and Wi-Fi. CHR’s B/ buildings. New four-port and eight-port fiber transition OSS solution, Omnia360, has been adopted by a number of terminals serve as demarcation points for fiber entering independent service providers. Based on Microsoft Dynamics customer premises. Charles also expanded its offerings to CRM, Omnia360 is a complete, out-of-the-box system include splice and splitter trays, splitter modules, optical taps, available as a fully hosted cloud-based solution or as an adapters, patch plates, attenuators, fan-out cables, jumpers on-site license subscription. The company is headquartered and pigtails. Founded in 1968, Charles Industries is privately in Houston. held and headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, with U.S-based engineering and manufacturing facilities. Cincinnati Bell www.cincinnatibell.com; www.cincinnatibell.com/Fioptics Charter Communications / 513-397-9900 Spectrum Community Solutions Key Products: Telephone, data, video, wireless and www.charter.com; www.charter.com/mdu information technology solutions Key Products: Managed Wi-Fi services, internet, video and Summary: Households and businesses in Greater Cincinnati voice have access to Cincinnati Bell’s integrated communications Summary: With the acquisition of Time Warner Cable and solutions, which include local, long-distance, data, internet, Bright House Networks, Charter is now the second-largest entertainment, wireless and information technology services. cable company in the United States. It sells internet, video, In addition, Cincinnati Bell offers complex information voice and managed Wi-Fi offerings under the Spectrum brand technology solutions, such as managed services and technology to more than 26 million residential and business customers staffing. The company’s fiber-based services, branded as in 41 states. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, Fioptics, include advanced high-speed data, digital television the company has more than 90,000 employees, a network and telephone services and are available to 67 percent of Greater consisting of nearly 700,000 miles of physical infrastructure Cincinnati. In 2014, the company made gigabit internet speed and annual revenue in excess of $40 billion. Spectrum available to Fioptics customers. It also sold its wireless spectrum

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 41 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST licenses for $194 million so that it could focus its efforts on cable options to join the FieldShield fiber protection system. the efficient deployment of fiber. Last year, Cincinnati Bell Clearfield, which has more than 200 employees, posted $75 extended its relationship with ETI Software Solutions to million in revenue for the year ending September 2016. provide a variety of solutions, including a complex migration of commercial subscribers from T1 copper connections to fiber. Cincinnati Bell’s revenue in 2016 was $1.2 billion.

Comcast Cable / XFINITY Communities www.comcast.com; www.xfinity.com/xfinitycommunities City of Ammon, Idaho, Fiber Optic Department Key Products: Internet, video, voice and home security services http://ammonfiber.info 208-612-4054 Summary: The largest U.S. cable operator, Comcast delivers internet, phone and media services to residential customers Key Products: Gigabit internet service under the XFINITY brand and to businesses under the Summary: Although Ammon began lighting its residential Comcast Business brand. XFINITY Communities works FTTH network only six months ago, the project has been with building and property owners, developers, leasing agents, one of the most talked-about community fiber networks in and homeowners associations to provide services to residents. the United States for several years. Both its financing model In 2015, after building a national fiber backbone, Comcast and its technical model are innovative. Like other cities, launched Gigabit Pro, a symmetrical, 2 Gbps residential Ammon first built out the backbone network by connecting FTTH service. The company began rolling out the service in anchor institutions and paid for the build largely through cost Atlanta in May 2015 and quickly followed with rollouts in reduction and cost avoidance. When it came time to connect many more markets. In 2016, Comcast began trials of gigabit residences and small businesses, Ammon allowed property residential service over its HFC network using DOCSIS 3.1 owners who wanted fiber services to opt into financing their technology; this service is now available in dozens of markets connections. By joining a broadband improvement district, to residential and business customers. When fully deployed, an owner can pay installation costs up front or amortize Comcast expects to be able to deliver gigabit speeds, via the costs in the form of a bond that creates a lien on the FTTH or coax, to almost every customer in its footprint. property. Ammon’s technical approach uses software-defined Over the last year, Comcast completed fiber network networking to make creating an open-access network simple expansions in the downtown areas of Hartford and New and low cost. The Ammon fiber system currently has six Haven, Connecticut. Recent residential product launches service providers; the network is also open to researchers and include the Xfinity Stream app, which allows users to watch application developers who want to test new technologies their TV line-ups on phones, tablets and laptops, and a digital or services. Ammon is committed to using its network to whole-home networking solution that will be available to 15 promote economic development and technical innovation. million homes by the end of 2017. Comcast Business is now beta testing a new software-defined wide area networking Clearfield (SD-WAN) solution for mid-market and enterprise customers. www.SeeClearfield.com Headquartered in Philadelphia, Comcast Cable is a division 763-476-6866; 800-422-2537 of Comcast Corporation, which also owns NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable reported 2016 revenue of $50 billion. Key Products: Fiber distribution and protection systems for inside plant, outside plant and access networks Summary: Headquartered in Minneapolis, Clearfield designs and manufactures fiber distribution and protection systems. Product lines include FieldSmart high-density fiber distribution systems for the inside plant, FieldSmart fiber scalability centers for the outside plant, a fiber delivery point CommScope series for access networks, and FieldShield, an optical fiber www.commscope.com delivery and protection platform made of microduct and 828-324-2200; 800-982-1708 preconnectorized pushable fiber. All product lines integrate Key Products: with the Clearview Cassette 12-fiber management system to Cable and connectivity products deliver scalable deployment and craft-friendly operation. In Summary: CommScope’s solutions constitute a complete the last year, Clearfield introduced a next-generation hardened end-to-end FTTH portfolio, offering multiple fiber optical fiber terminal, a test access point enclosure and drop architectures. With a suite of data center, headend/central

42 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 office, outside-plant and end-user solutions, CommScope Comsof / FiberPlanIT provides carriers, electric co-ops and other operators with the www.comsof.com; www.fiberplanit.com technology and architecture to meet the needs of residential, 416-594-9777 MDU, commercial and cellular backhaul applications. Key Products: Software for FTTx network planning and Founded in Hickory, North Carolina, CommScope has been design involved in the broadband and cable TV industry since 1976 Summary: Comsof was founded in 1998 as a spinoff of and has played a role in nearly all the world’s most advanced the Department of Information Technology of Ghent telecommunications networks. It is the largest supplier of University in Belgium. Its flagship product, FiberPlanIT, is a subscriber-premises connectivity products and rugged conduit software solution for FTTx network planning. FiberPlanIT’s products. The acquisition of the TE Connectivity businesses, automated and optimized design capabilities, based on GIS following earlier acquisitions of Andrew Corporation and data, help network operators reduce planning and design SYSTIMAX, made CommScope a leading communications time, avoid design errors and lower construction costs. infrastructure provider that offers end-to-end passive Comsof provides the software on a license basis and offers network equipment to meet the growing demand for network consultancy services. FiberPlanIT is used in more than 40 bandwidth. CommScope’s Connectivity Solutions segment, countries, and the company recently opened an office in which includes the company’s wireline and fiber offerings, Toronto, Canada, to handle project management and support comprised about 60 percent of CommScope’s overall revenue as well as sales for the Americas. of nearly $5 billion in 2016.

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 43 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

Corning Optical Communications municipalities, utilities and cooperatives in North and South www.corning.com America, Europe, Africa and Asia. In the last year, COS 828-901-5000 Systems expanded its presence in the United States with close Key Products: Optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTH to 30 new customers, entered a handful of additional countries cabinets, splitters, terminals, connectors, cable assemblies, and increased the number of open-access networks that its MDU products, other telecommunications hardware and solutions manage. COS also announced industry collaborations equipment, engineering services, training with VETRO FiberMap and Marketbroadband.com. Privately held COS Systems is headquartered in Umea, Summary: Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators Sweden, and has its U.S. headquarters in New York City. It in materials science. For more than 160 years, it has applied has 18 employees, and revenue for 2016 was $2 million. its expertise in specialty glass, ceramics and optical physics to develop products that have created new industries and transformed people’s lives. In 1970, Corning developed the first commercial low-loss optical fiber. Corning also developed the first loose-tube cable design, the first plug-and-play solution for fiber to the home, and the first high-density, modular data center solution. Corning’s preconnectorized solutions introduced a new way to deploy FTTH networks, Cox Communications and its ultra-bendable ClearCurve product suite opened www.cox.com the way for cost-effective installation of fiber in MDUs and Key Products: Broadband internet, video, voice and smart other challenging environments. Corning SMF-28 Ultra home services Fiber, designed for high performance across the range of Summary: With more than 6 million customers, Cox long-haul, metro, access and fiber-to-the-home network Communications is the largest privately held telecom applications, combines the benefits of low attenuation and company in the United States. It serves residential and improved macrobend performance in one fiber. In June 2017, business customers with a variety of advanced digital video, Corning launched its new multiuse platform, a combination high-speed internet and telephone services over its IP of multifiber and single-fiber connection points that makes network. In 2014, Cox launched residential gigabit internet it easier for operators to quickly deploy fiber-deep access speeds under the Gigablast brand, now available in 13 states networks. Corning has a leading position in key passive and continuing to expand. Cox Communications joined optical segments and is the world’s largest fiber producer. Its with US Ignite to help make Phoenix and San Diego among fiber operation is a $3 billion business and has grown at twice the industry average over the last five years. The company the first “Smart Gigabit Communities” and teamed with expects to reach $5 billion in fiber-related revenue by 2020. the White House and HUD to bridge the digital divide for low-income families with school-age children through its Connect2Compete internet offer. Cox is a subsidiary of Cox Enterprises and headquartered in Atlanta.

CTC Technology & Energy www.ctcnet.us COS Systems 301-933-1488 www.cossystems.com Key Products: Fiber and wireless broadband network design, 800-562-1730 engineering, financial analysis, strategy, assessment and Key Products: Demand aggregation software, BSS/OSS for implementation managing open-access fiber networks Summary: CTC provides independent business and Summary: COS Systems’ cloud-hosted software helps engineering consulting services for public-sector and nonprofit network owners plan, deploy and manage modern broadband clients. Its expertise includes feasibility analysis, strategic networks that deliver services from one or more providers. planning, business plan development, market assessment, COS Service Zones is a demand aggregation tool that fiber and wireless network design and engineering, RFP enables network builders to identify grassroots interest in preparation, grant applications and negotiations with private- better broadband, spread awareness of their projects and sector partners. CTC currently provides fiber engineering and presell internet connections using a “fiberhood” approach. network financial planning services to the cities of Atlanta, COS Business Engine is a BSS/OSS suite for managing and Boston, Boulder, Lexington, Madison, Palo Alto, Portland operating gigabit fiber networks. It enables network operators (Oregon), San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C. CTC to easily market and sell services from multiple providers in played a key role in helping negotiate broadband public- an online marketplace. COS clients include private internet private partnerships on behalf of the city of Westminster, service providers and operators, public-private partnerships, Maryland; the coalition comprising the cities of Urbana and

44 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 “Despite numerous obstacles, municipalities are now in greater numbers starting to deploy their own fiber infrastructure. I predict that an increasing number will choose an open-access model, which, [because of] the nature of cooperation instead of competition with private providers, will accelerate the pace at which muni networks light up across the nation.” –Isak Finér, Chief Marketing Officer, COS Systems

Champaign and the University of Illinois; and rural Garrett defined networks, to a diverse customer base that includes County, Maryland. CTC also provides strategic broadband more than 1,000 network operators worldwide. Northwestel, guidance to the states of Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, a telecommunications service provider in northern Canada, Massachusetts and New Mexico. Founded in 1983, CTC is recently deployed the MXK platform from DASAN Zhone headquartered in the Washington, D.C., area and has satellite Solutions to improve internet access in remote communities offices in many other states. and simplify delivery of lifeline voice services. DASAN Zhone Solutions is headquartered in Oakland, California, and operates in more than 20 countries. The company was formed in 2016 from a merger of two existing FTTH equipment vendors, Zhone and Dasan Network Solutions.

Danella Companies www.danella.com 610-828-6200 Key Products: FTTH network design, engineering, construction and testing Summary: Founded in 1972 and headquartered in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, Danella Companies has 17 divisions HOME ROUTERS, GATEWAYS AND operating from 29 geographically diverse facilities in 12 states. RELATED EQUIPMENT Danella Construction performs approximately $225 million in work per year and is a leading installation contractor for These companies provide set-top boxes, routers, residential gateways, all types of utilities, providing services for the power, gas home networking gear and related equipment. distribution, water and communications industries. In 2016, COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS Danella Companies had revenue of more than $50 million in Actiontec www.actiontec.com FTTH installations alone, with a large portion of this work Advanced Digital Broadcast www.adbglobal.com in the Southeast. Danella continues to expand its services Amino Communications www.aminocom.com to include fiber to the home for Tier-1 service providers and ARRIS www.arris.com municipalities alike. BEC Technologies www.bectechnologies.net Cisco Systems www.cisco.com DASAN Zhone Solutions Comtrend www.comtrend.com www.dasanzhone.com D-Link www.dlink.com 877-946-6320 DrayTek www.draytek.com Key Products: Network access equipment, passive optical Leviton Manufacturing www.leviton.com NETGEAR www.netgear.com LAN, Ethernet switching, mobile backhaul Roku www.roku.com Summary: DASAN Zhone Solutions offers network access SmartRG www.smartrg.com solutions for service provider and enterprise networks. The Technicolor www.technicolor.com company provides a wide array of reliable, cost-effective Tilgin www.tilginsolutions.com networking technologies, including broadband access, Zyxel Communications www.zyxel.com/us Ethernet switching, passive optical LAN and software-

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 45 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “With the ever-changing technology and the demand for increased broadband, I cannot think of a more exciting industry to be in.” – Dan Howick, Business Development Manager, Danella Companies

Design Nine / WideOpen Networks directional drills, mud recycling and fluid systems, drill www.designnine.com; www.wideopennetworks.us pipe, HDD tooling, vacuum excavation systems and mini 540-951-4400 skid steers. Ditch Witch Financial Services offers a variety of financing and lease options. Recent product launches include Key Products: Broadband planning and feasibility studies, the MT16 microtrencher, the VP30 vibratory plow, a new line network business and financial planning, broadband of mini skid steers and the next-generation HDD drill, the project management, broadband network design, network JT40. The Ditch Witch factory is located in Perry, Oklahoma, buildout, network operations and the company has more than 1,400 employees. Ditch Summary: The broadband planning and network design Witch equipment is distributed through a worldwide dealer firm Design Nine is well known for its expertise in – and organization, which operates in more than 100 countries commitment to – local transport networks and open-access through more than 170 locations. networks. Open-access networks it has planned and designed include Bozeman Fiber in Montana; Palm Coast FiberNET in Florida; nDanville, Rockbridge and Wired Road in Virginia; FastRoads in New Hampshire; AccessEagan in Minnesota; and Charles City County in Virginia. Design Nine’s services include fiber and wireless network design, grant-writing assistance, needs assessment, broadband network buildout Dura-Line assistance, financial modeling, business planning, legal and www.duraline.com organizational design of community-owned broadband 800-847-7661 systems and project management. Design Nine’s subsidiary, Key Products: Conduit, cable-in-conduit, microducts and WideOpen Networks, manages community-owned and accessories private-sector networks, providing network monitoring, service provisioning, service provider attraction, asset Summary: Dura-Line develops and manufactures HDPE management, billing and outside-plant management. conduits for protecting fiber optic, electrical and coaxial cables. Headquartered in Blacksburg, Virginia, Design Nine works It supplies fiber optic conduit and related products to telecom, on projects throughout North America. Current projects data, cable TV, power and other markets. Customers include include network design, equipment specifications, pricing and leading U.S. and international telephone and cable providers. financial modeling, network engineering and construction Dura-Line developed the first ducts for installing and management, and network operations. These include two protecting fiber optic cables in 1981, introduced a complete fiber construction projects for local government clients, a line of fiber optic microduct products in 2001, and followed countywide broadband wireless buildout and 11 broadband up in 2003 with FuturePath, a bundled package of microducts feasibility and planning studies. that can be installed the same way as traditional conduit. FuturePath allows up to 24 pathways in a single conduit. Dura- Line, which is owned by Mexichem, is based in Knoxville, Ditch Witch Tennessee, and has 1,500-plus employees worldwide. www.ditchwitch.com 800-654-6481 Key Products: Construction equipment for laying fiber Summary: The feasibility of FTTH often depends on digging efficiently through challenging terrain, congested roadways and manicured lawns. Ditch Witch, a Charles Machine Works company, is one of the companies deployers turn to in Dycom Industries these situations. It specializes in the design and manufacture www.dycomind.com 561-627-7171 of high-quality underground construction equipment for broadband installations globally. Equipment includes Key Products: Program and project management, engineering, trenchers, microtrenchers, vibratory plows, horizontal construction, maintenance and installation services

46 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Summary: Dycom provides specialty contracting services, including program and project management, engineering, FIBER-TO-THE-HOME construction, material provisioning, installation and ELECTRONICS maintenance for telecommunications, CATV and broadband These companies provide FTTH electronic equipment for providers throughout the United States. Dycom Industries central offices/headends, customer premises or both. subsidiaries provide services to construct, install, optimize and maintain communications facilities. The company COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS offers a full complement of turnkey services for wireline and ADTRAN www.adtran.com wireless networks, including planning, site identification Allied Telesis www.alliedtelesis.com and acquisition, architectural and engineering services, BEC Technologies www.bectechnologies.net engineering and design, project management, materials Calix www.calix.com purchasing and distribution, infrastructure construction, Casa Systems www.casa-systems.com tower construction, equipment and antenna installation, cable DASAN Zhone Solutions www.dasanzhone.com placement and splicing, central-office EF&I, integration, D-Link www.dlink.com residential and commercial installations, customer acquisition, Huawei www.huawei.com/us locating services and maintenance. In July 2016, Dycom iPhotonix www.iphotonix.com acquired for $107.5 million some assets and related liabilities Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com of Goodman Networks, another infrastructure services firm. Pacific Broadband Networks www.pbnglobal.com Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, ReadyLinks www.ready-links.com Florida, Dycom has more than 12,000 employees. It posted Sumitomo Electric Lightwave www.sumitomoelectric.com $2.67 billion in revenue for FY 2016. Tellabs www.tellabs.com Tilgin www.tilgin.com Virtual Gateway Labs www.vg-labs.com ZTE USA www.zte.com.cn/global Zyxel Communications www.zyxel.com/us

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JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 47 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

EntryPoint Networks ETI Software Solutions www.entpnt.com www.etisoftware.com 801-518-7333 770-242-3620; 800-332-1078 Key Products: Automated open-access platform Key Products: Software for managing broadband service Summary: EntryPoint Networks, founded in 2007, provides assurance a network management platform for a cloud world. It works Summary: ETI Software Solutions delivers tools that with municipalities interested in redefining the technology telecom, broadband, video, utility, OTT and IoT providers and business model for FTTH to enable competition, need to manage complex systems, reduce operating costs and innovation and fast internet. EntryPoint’s premise is that municipalities should own and control infrastructure as a ensure optimal quality of service. These include software utility and private companies should deliver services from the to support activation, billing, workforce management and cloud. A subscriber can switch ISPs in less than 20 seconds marketing. Specializing in fiber networks, ETI preintegrates using EntryPoint’s platform, which combines software- its software with all leading fiber technology vendors. In defined networking, network automation and network 2016, the company introduced Vision360, a predictive virtualization. The municipal fiber network in Ammon, analytics platform that brings together traditionally siloed Idaho, as well as ATC Communications in Malad, Idaho, data to create a transparent, real-time, business-level implemented the EntryPoint solution in 2016. Privately held solution. Vision360’s visualization of subscriber, device EntryPoint Networks is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and and service data yields actionable intelligence for customer has 10 employees. It has won numerous awards and two service reps, field technicians, and management, marketing research grants from the U.S. Department of Energy. and network operations personnel. ETI introduced an IoT device management platform, Beamfly, in 2016 to support ​EPB Fiber Optics connected homes, smart cities and utilities. Founded in www.epb.com 1992 and headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, ETI Software 423-648-1372 Solutions is 100-percent employee owned. Key Products: Voice, video, data and smart-grid services provided over a fiber optic network Summary: EPB’s fiber-to-the-home network is frequently cited as one of the success stories of municipal broadband. It delivers internet, voice and video services and serves as the backbone for Chattanooga’s smart grid. In addition to increasing power reliability, reducing outage durations and eX2 Technology improving operational efficiency, the smart grid provides www.ex2technology.com detailed usage information for electricity customers. EPB has 402-817-7970 distributed electric power to the Chattanooga area since 1935 Key Products: Project financing, design, installation, right- and now serves more than 170,000 homes and businesses in a of-way development and maintenance for broadband, 600-square-mile area that includes portions of eight counties in Tennessee and Georgia. In 2009, it launched EPB Fiber intelligent transportation and critical infrastructure Optics, which serves more than 90,000 homes and businesses. networks In 2010, EPB brought 1 Gbps speeds to Chattanooga, and in Summary: eX² Technology was formed to be a single-source 2015, it announced NextNet, a new 10 Gbps internet service broadband solution provider for communities, broadband available anywhere in the EPB service area. The company is consortiums, government agencies, utilities and carriers. Its partnering with its first 10 Gbps customer, the University public-private partnership offerings include project financing of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), to provide internet and right-of-way development along with engineering and connectivity throughout the entire campus. In collaboration build services. Recent clients include Mount Washington, one with such organizations as the Company Lab and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the community of Massachusetts’ smallest towns, for a municipal broadband launched a summer program, called GIGTANK, aimed at system; Batavia, Illinois, for various services in support of spurring innovation. Now in its seventh year, the program the city’s fiber optic network expansion plan; and Ammon, hosts students and entrepreneurs in Chattanooga to develop Idaho, to support the town’s development into one of the next-generation apps and disruptive business ideas using the nation’s true open-access connected cities. Based in Omaha, nation’s largest municipal gigabit network. Nebraska, eX2 was founded in 2015.

48 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 EXFO company has more than 1,500 employees in 25 countries. In www.exfo.com fiscal 2016 (ending August 31, 2016), the company reported 1-418-683-0211; 1-800-663-3936 revenue of $232 million. Key Products: Wireless and wireline telecom test, service assurance and analytics solutions Summary: EXFO has pioneered network test, monitoring and analytics solutions for more than 30 years. The company’s test orchestration and performance intelligence solutions help communications service providers smoothly deploy, Fiberdyne Labs maintain and manage physical, hybrid, virtual, fixed and www.fiberdyne.com mobile networks. EXFO has deep expertise in lab and field 315-895-8470 testing and provides test orchestration solutions that automate complex FTTH testing and workflows to boost efficiency and Key Products: Optical passive devices, multiplexers, fiber subscriber quality of experience. EXFO supports customers optic cable assemblies, termination boxes, MPO cables as they go through major network evolutions of all kinds. Its and cassettes, contract fabrication FTTH test orchestration portfolio includes fiber inspection Summary: Fiberdyne Labs Inc., established in 1992, is a solutions; OLTS, OTDR and iOLM, including CWDM and manufacturer of fiber optic products, including termination DWDM models; PON power meters, Ethernet protocol testers boxes, passive modules (WDM and fiber splitters), fiber and advanced, end-to-end monitoring solutions for the physical jumpers, pigtails and MPO cables and cassettes. New and service layers. For the last six years, Frost & Sullivan has products include wall-mounted, rack-mounted and exterior recognized EXFO as the market leader in portable fiber optic termination boxes; thin-diameter patch cables; high-capacity test equipment. More than 2,000 customers use EXFO’s light guide cross-connect (LGX) modules in a wide variety of test instruments and real-time, 3D analytics solutions. The configurations; and improved fiber tap products that use thin-

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JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 49 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “IoT devices may use a small amount of bandwidth, but the millions upon millions of devices coming online each day will create an ocean of data that clearly impacts a provider’s ability to service customers. Real-time diagnostics, automation and advanced analytics will be critical to ensuring profitability today and in the future.” – Frank Gine, CEO, ETI Software Solutions

film technology. Fiberdyne’s new 1RU and 2RU termination Summary: Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., based boxes with splicing will be available soon. The company in Richardson, Texas, builds middle-mile and last-mile fiber also offers fiber characterization testing services nationwide. networks, partnering with states, municipalities and utilities. Headquartered in Frankfort, New York, Fiberdyne has 100 It works with customers or their consultants to plan, design, full-time employees. build, operate and maintain broadband networks. It delivers custom, end-to-end network integration by combining the Finley Engineering best of wireline, wireless and software technology with www.finleyusa.com multivendor services, using a vendor-agnostic approach to 417-682-5531 provide turnkey solutions for FTTH implementations. Fujitsu Network Communications has served as prime integrator Key Products: Network design and engineering services for high-profile telecommunications and enterprise projects Summary: Finley Engineering has nearly 65 years of that include an ongoing FTTH deployment by Kit Carson communications and electric power engineering experience Electric Cooperative in Taos, New Mexico, and middle-mile and 30 years of experience with fiber communication and network connectivity for Horizon Telcom in southern and data projects. It works with organizations that provide eastern Ohio. Fujtsu powered a 2,000-mile fiber network fiber connections to improve quality of life and economic with broadband speeds up to 100 Gbps for Illinois Century opportunities. Founded in 1953, Finley has more than 250 Network, an open-access provider owned and operated by employees in 10 offices nationwide and is one of the largest the state of Illinois. Last year, the company was design-build communications network design companies in the United integrator for FairlawnGig, a municipal fiber network in States. Specializing in end-to-end engineering consulting, Fairlawn, Ohio, and it operates and maintains the network. it works with telecom providers, electric cooperatives, Fujitsu Network Communications is a subsidiary of municipalities and counties to find the best broadband Fujitsu Limited, a global information and communications strategies to fit specific needs. Every project starts with a technology company based in Japan, which offers technology strategic discussion regarding broadband and includes all products, solutions and services in more than 100 countries. stakeholders to gather critical information and perspectives. The company, which has approximately 159,000 employees, Then, once a project is underway, Finley provides reported consolidated revenues of about $39.5 billion for the construction observation and project management. Finley has fiscal year that ended March 31, 2017. completed more than 20,000 miles of FTTH projects and passed more than 100,000 homes with fiber. GigabitNow www.gigabitnow.com 866-748-8066 Key Products: Turnkey solutions for planning, design, construction, operation and support of gigabit fiber-to-the- home networks; co-location and backup services Fujitsu Network Communications Summary: GigabitNow offers customized fiber internet http://us.fujitsu.com/telecom solutions for cities, communities, multitenant buildings 888-362-7763 and businesses. Operator and builder of one of the oldest Key Products: Multivendor core, access and wireless network FTTH networks in the United States, it has had recent equipment; network management software solutions; success building and operating a network for a community end-to-end multivendor network project integration; other on the California coast and delivering fiber broadband for professional services multifamily communities in the Northwest. A developer

50 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 of fiber networks since 2004, GigabitNow consults with investment. Partnering with major equipment suppliers each community to determine its best options, then guides worldwide, GLDS supports FTTH, IPTV, DOCSIS, the project from design through implementation. Once OTT, LTE, TVE, cloud services, wireless, satellite, mobile a network is constructed, GigabitNow performs network payments and legacy delivery systems. This year it announced management, daily operations, end-user support and billing. solutions that work seamlessly with the Calix AXOS cloud- GigabitNow operates the Highlands Fiber Network in based network operating system. It has installed solutions Issaquah, Washington, one of the first FTTH networks built for more than 800 small to midsize broadband operators, in the United States. Recent projects include master-planned including FTTH, cable, satellite, and wireless operators communities, apartment communities and businesses in that range in size from startups to providers with more Washington state and California. GigabitNow, headquartered than 400,000 customers. GLDS has offices in Carlsbad, in Seattle, Washington, has about 50 employees. It is a California; Wisconsin; and Lithuania and operates in 49 U.S. division of IsoFusion Inc., one of the largest privately held states (all except Delaware) and 47 countries. Key products ISPs in western Washington. include BroadHub for customer management and billing and SuperController for multiservice automated provisioning. GLDS WinForce tech, a mobile workforce management platform, www.glds.com empowers field techs with tools previously available only to 800-882-7950 office staff. Available in native Android and browser-based platforms, WinForce tech is fully integrated with BroadHub. Key Products: Customer management, billing, provisioning and workforce management software for broadband Summary: Since 1980, GLDS has helped small operators look big by providing reliable, full-featured billing and management software at affordable prices – including cloud-based services that operators can use with little server

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 51 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

Google Fiber announced that it would pause plans to roll out fiber in some fiber.google.com cities where discussions had already begun or end discussions Key Products: Voice, video and gigabit internet services altogether. The company also announced a 9 percent staff cut delivered over a fiber network in its national Google Fiber division. In 2016, Google Fiber rolled out Fiber Phone, a home phone service being offered Summary: Since being founded by Google in 2010, Google to residential customers in its fiber cities. The company also Fiber has become a major competitive overbuilder that updated its Fiber TV app to play and record TV shows, sports catalyzed FTTH deployments nationwide by introducing and movies. However, it notes a rise among customers opting gigabit speeds at moderate prices in a growing number for its 1 Gbps internet-only service. In March 2017, Google of cities across the United States. The total number of Fiber released a community impact report summarizing the metropolitan areas in which Google Fiber is building positive results of its digital inclusion fellowship program, networks now stands at 11. In 2016, Google Fiber began along with other collaborative community efforts. tapping into existing fiber to offer its services. Current projects include Huntsville, Alabama, where Google Fiber is using part of the fiber network that Huntsville Utilities is building, and San Francisco, where Google Fiber will use existing fiber to serve apartments and condos. The company’s October 2016 acquisition of Webpass, an ISP that offers gigabit speeds to urban buildings using a hybrid fiber-wireless Graybar technology, is part of this effort. Webpass service is currently www.graybar.com available in eight cities: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Miami, 800-GRAYBAR (472-9227) Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. In October 2015, Google Fiber was separated from Google when both Key Products: PON electronics, optical transport, fiber became subsidiaries of the Alphabet umbrella company. cabinets/enclosures, single-mode fiber optic cable, fiber Alphabet’s Other Bets segment, of which Google Fiber is splice closures and pedestals, DC power, outdoor fiber now a part, posted 2016 revenue of $809 million. Marking terminals, FTTx drop cable, hardened multiservice a significant change in strategy, in October 2016, Alphabet terminals

NETWORK MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS These companies provide OSS and/or software for network monitoring, optimization, provisioning, service management, subscriber management, billing and related functions.

COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS ADTRAN www.adtran.com IDI Billing www.idibilling.com Advance Fiber Optics www.ospinsight.com Incognito Software www.incognito.com Allied Telesis www.alliedtelesis.com Ineoquest www.ineoquest.com/ Allot Communications www.allot.com Innovative Systems www.innovsys.com Amdocs www.amdocs.com iToolsOnline www.itoolsonline.com/ Anritsu Company www.anritsu.com Logisense www.logisense.com ARRIS www.arris.com Mapcom Systems www.mapcom.com Calix www.calix.com National Information Solutions Cooperative www.nisc.coop CHR Solutions www.chrsolutions.com Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com Cisco Systems www.cisco.com Commsoft www.commsoft.net Pacific Broadband Networks www.pbnglobal.com COS Systems www.cossystems.com Procera Networks www.proceranetworks.com Enghouse Networks www.enghousenetworks.com Sandvine www.sandvine.com EntryPoint Networks www.entpnt.com Sigma Systems www.sigma-systems.com Ericsson www.ericsson.com Tellabs www.tellabs.com ETI Software Solutions www.etisoftware.com TraceSpan www.tracespan.com EXFO www.exfo.com Utel Systems www.utelsystems.com GLDS www.glds.com ZCorum www.zcorum.com

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Summary: Graybar specializes in supply-chain management network expansion, approximately 75 percent of rooftops services – getting the right parts to the right places at the in the company’s 2,200-mile service area are eligible for right time so construction moves ahead and inventory a FTTH connection. All fiber customers can subscribe to doesn’t pile up in warehouses. The company is a leading gigabit internet speeds or purchase SpeedSync, the only North American distributor of components, equipment symmetrical broadband service in GVTC’s service area, with and materials for telecommunications and other industries. up to 100 Mbps up-and-down connection. GVTC reports a FTTH and related solutions represent a significant portion 93 percent year-over-year sales growth through its SpeedSync of its broadband business. Independent telephone companies, product. In addition to its fiber broadband products, the competitive phone companies, municipalities, RUS plow company offers customers cable television with more than contractors, wireless backhaul providers, central-office 200 channels, voice, security monitoring and a growing contractors and cable companies all depend on Graybar. lineup of Honeywell Lyric smart home products. GVTC also Founded in 1869 as Gray and Barton, today Graybar sells offers an array of communications solutions to business and thousands of items from leading manufacturers; its value- enterprise customers. In 2016, the company capitalized on added services include kitting and integrated solutions. A its fiber network expertise to launch its wholesale Ethernet Fortune 500 company with gross sales of $6.4 billion in 2016, services business. GVTC now sells Ethernet access services, Graybar employs 8,500 people at 290 locations throughout Ethernet transport service and fiber to the tower to customers the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It is one of North that require reliable access to metro and remote markets in America’s largest and oldest employee-owned companies. Central and Southern Texas, Dallas, Houston and Mexico. GVTC leveraged its fiber assets and formed partnerships with regional telephone companies, fiber segment providers and metro fiber providers to create a wholesale network. Revenue for 2016 was approximately $92 million.

GVTC Communications www.gvtc.com 800-367-4882 Key Products: High-speed internet with 1 Gbps availability, Henkels & McCoy Group, Inc. video, smart home security monitoring and home www.henkelsgroup.com automation, local and long-distance telephone, advanced 888-HENKELS (436-5357) data services, Wi-Fi, Ethernet backhaul Key Products: Planning, design, engineering, project Summary: A large telephone cooperative based outside management, construction, operations management, San Antonio in the Texas Hill Country, GVTC continues and installation of wireline and wireless communications to make a name for itself through its aggressive rollout of networks, both outside and inside plant fiber to the home and close collaboration with the economic development agencies that use its fiber network to recruit Summary: Henkels & McCoy Group (HMG) is a and retain businesses. Through GVTC’s continual fiber privately held engineering and construction firm. Through its subsidiaries, it provides critical infrastructure for the communications, power, oil and gas pipeline, and gas distribution markets. HMG was formed in 2016 as the parent company of Henkels & McCoy and the newly formed OPTICAL LAN SOLUTIONS subsidiary companies, HMI Technical Solutions and HMI Communications. The HMG companies work with The following companies sell fiber-to-the-desk carriers, utilities, enterprises and all levels of government solutions for corporate or campus LANs. to deliver services for the planning, design, construction COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS and installation of wireline and wireless communications 3M Communications www.3M.com/telecom networks. HMG has been an FTTH pioneer, performing Corning Optical Communications www.corning.com feasibility studies, project management, construction CommScope www.commscope.com management, implementation of outside plant and inside DASAN Zhone Solutions www.dasanzhone.com plant, and underground and aerial construction. With more Huawei www.huawei.com/us than 50 regional, area and project offices, approximately Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com 5,000 employees and more than 6,000 pieces of modern Tellabs www.tellabs.com equipment, HMG companies provide end-to-end solutions for customers. HMG’s subsidiary Henkels & McCoy (founded in

54 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 “As internet-connected devices become more and more capable, their bandwidth requirements are creating a sense of crisis in smaller communities that cannot meet business and residential needs for affordable bandwidth.” – Andrew Cohill, Ph.D., President, Design Nine Inc.

1923) consistently ranks in the top 10 of Engineering News- Hotwire Communications Record’s Specialty Contractors and has been recognized with www.hotwirecommunications.com an E. I. DuPont Safety Excellence Award. 800-409-4733 Key Products: Residential and commercial high-speed data, Wi-Fi solutions, security, home automation, digital voice and HD IPTV video services delivered over FTTP networks Summary: Hotwire Communications is one of the largest Hiawatha Broadband Communications and oldest independent providers of fiber-to-the-home www.hbci.com communications solutions in the United States. It provides 888-474-9995 services to private residential communities, condominiums, apartments, hotels, multitenant commercial buildings, Key Products: Voice, video and data services; wholesale data government buildings, student housing, and senior and transport assisted living facilities. Hotwire Communications operates Summary: Competitive provider Hiawatha Broadband in more than 13 states and owns its fully redundant fiber Communications (HBC) delivers broadband services to network. As a competitive local exchange carrier and small towns in southeastern Minnesota. Founded in 1997, franchised cable operator, Hotwire Communications designs, HBC operates both hybrid fiber-coax and fiber-to-the-home networks – its first two networks were HFC and the last 17 have all been FTTH. It also provides wireless broadband in rural areas. One of its deployments, Red Wing, was selected as a US Ignite city based on HBC’s network. HBC is also the TEST AND MEASUREMENT operator of the RS Fiber Cooperative gigabit fiber-to-the-farm EQUIPMENT project in Minnesota. In 2015, HBC activated a 96-wave fiber-optic transport ring in southern Minnesota. Each wave COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS is capable of up to 100 Gbps. The network connects more AFL www.AFLglobal.com than 20 southern Minnesota cities to the protected fiber-optic Anritsu Company www.anritsu.com network ring. HBC is currently building an FTTH network ComSonics www.comsonics.com in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and three smaller southeastern Corning Optical Communications www.corning.com Minnesota towns. The company provides a video service EXFO www.exfo.com selection of more than 300 channels, digital music, pay-per- Fiber Instrument Sales www.fiberinstrumentsales.com view and extensive local programming produced by HBC Fluke Networks www.flukenetworks.com Productions. HBC has more than 120 employees, 19 retail GAO Tek www.gaotek.com communities, and wholesale, construction, fiber transport, Greenlee Communications www.greenleecommunications.com business consulting and technical support divisions. Annual Ideal Networks www.idealnetworks.net revenue is more than $28 million. Multicom www.multicominc.com Nokia / Nokia Networks www.nokia.com Tektronix www.tek.com Trilithic www.trilithic.com VeEX www.veexinc.com Viavi Solutions www.viavisolutions.com Yokogawa Test & Measurement http://tmi.yokogawa.com/us/

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 55 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST builds and operates its telecommunications and in-home condominiums, student housing, senior housing, hotels, entertainment services. Residential services include ultra- mixed-use developments and master-planned communities. high-speed data, HD IPTV, VoIP and advanced home The thousands of projects InfiniSys has undertaken since automation solutions. Fision Work, the company’s business its inception in 1990 have garnered many awards for division, offers, in addition to these products, symmetrical forward-thinking solutions and exceptional customer metro Ethernet, co-location, hosted PBX, PRI, DAS support. InfiniSys works with electronics and infrastructure solutions and other business services. Headquartered in Fort manufacturers, software developers, and public and private Lauderdale, Florida, Hotwire has used fiber since 2002 and service providers to create new products and service offerings, began delivering fiber to the home and IPTV in 2006. In including IoT solutions. It developed the trademarked 2014, it became the first residential gigabit internet provider Fiber to the Apartment, Networked Apartment and Smart in Florida. Recently it provided a 10 Gbps symmetrical Apartment brands. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, the firm connection to the Fontainebleau Miami Beach – one of the represents developers and property owners in negotiations fastest hotel connections in the world. with service providers and low-voltage contractors and oversees projects for financial stakeholders.

Institute for Local Self-Reliance www.ilsr.org; www.MuniNetworks.org 612-276-3456 InfiniSys Inc. Key Products: Broadband policy research and municipal www.ElectronicArchitect.com broadband advocacy 386-236-1500 Summary: Since 1974, the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Key Products: Telecommunications and broadband network (ILSR) has championed local self-reliance based on human- design for multiple-dwelling-unit buildings; amenity scaled institutions and widely distributed ownership. selection; low-voltage and wireless system engineering; The nonprofit organization, which has offices in Maine, contract negotiation and project management Minnesota and Washington, D.C., conducts research, advocacy and education that support local control of energy, Summary: To differentiate their communities, MDU recycling, financing, broadband and other initiatives. ILSR owners call on InfiniSys, a leader in multifamily electronic promotes the intelligent use of advanced technology to architecture. As an independent technology adviser, InfiniSys achieve locally determined goals. Its Community Broadband creates comprehensive, standards-based amenity solutions Networks Initiative, directed by Christopher Mitchell, is one that include entertainment, access control, video surveillance, of the most important sources of information and analysis digital signage and messaging, energy management, and about municipal fiber-to-the-home projects in the United leisure-space control systems for new and existing apartments, States. ILSR’s publications, including its MuniNetworks. org blog and its weekly podcast, have been instrumental in showing communities that controlling their broadband destinies is feasible and has the potential to improve local economies and quality of life. FTTH CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT

These companies provide equipment for trenching, boring, Inteleconnect Inc. microtrenching, blowing fiber and other construction tasks. www.inteleconnect.com COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS 734-604-1563 Condux www.condux.com Key Products: Service provider negotiations, financial Ditch Witch www.ditchwitch.com feasibility plans, fiber infrastructure design, and Fremco www.fiberblowingmachines.com consultation and situation analysis for developers, property General Machine Products www.gmptools.com management companies, educational institutions, Hexatronic www.hexatronic.com businesses and municipalities Knet www.e-knet.com Lite Access www.liteaccess.com Summary: Founded in 1998, Inteleconnect develops Rivard www.rivard-international.com telecommunications strategies for municipalities, college and Sumitomo Electric Lightwave www.sumitomoelectric.com university campuses, mixed-use developments and small, Trench’N edge www.trenchnedge.com medium and large businesses. The company designs and Vermeer www.vermeer.com manages service provider–neutral networks (it designed, implemented and currently manages the St. Joe Valley

56 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 CharlesMDU FTTX Solutions From the basement to the CFiT-FLEX COMPACT penthouse - Charles Industries UNIVERSAL offers a complete line of ENCLOSURES indoor and outdoor enclosures specificallydesigned for HT-MDU applications. Designed with industry­ leading flexibility in supported CFTTFIBER fibertypes and splicing TRANSITION methods, Charles' compact TERMINALS (N/0) and cost-efficientenclosure lines offer right-sized solutions forevery network.

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CFiT OUTDOOR TERMINALS &HUBS (NEMA4) FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “The needs of businesses for the fastest internet speeds possible are growing exponentially. Virtual and augmented reality training, 3D product modeling, video conferencing and telecommuting give companies a competitive edge and need the strong backbone that we provide.” – Edi Demaj, Co-Founder and COO, Rocket Fiber

Metronet in South Bend, Indiana); negotiates for in- KGPCo building distributed antenna systems for such institutions www.kgpco.com as Clemson University, Nemours Children’s Hospital and 800-755-1950 Lake Nona Medical City; and negotiates telecommunications Key Products: Products for FTTH, including outside plant, service contracts to enable advanced internet, cable TV and central office, DAS, transmission and customer premises; telephone networks. Recent projects include the design and supply-chain and distribution services implementation of the statewide research and medical fiber network (SCLR) that connects the three research universities Summary: This year, BlueStream and KGP Logistics joined and seven major medical facilities in South Carolina. Other to form KGPCo, a provider of complete, customized, scalable projects include Avalon for North American Properties supply-chain and network transformation solutions for the in Alpharetta, Georgia, and the restructuring of Heather communications industry. KGPCo combines a comprehensive Gardens, an existing 2,400-unit, 55-plus community in suite of technical strategy and implementation services with Aurora, Colorado. a national logistics network and portfolio of technology partnerships. The company is focused on being a trusted partner for customers and providing a single brand that can iPhotonix deliver a complement of network solutions. KGPCo recently www.iphotonix.com launched the KGPCo Solution Innovation Center to evaluate, 214-575-9300 design, and engineer cloud and virtualization solutions Key Products: Optical network terminals, residential developed and operationalized in a live network environment. gateways, network functions virtualization, cloud transformation Summary: Based in Richardson, Texas, iPhotonix is a key player in the virtualization of optical access that is beginning to occur worldwide. iPhotonix advances open, modular software platforms that simplify network operation, enable Ledcor Technical Services multivendor hardware deployments and seamlessly connect www.Ledcor.com physical and virtual network elements. In addition, the 512-275-3500 company develops and commercializes solutions to help service providers migrate to optical access networks in an Key Products: Turnkey and multiservice communications easy, fast, affordable way. Its GPON and active Ethernet solutions, including design, engineering, sales, ONTs interoperate with a wide variety of central-office and construction and maintenance of wireless and wireline customer-premises equipment, including RF video headends terrestrial networks, submarine networks, outside and and set-top boxes, to provide FTTH services to all market inside plant and FTTx segments. The iVolve optical network termination platform Summary: Ledcor, in business since 1947, is a includes more than 50 models of ONTs and gateways, and diversified construction company that has been building the iPhotonix Virtual Network (iVN) platform enables communications networks since 1979. It has built more communications service providers to create network managed than 45,000 miles of fiber across North America, including services for a fraction of the cost and time it takes to deploy the United States’ first full-standard GPON networks and traditional managed services. The iPhotonix team has a Canada’s first transcontinental fiber network. The company rich history of innovation, R&D experience and delivery employs more than 6,000 people in 30 offices across North of reliable solutions from its origins at Siemens Telecom. America; the communications division alone has more than The company’s solutions are tested and deployed by many 1,200 employees. Ledcor has played a major role in two communications service providers worldwide. recent large, pioneering, public-private communications

58 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 partnerships: the Mackenzie Valley Fiber Link (Northwest to meet their network needs. Leviton’s LightSpace enclosures, Territories of Canada) and the Kentucky Next Generation designed to meet the requirements of service providers large Information Highway. Ledcor Technical Services is and small, are used in central-office, outside-plant and headquartered in Austin, Texas. fiber-to-the-premises applications. Privately held and based in Melville, New York, Leviton has a portfolio of more than Leviton Manufacturing 25,000 products and 600 patents, employs more than 7,000 www.leviton.com people and has sales in 80 countries. 800-323-8920 Magellan Advisors Key Products: Premises wiring, outside plant, central-office www.magellan-advisors.com solutions and home automation products 888-488-1767 Summary: Leviton Manufacturing supplies secure, high- Key Products: bandwidth fiber and copper connectivity solutions for Broadband and telecom planning, deployment enterprise, data center and service provider networks. and management services Residential customers use Leviton’s lighting controls, Summary: Magellan Advisors is a full-cycle consulting wiring devices and home automation products, which allow firm that offers services from project inception through homeowners to create smart living environments that deliver implementation and into continuing operations. It energy savings, safety and convenience. The company has provides comprehensive community broadband planning, more than 20 years of experience developing solutions telecommunications master planning, deployment and for high-speed networks and offers a full line of custom- management services to governments, municipal utilities, configurable products along with layout and design support electric cooperatives and private organizations and a suite services for data centers. The company’s online configurator of public-sector IT solutions to local, state and federal allows users to customize enclosures, copper and fiber cable government markets. Magellan helps communities identify, assemblies, copper patch cords and power distribution units negotiate and forge public-private and public-public

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ETI_BBC_hp_062817p.indd 1 6/29/17 4:46 PM JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 59 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “Elected officials and agencies must truly address bringing 21st-century technology to 46 million Americans in rural areas with transformational fiber-based services. Rural America must have real access to fiber-based critical advances in telemedicine, education, workforce development and other categories. This requires creative ways of funding.” – Darby A. McCarty, Chairman and CEO, Smithville

partnerships. Its projects have led to more than $1 billion of independents, cooperatives, fiber communities and campus investments in broadband networks that connect more than telecommunications providers across the United States, 1,000 schools, hospitals, libraries and government facilities Canada, Central America, the Caribbean and Africa. and pass nearly 1 million homes with fiber. Magellan’s portfolio includes more than 250 engagements for city, MasTec North America Inc. county, state, federal and private broadband projects. Clients www.mastec.com range from the national government of New Zealand to 888-785-2171 the new master-planned community of Babcock Ranch, Florida. Recent clients include Naperville, Illinois; Sonoma Key Products: FTTx deployment, outside-plant cabling, County, California; and Culver City, California. Magellan is engineering, inside-plant construction and installation, headquartered in Denver and has regional offices in Miami joint trench systems, splicing and testing, systems and San Diego. integration, fulfillment, ongoing maintenance Summary: MasTec’s engineering, design, construction and maintenance services support advanced fiber optic, copper, wireless and satellite networks. Its FTTH network experience includes underground and aerial fiber installation in urban, suburban and rural environments nationwide. It deployed Verizon Fios networks in Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Mapcom Systems Rhode Island, Florida, California and Texas and performed www.mapcom.com outside-plant construction for CenturyLink in Florida and 804-743-1860 Georgia, and it works with many small telephone companies Key Products: Visual operations system software, network as well. MasTec, which is headquartered in Coral Gables, management, FTTH management, geographic Florida, can supply crews and equipment to its customers information systems, workforce management tools, 24/7. By combining cutting-edge technology, innovative systems integration, training and consulting solutions, skilled professionals and a commitment to safety, the company ensures that its customers can meet their Summary: Mapcom Systems offers a visualization-based customers’ communications needs with reliability and quality. approach to FTTH operations and management. Its M4 MasTec’s communications segment generated $2.3 billion in Solutions Suite encompasses the entire FTTH life cycle from revenue for 2016. PON or active network design and feasibility analysis to day- to-day plant/facility assignment and network maintenance and management. It includes both outside and inside plant at physical and logical levels. Providers use the M4 Solutions Suite to model their networks and service areas, integrating and correlating data from billing, accounting, GPS tracking, element management, network monitoring and vehicle- Michels Corporation tracking applications in a visual interface. Using the suite in www.michels.us conjunction with M4 Workforce and M4 Process Manager 920-583- 3132 technology, staff can communicate via mobile devices to handle trouble tickets, service orders, field locates and Key Products: Fiber optic network construction, including permitting. Headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, with a outside-plant construction, structured cabling, and fiber staff of more than 100, Mapcom has worked since 1971 with splicing and testing

60 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Don’t get left behind Make the GIG+ Leap Consumer demand for bandwidth is unprecedented. Are you ready?

Consumers are asking more from their service providers than ever before. Will you be able to support the growing demand for this critical service? Progressive communities are deploying Gigabit services to stay a step ahead of bandwidth demand, drive economic development and deliver an unmatched Contact us at broadband experience for customers. calix.com/gigabit to see Calix is the leading enabler of gigabit communities in North how we can help you America with thousands of communities deployed by customers deliver gigabit services who are already benefiting from making the “gig” leap. to your community. FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

Summary: In 1983, Michels, based in Brownsville, components, Multilink, founded in 1983, focuses on fiber Wisconsin, was one of the first companies to construct fiber management solutions. Multilink’s customers include lines. Today, it builds thousands of miles of fiber optic and independent telcos, RBOCs, utilities, local area network broadband networks each year. Its communications personnel providers and CATV MSOs. Its products are designed to serve all sectors of the communications industry – local meet the needs of both legacy plant and new technology telephone companies, broadband and cable TV providers, applications. The company’s engineering staff works closely schools and enterprises. The company’s construction design with customers to develop innovative designs and application- and management services include all phases of inside- and oriented products to provide cost-effective solutions. Based in outside-plant engineering. Plowing, trenching, splicing, Elyria, Ohio – where it is expanding its facilities – Multilink terminating, testing, constructing aerial lines, directional is privately owned and has 200 employees. boring, rail plowing, installing cable, conducting site work and providing FTTx solutions are some of the services NBT Solutions / VETRO FiberMap Michels offers. Last year, the company booked $2.0 billion www.nbtsolutions.com; www.vetrofibermap.com in new construction to rank 36th on the Engineering 207-221-6627 News-Record list of top 400 contractors and 18th among Key Products: telecommunications contractors. It assists clients with growth Fiber mapping software forecasting, verifying existing facilities, investigating potential Summary: NBT Solutions has delivered GIS, geodata and migration strategies and estimating costs of numerous mapping services to the telecommunications industry since deployment options. The firm has more than 5,000 employees 2008. In 2016, it launched VETRO FiberMap, a cloud-based in regional offices throughout the United States. mapping product built on an open-source stack. Designed and built to meet the needs of small and midsize fiber ISPs and community fiber networks, VETRO FiberMap helps these Mid-State Consultants organizations compete successfully with larger operators. The www.mscon.com software’s open application programming interfaces allow 435-623-8601 integration with market intelligence and with planning, Key Products: Communications engineering services, engineering and community infrastructure data. Notable facilities management software customer wins since the launch of VETRO FiberMap include MetaLink, a midwestern telephone consortium, and Great Summary: Mid-State Consultants offers a full range of Works Internet, a competitive provider in Maine, both of communications engineering services for telephony, data which adopted VETRO FiberMap as a core business platform. and video networks as well as computerized mapping and Other customers include FTTH ISPs; rural telcos; middle- conversion and construction supervision. The company mile networks; consulting, planning and design engineers; has experience working for a broad clientele, including and developers. Privately owned NBT Solutions is based in local exchange carriers, RBOCs, interexchange carriers, Portland, Maine, and Buffalo, New York, and has a staff of 15. competitive access providers, ISPs, cellular operators and CATV operators, and it has participated in many FTTH projects. Mid-State assists clients with growth forecasting, verification of existing facilities, investigation of potential migration strategies and cost estimates of numerous deployment options. The company’s construction design and management services include all phases of inside- and outside- NEO Connect plant engineering. Mid-State’s e-TICS facilities management www.NEOconnect.us software facilitates the assignment of inside and outside plant 970-309-3500 from end to end; for FTTH networks, it can assign fibers and Key Products: Consulting, design and engineering services splitter ports to specific locations. Mid-State Consultants is for middle-mile and FTTH networks headquartered in Nephi, Utah, and has eight regional offices throughout the United States. Summary: NEO Connect, founded by telecom and FTTH veteran Diane Kruse, provides strategic consulting services for utilities, municipalities, companies, tribal communities, real Multilink estate developers, grant recipients and government agencies www.gomultilink.com that deploy fiber optic, gigabit and fiber-to-the-home networks. 440-366-6966 Services include consulting, feasibility studies, financial and business planning, financing, contract negotiations, design and Key Products: Fiber distribution and cable management engineering services, RFP writing and vendor management, solutions, connectors, splice enclosures and cabinets; project management, program management and appraisal MDU enclosures; raceway and pathway solutions services. Located in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, the firm has Summary: A manufacturer of telecommunications network served communities across the United States.

62 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Group

™

® www.henkelsgroup.com FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “Long gone are the days of convincing service providers FTTH is the right technology solution. Most of the debate today is on how best to use innovative techniques such as microtrenching or wireless drops to cut costs and disruption and quicken the pace of deployment.” – James H. Salter, Chairman, Atlantic Engineering Group

Nokia / Nokia Networks solutions, providing end-to-end fiber optic solutions for www.nokia.com outside-plant and inside-plant networks. Products include 908-582-3000 EZ-Bend ultra-bend-insensitive optical cables and InvisiLight Key Products: Wireline and wireless network equipment, solutions for nearly invisible in-MDU and in-home fiber software for network management, IoT technology, cloud deployments; AllWave+ ZWP full-spectrum, zero-water-peak, bend-optimized fiber; gel-free Fortex loose tube, AccuRibbon solutions ribbon and PowerGuide ADSS fiber cables; end-to-end fiber Summary: Nokia, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a connectivity, optical splitter and fiber management solutions; market leader in wireless and wireline networks. It has a fusion splicers and several MDU deployment solutions. The global presence with operations in Europe, the Middle East professional services group helps optimize network designs. and Africa, Greater China, North America, Asia-Pacific Recent product launches include AccuRiser indoor/outdoor and Latin America. A third of fixed-broadband subscribers ribbon cable and the SlimBox underground terminal for worldwide are served by access networks that use Nokia plug-and-play connectorized drop cables. Headquartered technology, including EPON, GPON, xDSL and G.fast. Ten near Atlanta, OFS is a global provider with facilities in North companies, including EPB Fiber Optics in Chattanooga, have America, Europe and the Middle East and sales offices around deployed Nokia’s universal NG-PON technology to deliver the world. Furukawa Electric reported revenue of about $1.44 10 Gbps services. Nokia Bell Labs (descendant of the original billion for its telecommunications group for the fiscal year Bell Laboratories) recently showed that Nokia’s XGS-PON ending March 2017. technology, part of the company’s NG-PON offering, could support ultra-low-latency fronthaul for 5G mobile traffic, thus paving the way for true integration of wireline and wireless networks. Nokia closed 2016 with net revenue of more than $26 billion in 2016 on sales generated in about 130 countries. Nokia had around 101,000 employees at the end of 2016, with an annual R&D budget of more than $5 billion and On Trac R&D facilities in Europe, North America and Asia. www.ontracinc.net 423-317-0009 Key Products: FTTH splicing, FTTH residential and commercial installation, mainline fiber splicing, MDU network design and installation, structured cabling, consulting, project management, warehousing, back-office structure OFS www.ofsoptics.com Summary: Based in East Tennessee, On Trac provides 770-798-5555; 888-342-3743 telecommunications services and special projects to network operators nationwide. Its core services are FTTH splicing and Key Products: Optical fiber; optical fiber cable; fusion FTTH installation. Additional services include consulting; splicers; fiber management and connectivity products project management; training, service and repair; materials for homes, businesses, data centers and MDUs; network management and warehousing; scheduling processes; and design services back-office structure. Clients include municipal network Summary: OFS’s heritage, which goes back to the original operators, cooperatives and privately owned operators. Bell Labs, includes pioneering research and development in On Trac serves ongoing FTTH deployments for Bristol fiber optics. Wholly owned by Furukawa Electric of Japan, Tennessee Essential Services, Dalton Utilities, GVTC, OFS designs, manufactures and supplies optical fiber, fiber LUS Fiber, Google Fiber, C Spire and Longmont Power & optic cable, specialty photonics and optical connectivity Communications. To date, On Trac has connected more than

64 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 250,000 FTTH installations and performed outside-plant backbone enables the delivery of internet speeds up to 1 work that includes aerial drops, underground drops, mainline Gbps. Other speed-enhancing innovations include WebSnap fiber splicing and bidirectional testing. – a set of traffic management techniques that enable fast web page loading through superfast blasts of service – and a root domain name server hosted on Pavlov’s network to improve latency. Pavlov Media launched its first fiber-to-the- unit service several years ago and now supplies FTTU to thousands of apartments. Founded in 1994, Pavlov Media is headquartered in Champaign, Illinois. Pacific Broadband Networks www.pbnglobal.com 888-339-8805 Power & Tel www.ptsupply.com Key Products: Optical broadband access products and 800-238-7514 network solutions, including active Ethernet, EPON and RFoG equipment for central offices and customer Key Products: Fiber optic and cable products, optical premises; network management and provisioning software networking electronics, test gear, IPTV and home networking solutions Summary: Pacific Broadband Networks (PBN) supplies broadband access products and network solutions that help Summary: The distributor Power & Tel specializes in the operators bridge the gap between existing and emerging procurement, sales and logistics of communications products. technologies. Its equipment and network management By cost-effectively and efficiently managing the supply products are suitable for HFC, FTTH, RFoG, Ethernet chain, Power & Tel lets its customers – service providers, and DOCSIS applications. For example, the AIMA3000, a contractors and other entities large enough to maintain 1.2 GHz/DOCSIS 3.1–ready HFC headend platform that their own communications networks – focus on building enables MSOs to build or upgrade their networks to meet and maintaining fiber networks. The company also provides access requirements for today and the future, simplifies materials-management services that make use of state-of-the art MSOs’ transitions to IP networks by providing intelligent, distribution technology to accommodate the industry’s rapidly interoperable RF and optical modules for HFC, RFoG, changing supply needs. Founded in 1963 and privately owned, PON video overlay and other applications. Recently, PBN Power & Tel is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and has introduced netWatch, a platform for monitoring, maintaining locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. and troubleshooting HFC networks and plant quality, and partnered with Technetix to deliver its access platform to Tier-1 MSOs in North America and Europe. Customers include major telcos and MSOs that serve tens of millions of subscribers around the world. Recent U.S. deployments include Arizona State University in Phoenix, NuLink Digital in Georgia, and SuperVision, an affiliate of YukonTel, in Alaska. Headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, PBN has research and development facilities in Melbourne and Beijing and offices in Australia, China, Europe and the Americas. DISTRIBUTORS OF PBN is also well represented by channel partners globally. FIBER OPTIC PRODUCTS

Pavlov Media COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS www.pavlovmedia.com Advanced Media Technologies www.amt.com 800-677-6812 Anixter www.anixter.com Core Telecom Systems www.coretelecom.net Key Products: Internet, video and voice services; managed Fiber Instrument Sales www.fiberinstrumentsales.com services including support for leasing offices FiberOptic.com www.fiberoptic.com Summary: Pavlov Media is a leading network provider in Graybar www.graybar.com the multiple-dwelling-unit space and the largest private KGPCo www.kgpco.com provider of broadband services to off-campus student Metrotek www.metrotek.com housing communities. It builds and runs networks in 43 Multicom www.multicominc.com states and Canada. With more than 156,000 residents using Power & Tel www.ptsupply.com its network, Pavlov Media provides high-speed internet and TVC Communications www.tvcinc.com cable television to hundreds of apartment, condo and student Walker and Associates www.walkerfirst.com housing sites. Pavlov Media’s 10 Gbps national fiber network

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 65 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST

PPC Broadband Fiber Summary: Prysmian Group is the world’s largest cable www.ppc-online.com solutions provider. The company operates through two global 315-431-7200 brands: Prysmian and Draka. With 130 years of history, Key Products: Armored polymer microduct and fiber cables Prysmian Group has subsidiaries in 50 countries, 89 plants, for FTTH and MDU markets 17 R&D centers and more than 19,000 employees. In North America, operators have deployed more than 80 million Summary: PPC Broadband Fiber’s fiber optic cable, fiber miles of Prysmian Group fiber. The company’s product microduct and closure solutions are designed to enable cost- portfolio includes optical fiber cable, composite fiber/power effective fiber deployment. The company’s Miniflex fiber cable cable for wireless sites, FTTx solutions and premises/data provides protection, flexibility and installation performance cables. Prysmian offers two compact solutions for FTTH. and is compatible with industry-standard microducts. Mini FlexTube cables are optimized for mid-span access with Miniflex fiber cable can be pushed by hand more than 400 feet, pulled for 900 feet or blown 2,500 feet. The QuikPush SuperFlexible 1.3 mm tubes that can be removed without family of preconnectorized pushable fiber solutions and the tools. LT2.0 cable offers small, flexible conventional buffer all-dielectric, self-supporting (ADSS) cable are designed to tubes, with bend-insensitive fiber as a standard feature. speed up the last mile of FTTH and FTTC deployments. Prysmian Group also offers ADSS and OPGW cables for Preconnectorized QuikDrop cable is a small, ultra-tough, FTTH and middle-mile builders that have access to electrical flexible fiber. Easy to ship and handle, it has been proven utility poles or transmission infrastructure. This year, to reduce installation costs and time. In addition, PPC has Prysmian was awarded a supply agreement from Verizon several options for closures to house fiber cable slack, ONUs, Communications to support the company’s U.S. network and RF electronics and passives that provide security for expansion around a next-generation fiber platform that will consumers and convenience for technicians. PPC Broadband speed the deployment of 5G services, while improving 4G Fiber has installed more than 100 million feet of fiber cable LTE and other broadband capacity. In 2016, Prysmian’s sales and microduct in more than 52 countries. reached more than $7 billion.

Preformed Line Products www.preformed.com 440-461-5200 Key Products: Fiber optic and copper splice closures, high- speed cross-connect devices, cable anchoring and control Pulse Broadband hardware and systems www.pulsebroadband.net Summary: Founded in 1947, Preformed Line Products (PLP) 314-324-7347 is an international designer and manufacturer of products Key Products: and systems used to construct and maintain overhead and Fiber network and FTTH feasibility studies, underground networks. The company recently updated its planning, design, construction management, provisioning, flagship product line of COYOTE fiber closures to make the billing, customer care, video programming services and devices even more durable, more versatile and easier to install. operations management PLP serves telecommunications network operators, cable Summary: Pulse Broadband was formed in 2008 to bring television and broadband service providers, power utilities, fiber technology to underserved areas. Last summer, it was corporations and enterprise networks, government agencies acquired by NRTC, a cooperative that serves 1,500 utilities and educational institutions. Headquartered in Cleveland, in 48 states; Pulse is operated as an independent subsidiary, PLP operates domestic manufacturing centers in Rogers, and NRTC is available to provide managed network services Arkansas, and Albemarle, North Carolina. The company to Pulse clients. Pulse Broadband specializes in rural fiber serves worldwide markets through operations in 18 countries. broadband, helping electric cooperatives, municipalities and Net sales for 2016 were $336 million. other organizations build and operate gigabit fiber networks to enable next-generation, smart-grid information delivery along with high-speed broadband internet and telecommunications services. Pulse helps clients determine which type of fiber architecture is most financially viable and then works to design networks, manage construction and optionally offer voice, video and data services once FTTH networks are Prysmian Group built. Pulse also offers assistance with back-office functions, www.prysmiangroup.com including billing, customer sales and support, reporting and 803-951-4800; 800-713-5312 marketing. It has completed more than 4,000 miles of fiber Key Products: Optical fiber and telecommunications cables deployment and $150 million in FTTH projects.

66 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Rocket Fiber Key Products: Carrier-grade customer-premises equipment; www.rocketfiber.com open-services platform for managing networked in-home 844-847-6253 devices; service provider tools for network optimization, Key Products: Gigabit internet, managed services, voice, IPTV insight and security Summary: Summary: Rocket Fiber was founded in 2014 and began Service providers increasingly must view rolling out FTTH services to residents and businesses in and manage equipment inside customer premises, and Detroit’s central business district in late 2015. It currently SmartRG is dedicated to providing the hardware and has more than 40 miles of fiber optic cable in Detroit and is software for them to do that cost-effectively. Headquartered preparing to expand east and west of the downtown area along in Vancouver, Washington, SmartRG was spun off from the Detroit River and into midtown. One of the few U.S. the former ClearAccess when Cisco acquired the software providers to offer 10 Gbps residential service, it is preparing to assets of ClearAccess in 2012. One of its flagship products, add IPTV video services soon. Rocket Fiber is unusual among Smart/OS, uses the emerging technologies of software- private, for-profit ISPs in that it was formed with the explicit defined networking and network functions virtualization goal of contributing to local economic development. Its mission to support next-generation FTTH gateways and other is to develop and implement critical technology infrastructure in-home networking products Poised to take advantage of that will contribute to transforming Detroit into an attractive the connected-city and internet of things market trends, city for technology and other businesses to locate. The company SmartRG has more than 600 service provider customers – is at the forefront of Detroit’s smart-city movement, leading including many fiber-to-the-home providers – with a total of the development of high-tech assets. It is a part of Detroit more than 15 million broadband subscribers. Privately held businessman Dan Gilbert’s portfolio of companies, the best SmartRG has annual revenues of more than $20 million. known of which is the financial giant Quicken Loans. Smithville Communications / Smithville Telecom / Smithville Fiber www.smithville.com 812-876-2211; 800-742-4084 Key Products: High-speed internet, IPTV, voice, managed services, cellular, home automation and security services, SDT internet of things/big data support, cybersecurity www.sdt-1.com measures, videoconferencing, consulting services 601-823-9440 Summary: Privately owned Smithville Communications is Key Products: Telecommunications infrastructure services, Indiana’s largest independent telecom company, with 204 including structured cabling; engineer, furnish and install employees. In the last year, Smithville lifted data caps and services; design and engineering speed tiers for all residential customers; completed a $4.5 Summary: Headquartered in Brookhaven, Mississippi, million network upgrade that will allow it to offer wave-level with 200 employees, SDT provides a diversified package connectivity from 1 Gbps to 100 Gbps and scale to 200 Gbps of services to telecommunications carriers, developers and in the future; and continued its $90 million FTTP buildout integration providers. The company performs planning, design, inside and outside its traditional service area. Smithville Fiber development, installation, testing, turnup and maintenance – Smithville’s brand for all-fiber communities and regions – on all network environments, from long-haul fiber networks expanded gigabit service to Jasper (now more than halfway to FTTH, wireless and LAN. Recently, SDT has been built out) and parts of Bloomington; several more communities involved in numerous projects to deliver fiber to cell sites. are under consideration. Smithville continued to expand its With its integrated project delivery strategy, SDT can bundle public-partnership platform for FTTH expansion without individual products from its separate business units (outside- federal funding and improved rural connectivity with fiber to plant engineering and construction, inside-plant and wireless the cabinet. The company added a direct peering link to reduce services, real estate, right-of-way and managed services) as latency and improve capacity for large data transmission. turnkey solutions. In association with its strategic partner, Smithville offers commercial services through Smithville Clearion Software, SDT pioneered the use of GIS in fiber Business, providing fiber-based connectivity, enterprise-scale network design, which greatly reduces the time to engineer and Wi-Fi, data consulting, network management, cybersecurity design networks, speeds network buildouts and achieves cost measures, and managed services for businesses, university savings for owners. SDT currently serves clients in 35 states and campuses, biotechnology companies, health care providers and continues to expand its service offerings and national footprint. government offices in central and southern Indiana.

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JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 67 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “A renewed focus in the market is pushing fiber plant farther and faster to the end user than ever before. The increasing organic investment, as well as the welcomed ACAM and CAF funding, is fulfilling the FTTx commitment of the industry.” – Paul Shreve, Director of Technology, Walker and Associates

Sonic closures. Superior Essex has a co-development and marketing www.sonic.net alliance with Legrand to create a suite of structured cabling 888-766-4233 systems, nCompass, which provides solutions to the challenges of technical support, network energy efficiency, reliability Key Products: Gigabit fiber-to-the-premises, fiber-to-the- and flexibility. The company recently launched PowerWise node and DSL internet access; residential and business Category 5e cable, a 22-gauge communications data cable voice service; co-location; business networking specifically designed for internet-connected devices that utilize Summary: An internet service provider headquartered in Power over Ethernet. Also introduced recently is EnduraLite the San Francisco Bay Area, Sonic has delivered internet indoor/outdoor loose-tube optical fiber cable. Superior Essex is connectivity for 22 years. Sonic’s fiber-to-the-premises projects headquartered in Atlanta and has more than 3,000 employees. began with managing Google’s beta FTTH network in 2010 Its state-of-the-art product development center is in Kennesaw, at Stanford University. Since then, the company has built Georgia, and it has manufacturing facilities in Brownwood, residential and business fiber networks in Bay Area cities, Texas; Tarboro, North Carolina; and Hoisington, Kansas. including parts of San Francisco. It is now expanding its fiber optic network within San Francisco and into surrounding Team Fishel areas, including Sonoma County, to achieve better economies www.teamfishel.com of scale. In addition to fiber products, Sonic delivers high-speed 614-274-8100; 800-347-4351 DSL to homes and businesses throughout California. Sonic’s business internet and phone customers include Lagunitas, the Key Products: Network design, engineering, construction, Golden State Warriors, Amy’s Kitchen and Minted. Sonic’s installation and maintenance services mission is to provide internet freedom to all. The company Summary: Established in 1936, Team Fishel has 2,200 supports privacy, uncapped bandwidth and affordable pricing “teammates” and 30-plus offices in 13 states across the for all products – it sells residential gigabit fiber internet with United States. The company specializes in designing and home phone service for $40 per month. Sonic has about 400 constructing last-mile fiber optic networks for broadband employees and serves 100,000 subscribers across California. service providers. Its fiber specialists have more than 35 years of experience building fiber to the home and business. Team Fishel has the technical resources to design broadband network infrastructures from initial planning stages through engineering, design, construction, installation, fiber splicing and system maintenance. Among its long-term projects, Team Fishel is working closely with SEI Communications to bring Superior Essex FTTH service to rural residents in southeastern Indiana. www.SuperiorEssex.com Team Fishel also serves the electric, gas and low-voltage 770-657-6000 cabling markets. Key Products: Premises and outside-plant fiber and copper cable products, FTTH enclosures Telect www.telect.com Summary: Superior Essex designs, manufactures and supplies 509-926-6000 a large selection of premises and outside-plant fiber optic and copper wire and cable products. The company supplies Key Products: Fiber optic and copper connectivity solutions, many of the largest telecommunications service providers, network power management, equipment racks and and its cable products are installed in thousands of enterprises cabinets, cable management systems around the globe. It recently introduced a line of cables for Summary: Since 1982, Telect has designed and distributed antenna systems; FTTH enclosures, including manufactured products that link networks and protect fiber distribution hubs; and redesigned families of fiber dome customers’ fiber investments. Its products and solutions are

68 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 found in communications service provider networks, data Summary: The Broadband Group (TBG), a technology centers and utility networks around the globe. The company and telecommunications consulting firm, develops business designs and manufactures high-density fiber distribution plans, network specifications, engineering designs, financial solutions, including frames, chassis and rack-mount bulkhead models and deployment strategies for utilities, master- panels. As a privately held company, Telect aims to respond planned communities, municipalities and service providers to customers with innovative solutions tailored to their seeking to facilitate or deliver next-generation broadband needs. The LTX series of fiber distribution panels, recently services. Recently, TBG performed a feasibility study and announced, was designed to maximize port density in a small implementation plan for Huntsville (Alabama) Utilities. footprint. Several other products the company is launching TBG’s wholly owned subsidiary, TBG Network Services, now oversees the construction management process as Huntsville this year are designed to solve challenges many network Utilities builds out its 966-mile, citywide fiber broadband engineers face with capex, opex, footprint and fiber cable network, which is currently leasing facilities to Google Fiber. protection. Telect pays particular attention to bend-radius TBG advises numerous development interests in creating standards, cable routing and protection, connector access and broadband connected communities. For Metro Development modular flexibility. The company is headquartered in Liberty Group, TBG facilitated a partnership agreement between Lake, Washington, with manufacturing operations in Liberty Metro and Bright House Networks that created Florida’s first Lake and Guadalajara, Mexico. residential gigabit communities. Other notable clients include Nexton (MeadWestvaco – Charleston, South Carolina), The Broadband Group / TBG Network Services Generation Park (McCord Development – Houston, Texas) www.broadbandgroup.com and Ten Trails (Oakpointe Communities – Black Diamond, 702-405-7000 Washington). TBG defined, managed, and implemented comprehensive technology master plans for each of those Key Products: Telecommunications master planning, communities. Based in Las Vegas, with additional offices in network design and engineering, financial modeling, Huntsville, Alabama, TBG was founded in 1995 and has 16 construction management employees and contracted associates.

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JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 69 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “Taking fiber to the home has been a rewarding challenge. With an average 70 percent take rate in Ammon neighborhoods, it is obvious that consumers understand the value of fiber optic infrastructure when combined with true user choice and control.” – Dana Kirkham, Mayor of Ammon, Idaho

Tucows / Ting small markets; the company is evaluating opportunities to www.ting.com/internet invest in or partner with additional network operators, and its 855-846-4389 website invites consumers to “Put your town or city’s name on Key Products: Gigabit internet access our watch list.” Tucows is headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with offices in Kirkland, Washington; Starkville, Mississippi; Summary: Ting, a subsidiary of Tucows – a domain- Amsterdam; Bonn and Singapore. With 350 employees, it management service company that ventured into the MVNO reported $190 million in revenue in 2016. business in 2012 – launched its FTTH business with a bang in December 2014 when it acquired Blue Ridge InternetWorks, a competitive fiber provider in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, Ting provides fiber services across Charlottesville and continues to expand to new areas. Shortly after the Charlottesville announcement, the city of Westminster, Maryland, chose Ting to be the network operator and first TVC Communications service provider on its city-owned fiber optic network, which www.tvcinc.com; www.maxcellinnerduct.com was lit in July 2015. Ting is also building a fiber network in 888-644-6075 Holly Springs, North Carolina, and began servicing customers there in January 2017. Ting announced that it will be going Key Products: Broadband electronics, connectivity products, to Centennial, Colorado, and the Greater Sandpoint area of outside-plant hardware, test equipment, fabric innerduct, Idaho. Ting has ambitions to provide FTTH services in other conduit technology Summary: TVC Communications, a division of WESCO Distribution Inc., is a value-added distributor that stocks and same-day ships FTTH products and facilitates the planning, launching and turn-on of fiber networks in broadband, NETWORK PLANNING AND telephony and utility markets. TVC provides a number of DESIGN SOLUTIONS services for FTTx networks – such as system design, project planning and custom cutting of fiber optic cable – in addition These companies provide software used to plan and design FTTH networks. to any customized solutions a project requires. The company’s COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS brands include MaxCell, a flexible, multicelled fabric innerduct 3-GIS www.3-GIS.com system designed for the network construction industry. Advance Fiber Optics www.ospinsight.com Compared with rigid innerduct, the MaxCell solution enables Biarri Networks www.biarrinetworks.com network owners and builders to increase cable density by as Clearion Software www.clearion.com much as 300 percent. This increases space, reduces costs and Comsof / FiberPlanIT www.comsof.com allows overlay without breaking new ground. MaxSpace is COS Systems www.cossystems.com a no-dig conduit space recovery solution designed to safely CrescentLink Solutions www.crescentlink.com remove rigid innerduct from around active fiber cables with CrowdFiber www.crowdfiber.com little to no load on the cable and no interruption of service. Esri www.esri.com ETI Software Solutions www.etisoftware.com Vantage Point Solutions Lode Data Corporation www.lodedata.com www.vantagepnt.com Mapcom Systems www.mapcom.com 605-995-1777 Mid-State Consultants www.mscon.com NBT / VETRO FiberMap www.vetrofibermap.com Key Products: Broadband engineering and consulting Netcon www.netconamericas.com services, including network design, field services, financial and operational optimization, and outside-plant expertise.

70 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Summary: Vantage Point Solutions (VPS), based in States, it provides converged communications, information Mitchell, South Dakota, provides engineering and and entertainment services in the United States and consulting services to broadband wireless and wireline integrated business solutions in more than 150 countries. providers. The company combines professional engineering, As of the end of 2016, Verizon’s FTTH network, Fios, technical expertise and extensive regulatory knowledge to had 5.7 million internet subscribers and 4.7 million video design technically advanced, economically viable solutions subscribers, and it continues to add new customers in its customized for each client. With more than 200 employees existing footprint. It is also building out Fios in Boston for and 400 clients worldwide, VPS has enormous depth and the first time. In 2016, Fios revenue grew 4.6 percent to expertise in broadband engineering, financial analysis and almost $16 billion. Fios Gigabit Connection, the company’s regulatory services. Services include professional engineering, flagship broadband service, offers download speeds up to outside-plant engineering, strategic planning, technology 940 Mbps and upload speeds up to 880 Mbps, and Fios evaluation, network architecture design, and regulatory and Quantum TV offers the ability to record up to 12 shows at feasibility studies. the same time and up to 200 hours of HD recording capacity. Verizon Enhanced Communities works with property owners, property managers and businesses to serve multifamily Verizon Communications / residential, multitenant commercial and mixed-use Verizon Enhanced Communities communities with high-bandwidth internet, TV and phone www.verizon.com; www.verizon.com/communities services. In June 2017, Verizon closed its purchase of Yahoo. A Key Products: Internet, video and digital voice services over a Dow 30 company with almost $126 billion in 2016 revenues, fiber optic network Verizon employs 161,000 people worldwide. Summary: Verizon delivers broadband and other communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and the largest FTTH provider in the United

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JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 71 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST “The demand for gigabit broadband is off the charts. A growing number of new ISPs – electric co-ops, munis, utilities and new overbuilders – are entering the market with FTTH broadband that create strong economic growth opportunities for their businesses and the communities they serve. These ISPs also have a great opportunity to partner with cloud providers to deliver additional services that enhance the overall broadband customer experience and improve their FTTH business case.” – Kevin Mitchell, Vice President of Marketing, Alianza

Vermeer began in 1991 with the launch of its Navigator horizontal www.vermeer.com directional-drill product line. Navigator products can install 641-628-3141; 888-837-6337 communications lines underground without excavating or trenching, minimizing environmental disruption and helping Key Products: Horizontal directional drilling equipment; reduce labor costs in fiber deployments. In 2010, Vermeer utility and pedestrian trenchers and plows introduced a microtrenching system that allows installation of Summary: Headquartered in Pella, Iowa, and selling fiber lines into a roadway in one quick, efficient pass. Recent worldwide, Vermeer manufactures underground installation introductions include the S3 generation of directional drills equipment. Its involvement in fiber optic installation in which speed, simplicity and quietness are trademarks

PASSIVE COMPONENTS FOR FTTH NETWORKS (OUTSIDE PLANT AND INSIDE PLANT) These companies provide fiber management solutions, splitters, enclosures, cabinets, connectors, ducts, conduits and related equipment for fiber access networks.

COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS COMPANY NAME WEB ADDRESS 3M Communications www.3M.com/telecom Multicom www.multicominc.com AFL www.aflglobal.com Multilink www.multilinkone.com Alpha Technologies www.alpha.com OFS www.ofsoptics.com American Products www.amprod.us Opterna www.opterna.com Century Fiber Optics www.centuryfiberoptics.com Opti-Com Manufacturing Network www.opti-com.info/ Channell Commercial Corporation www.channell.com Pencell Plastics www.pencell.com Charles Industries Ltd. www.charlesindustries.com PPC Broadband Fiber www.ppc-online.com Clearfield www.seeclearfield.com Preformed Line Products www.preformed.com CommScope www.commscope.com Primex Manufacturing www.primexfits.com Corning Optical Communications www.corning.com Prysmian Group www.prysmiangroup.com Crownduit www.crownduit.com Radiant Communications www.rccfiber.com Dura-Line www.duraline.com SENKO Advanced Components www.senko.com Fiberdyne Labs www.fiberdyne.com Sumitomo Electric Lightwave www.sumitomoelectric.com GoFoton www.gofoton.com Superior Essex www.SuperiorEssex.com Hexatronic www.hexatronic.com Suttle www.suttlesolutions.com/ Knet www.e-knet.com Telect www.telect.com Leviton Manufacturing www.leviton.com Tellabs www.tellabs.com Lite Access Technologies www.liteaccess.com TeraSpan www.teraspan.com Maxcell (TVC) www.maxcellinnerduct.com/ Thermo Bond www.thermobond.com Montclair Fiber Optics www.montclairfiber.com Westell www.westell.com

72 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017

FIBER-TO-THE-HOME TOP 100 LIST of the product line. Each S3 model was redesigned based and voice services to residential, business and mobile users. on customer input to achieve sound reductions, enhanced Walker supports technologies such as switching, routing, speed and a simplified design. Privately owned, Vermeer was Wi-Fi, microwave, NFV, Carrier Ethernet, VoIP, WDM, founded in 1948. ROADM, packet optical networking, SDN, GPON, active Ethernet, fixed wireless, DSL and more. Products include fiber and copper connectivity, power systems, indoor and outdoor enclosures and outside-plant products. Walker’s certified product engineering, kitting, testing, installation, systems integration and managed services simplify network deployment, and the company helps network designers Viavi Solutions make product selection decisions for optimum network www.viavisolutions.com performance, scale and operating cost. It also performs 408-404-3600 promotional, logistical and technical support services for manufacturers, reaching 10 telecommunications submarkets Key Products: Field and lab broadband test equipment, and more than 1,200 domestic customers. Last fall, Walker network monitoring systems, network performance added a West Coast distribution center and expanded its monitoring and diagnostic services NFV Lab in the North Carolina distribution center. Based Summary: Formed in 2015 when JDSU split into two in Welcome, North Carolina, with 155 employees, Walker companies, Viavi Solutions has nearly 100 years of experience is ISO 9001/2015 quality certified and is a certified Women in network test and assurance. Viavi provides test, assurance Owned corporation. and optimization solutions for broadband communications service providers, cable operators, mobile-service providers, network equipment manufacturers, contractors and enterprises. The company’s network optimization and communications test tools for fiber, wireless, virtual and wireline networks are designed to optimize connectivity, quality of experience and profitability. Zyxel Communications Inc. Viavi offers installation and service meters for all gigabit www.zyxel.com/us internet technologies, including GPON, DOCSIS 3.1, HFC, 714-632-0882; 800-255-4101 G.fast and Wi-Fi. The company claims numerous firsts in this Key Products: Customer-premises equipment and Ethernet category, such as the industry’s first 400G test platform, and switches for FTTH and FTTN networks it works with the world’s top broadband service providers. This year, Viavi was recognized as the global market leader Summary: In operation since 1989, Zyxel offers a portfolio in fiber optic test equipment by Frost & Sullivan for the of fiber and DSL broadband gateways, home connectivity, sixth consecutive year and was named Outstanding Test and entertainment solutions and smart-home devices. Service Measurement Vendor at the Leading Lights Awards. For fiscal providers deliver FTTH and FTTN services to homes, buildings and campuses with Zyxel products that include 2016, which ended July 2, 2016, Viavi reported net revenue of broadband gateways, Wi-Fi routers and media streamers, $906.3 million. Viavi is based in Milpitas, California. power line and HPNA adapters, indoor and outdoor WLAN access points, gigabit and 10G Ethernet switches, next- generation UTM security gateways, Wi-Fi hotspots and internet service gateways. Recent product introductions include a gigabit Ethernet wireless gateway, an 11ac access points product line, a family of Layer-2+ gigabit access switches, and cloud managed solutions for business Walker and Associates broadband. Zyxel’s clients include major service providers www.walkerfirst.com and more than 100 independent operating companies 800-925-5371 throughout North America. Zyxel’s worldwide headquarters Key Products: Products and services for deploying is in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and its North American headquarters communications networks is in Anaheim, California. With 90 employees, Zyxel offers logistical, sales and technical support in the North American Summary: Walker and Associates is a national distributor market through a local team of professionals. v of network products for broadband providers, including wireline, wireless, CATV, government and enterprise network operators. Its range of products from more than 300 suppliers To nominate an organization for next year’s facilitates carriers’ delivery of high-speed internet, video, data FTTH Top 100, email [email protected].

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The show was very productive and we look forward to getting more involved in the magazine. – James Lifghtfoot, President/CEO AUSTIN ACRS FIBER: PUTTING YOUR GIGS TO WORK MAY 1 – 3, 2018 Renaissance Hotel – Austin, Texas

Great conference. I wish I could have spent more time there than just one day. – Stacy Cantrell, Vice President, Engineering Huntsville Utilities

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The show was very productive and we look forward to getting more involved in the magazine. – James Lifghtfoot, President/CEO AUSTIN ACRS FIBER: PUTTING YOUR GIGS TO WORK MAY 1 – 3, 2018 Renaissance Hotel – Austin, Texas

Great conference. I wish I could have spent more time there than just one day. – Stacy Cantrell, Vice President, Engineering Huntsville Utilities

TO SPONSOR OR EXHIBIT: email: [email protected] | phone: 505-867-3299 twitter.com/bbcmag www.bbcmag.com 877-588-1649 MAY 1-3, 2018 • AUSTIN SUMMIT

I loved sharing our story Year after year, the Broadband Communities at the Summit. My favorite Summit keeps our team informed about quote afterward: “I loved your relevant telecommunication trends that presentation. It gave me hope for impact the multifamily industry. The 2017 my rural broadband expansion Summit in Dallas continued this trend. It helps project!” gives us the edge needed to give valuable – Cheryl DeBerry, Natural Resources insight to our property owners and managers. Business Specialist – Mike Coco Garrett County, MD Choice Property Resources, Inc.

The Summit is full of energy and offers the best of everything: A great staff, awesome and varied presentations, a tremendous knowledge base that is shared and an opportunity to network with other professionals from across the spectrum of telecommunications. This is my number one event of the year, and I recommend you make it yours! – Gordon Caverly, Regional Vice-President Mid-State Consultants, Inc. Plenty of talk about the intersection of technology, broadband, the workforce and economic development. And the coffee was We loved exhibiting at and attending the Broadband Communities great. Is this heaven or what? Summit in Dallas. Not only did we get to meet some of the most – Jackie Miskimins, Director of Marketing interesting people, but a few weeks later, we are already closing deals Vantage Point from people we met at the show! It’s a nice balance of education and business connections. We will be back! – Layne Sisk, CEO ServerPlus Broadband Communities 2017 Summit rewarded our attendance with compelling and informative sessions tackling the relevant issues of our market. – Bob McMillion, Sr. Sales Director, Service Providers Zyxel Communications

Great first time visit to the Summit. Good conversations all around! – Kevin Mitchell, Vice President, Marketing Alianza

Here’s what attendees are saying about the 2017 Summit! Make plans to attend the 2018 Summit now. MAY 1-3, 2018 • AUSTIN SUMMIT

I loved sharing our story Year after year, the Broadband Communities at the Summit. My favorite Summit keeps our team informed about quote afterward: “I loved your relevant telecommunication trends that presentation. It gave me hope for impact the multifamily industry. The 2017 my rural broadband expansion Summit in Dallas continued this trend. It helps project!” gives us the edge needed to give valuable – Cheryl DeBerry, Natural Resources insight to our property owners and managers. Business Specialist – Mike Coco Garrett County, MD Choice Property Resources, Inc.

The Summit is full of energy and offers the best of everything: A great staff, awesome and varied presentations, a tremendous knowledge base that is shared and an opportunity to network with other professionals from across the spectrum of telecommunications. This is my number one event of the year, and I recommend you make it yours! – Gordon Caverly, Regional Vice-President Mid-State Consultants, Inc. Plenty of talk about the intersection of technology, broadband, the workforce and economic development. And the coffee was We loved exhibiting at and attending the Broadband Communities great. Is this heaven or what? Summit in Dallas. Not only did we get to meet some of the most – Jackie Miskimins, Director of Marketing interesting people, but a few weeks later, we are already closing deals Vantage Point from people we met at the show! It’s a nice balance of education and business connections. We will be back! – Layne Sisk, CEO ServerPlus Broadband Communities 2017 Summit rewarded our attendance with compelling and informative sessions tackling the relevant issues of our market. – Bob McMillion, Sr. Sales Director, Service Providers Zyxel Communications

Great first time visit to the Summit. Good conversations all around! – Kevin Mitchell, Vice President, Marketing Alianza

Here’s what attendees are saying about the 2017 Summit! Make plans to attend the 2018 Summit now. FIBER CONNECT COVERAGE

Visions of the Network of the Future In Orlando

The Fiber Broadband Association – formerly the FTTH Council – broadened its technology base but its conference emphasized fiber to the home as the ultimate goal.

By Steven S. Ross / Broadband Communities

ttendees at the Fiber Broadband But the ghost of Network Past still clanks its Association’s June annual meeting chains: in Orlando, Florida, glimpsed the A • Regulatory muddle as telcos and cable Network Future: companies increasingly converge but are • Billions of connected devices. Comcast’s regulated differently Mike Slovin, vice president of national sales • Federal loans for suburban overbuilds for XFINITY, said 3 billion devices are rather than for rural areas with little or no connected to U.S. networks. Cisco expects broadband access 25 billion worldwide by 2020 – two- • Confusion over net neutrality thirds of them wireless. These will include • Lack of political will to deliver good driverless vehicles connected mostly with 5G broadband to the one in five Americans wireless along the roads. without access to it now • Access networks that quickly and • Unwillingness of network deployers to automatically reconfigure themselves to share physical networks even though today’s meet demand and emergencies technologies overcome every technical • Low latency along with high bandwidth reason for not sharing. • New ways to bring good broadband to rural FTTH GROWTH STILL STRONG areas and urban dwellers caught on the wrong side of the digital divide. Speakers were quick to note what can be and is being accomplished. Mike Render of RVA The Network Present is already great for some: LLC said 2016 was a banner year for FTTH • Cities gain new vitality as young workers deployments in the United States – 16 percent chose not to live in sterile suburbs. Said year-over-year growth in homes passed and Rocket Fiber’s Mike Hudson, “Young kids marketed, to 30.4 million, and 13.7 million don’t want to look out over a suburban connected. Homes passed in Canada grew 18 parking lot.” Rocket’s sister company, percent in 2016. In North America as a whole, Quicken Loans, now has 15,000 employees fiber now passes more than 40 million homes. in downtown Detroit. Almost half the U.S. 2016 FTTH growth • Fiber is supplemented by point-to-point (close to 2 million homes marketed) came from wireless, G.fast and DOCSIS. smaller carriers. Tier-1 carriers accounted for • Equipment vendors become software just over 2 million newly marketed homes. The companies as equipment becomes cheap and smaller carriers’ share has been growing since commoditized. 2010 and is now poised to overtake the majors.

80 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Render predicted 2017 will set new records for fiber deployment in both the United States and Canada. LARGE FIBER COUNTS Kevin Bourg, optical network architect at Corning Optical Communications, said that increasing fiber counts by 15 or 20 percent will add only 5 percent to the cost of a network but will increase revenue potential by 15 to 50 percent and make software-defined access (SDA) faster, more capacious and more reliable – especially in networks served by NG-PON2 and the still-in-progress Annual number of homes marketed by type of provider. More than 1,000 smaller FTTH carriers are 100G-EPON, which promise to coming close to matching deployments by the major carriers. Source: Michael Render RVA LLC.a reassign wavelengths on the fly. Korea is using large fiber counts to densify its 4G cellular networks in preparation for 5G and for the redundancy, and if business managers split, deployed to 100,000 homes with a Seoul Olympics, at which hundreds of worry about fiber cuts, they have to pay 40 percent take rate. NG-PON2, using thousands of attendees will be expected for the redundant infrastructure. all available wavelengths, is capable of to livestream at once. The extra fiber Bourg said the Corning model can 80 Gbps symmetrical speeds, so this goes mainly to small-cell hot spots. price out at $900 per home passed, plus type of deployment would give every Bourg noted that businesses ask for $600 per home connected with a 1x64 home more than a gig.

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Chambers said he and Klindt have Left to right: Randy Klindt of OzarksGo in Arkansas; Carl Meyerhoefer worked on possible broadband plans of Calix, biggest supplier to rural carriers; Fritz Amt, CommScope; John Claffey, RUS; James Gresham, Ervin Cable Construction; Jonathan with 50 co-ops in the past year. One Chambers, Conexon such project was denied ARRA funds but solicited support from its members, only 19 percent of whom had access to broadband. The co-op’s 30,000 members will need to invest $80 to $90 million to move ahead. Chambers said the business case works with five to eight members per mile. He recommended building a fiber network to overlay the co-op’s electric grid and keeping fiber counts low with distributed taps, splitters and small hubs. Chambers urged co-ops, “Tell members Kurt Raaflaub, head of global Chambers insisted, “It is feasible they are building fiber to 100 percent product marketing at ADTRAN’s economically to build fiber to anyplace of the membership. In order to do that, carrier networks division, noted that that has an electric line. The FCC you have to serve more-dense areas. If the European Union’s 2020 goal is was and is opposed to this idea, you partner with a telco, they are already ubiquitous 100 Mbps, followed by 1 but cooperatives are putting it into in the more densely populated areas, but Gbps in 2025. He said ADTRAN has practice.” Co-ops are natural candidates you need that revenue, too.” 100 G.fast trials underway, using the for rural broadband provision because Co-ops have a tough time financing ONOS open-source SDA operating they can take advantage of their FTTH builds, but funding is available system. existing infrastructure. for smart grids. The Rural Utilities Randy Klindt, Chambers’ partner Service can make 25-year loans for CALLING ALL CO-OPS in Conexon, a firm that helps guide fiber used in smart grids. The National Jonathan Chambers, a former FCC co-ops, showed the possibilities. Klindt Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance official, chaired a panel on fiber heads OzarksGo in Arkansas, which Corporation (CFC) and Cobank may deployments by rural electric co-ops. is now building what he thinks is the be able to lend money where RUS can’t, Nationwide, the 850 electric distribution largest rural co-op fiber network. “It’s according to Jonathan Claffey, policy co-ops have 44 million customers the only electric co-op to deploy 100 adviser in the RUS electric program. He and serve 75 percent of the U.S. land percent FTTH to subscribers,” he said. noted that joint financing with these area. According to Chambers, co-op “We have 15,000 customers [after agencies is possible because “RUS has footprints typically surround small the first] year, about three years ahead longstanding mortgage agreements with towns and cities that have some, but of schedule. We average eight customers them.” Chambers and Claffey both not good, broadband service, so co-ops per mile and sell 100 Mbps for $49.95. noted that co-ops can partner, but that could conceivably serve a third of the We pass about 50,000 [electric] meters ideally, co-ops, rather than their telco or U.S. population with broadband. ... with no government grant.” municipal partners, should own the fiber.

New Technology from Fiber Connect Exhibitors Smaller, lighter, less expensive – fiber networks have never been easier to deploy or to justify. Here are some examples of how the industry makes it possible.

As bandwidth needs increase, fiber and fiber, Emtelle QWKlink (part of the introduced a new, inexpensive walk- the systems for distributing it in inside QWKconnect line) has 1.1mm fiber behind trenching machine, joining and outside plant get physically smaller. preconnectorized with SC and LC Trench’n Edge, which exhibited its They also become less expensive to connectors for small ducts – even similar machine at the Broadband deploy, even as fiber counts increase. microducts. The fiber is sold in Communities Summit. These tools Clearfield, Corning, Preformed 25-meter increments up to 500 meters make it easier for small communities Line Products, OFS and others long. This approach allows connecting and property owners to deploy and v showed refinements of smaller hubs fiber without splicing from the street to maintain fiber systems. and splitter and drop enclosures that customers’ homes. take advantage of ever-thinner fiber Ditching equipment is getting Editor-at-large Steve Ross can be reached cables. For buried as well as aerial smaller as well. Ditch Witch at [email protected].

82 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Corning’s compact, pole-mounted, OptiTect MC series local convergence cabinet is designed to handle the first level of splitters from the central office to customers. It includes pass-throughs for easy handling of unsplit fiber for wireless towers or heavy business users.

Corning’s FlexNAP now accommodates preterminated RPX ribbon cable for connecting the last jump from pole to premises (the fiber loop in the picture). Like many recently introduced products, this allows the same basic fiber building blocks to handle distributed and centralized splits and home-run fiber. It makes splices unnecessary even when a local distribution cabinet or hub is in the mix.

3M added to its line of simple connector tools with its Crimplok+ activation tool for fast field termination of 250 and 900 µm single-mode fiber without a splice, gel or adhesive, using SC/APPC connectors. These connectors use a metallic element that mechanically locks the fiber strand to the termination. The little plastic cap (see inset) sets exactly the right protrusion length for the fiber inside the connector. The protrusion is then polished with the orbital mechanism shown at upper left. One turn of the crank does the job. The tool comes stand-alone or packaged with a 60-pack of connectors.

Additional images are available in the digital edition of this article at www.bbcmag.com.

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VoIP Services Boost Broadband Revenues

A cloud-based VoIP offering allows broadband providers to tap into the large residential and SMB voice markets without incurring capital expenses.

By Kevin Mitchell / Alianza

t Alianza, we say: “Got fiber? You To bolster the business case for fiber, many need VoIP!” We say this because many broadband service providers are launching Anew ISPs are entering the market VoIP services to boost revenues and accelerate without a background in voice, and there’s investment returns. There’s opportunity to great opportunity for them to grow revenue, bundle residential voice with video and internet accelerate ROI and deliver a better customer to grow market share and improve subscriber experience with a phone service portfolio. loyalty. There’s also an opportunity to launch Demand for ultra-broadband and gigabit- VoIP services for small and medium businesses speed internet access is growing, but according (SMBs) and capitalize on the ongoing transition to the FCC, 61 percent of U.S. households have to IP-based communications. no access to even 25 Mbps broadband services Even though it is not the cash cow it once or can obtain them from only a single service was, the voice market is still massive: In 2015, provider. Cable MSOs, telcos and new players, U.S. revenues for fixed-line voice exceeded $60 including municipal utilities, overbuilder ISPs billion. More important, the North American and electric co-ops, are all vying to serve this voice market is still transitioning to VoIP, unmet demand with fiber-to-the-home services. fueling new business opportunities for service FTTH has a big price tag though, with providers. Fiber broadband providers can take cost per home passed at $500 or much higher, advantage of this market transition, capturing especially in many rural and underserved residential and business customers as they make communities. the move to VoIP. In addition, a Heavy Reading survey shows that service providers see value in offering voice as it broadly helps them with winning customers. Eighty-one percent said that having Nearly half the small and midsize businesses voice in their portfolios helps drive adoption and growth of other services. in the United States plan to evaluate a Executing on this opportunity can be easy. New broadband service providers have the luxury new business phone system in the next of leveraging the cloud to deliver voice services. few years. Newly launched businesses will Without being burdened by obsolete, hardware- based network architectures, they can deliver choose IP-based systems from the get-go. voice as an application in the cloud, helping

84 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 accelerate revenues with a success-based most SMBs still rely on legacy TDM- Broadband providers can cash in business model that tightly aligns based voice solutions. A survey of SMBs on this massive market opportunity by investments with service demand. revealed that approximately 70 percent capturing SMBs as they transition to of businesses with 100–500 employees IP. A Hanover Research survey found THE RESIDENTIAL MARKET still use TDM solutions (legacy PBXs, that nearly half of U.S. SMBs plan to In the residential market, many ISPs key systems or Centrex), yet more than evaluate a new business phone system – can package voice with data and video 80 percent of them are interested or most within the next one to three years. to grow residential service revenues very interested in moving to IP. In addition, newly launched businesses and curb churn. According to the And there are lots of SMBs: More will choose IP-based systems from the Leichtman Research Group, nearly 70 than 2.3 million U.S. companies have get-go. percent of broadband subscribers and 500 or fewer employees, according to nearly 60 percent of all households the U.S. Census Bureau. They employ VOIP IMPLEMENTATION purchase bundled services today. a total of 56 million workers – each of OPTIONS Though multiplay packages are whom represents a potential recurring Service providers have a variety of fundamental for keeping pace with revenue source. Small offices and home options for delivering residential the competition, they are also a major offices (SOHOs) represent another and business VoIP services. They revenue source; nearly half of gigabit substantial market opportunity for can build out and manage their own broadband providers say they take in broadband providers, as there are more infrastructure, leverage a traditional $150 per month per subscriber or more than 3.6 million businesses with five VoIP wholesale hosted/white-label for triple-play services. With prices employees or fewer in the United States. solution or take advantage of new cloud Accordingly, analysts see growth ranging from $15 to $35 per month – voice platforms that deliver VoIP as an ahead for service providers. Hosted depending on market and competition elastic service. PBX/UC licenses for North American – residential VoIP services are a Build your own network. The SMBs are projected to grow from 8 straightforward way to boost average million in 2014 to 41.9 million in build model is the most capex-intensive, revenue per user. 2021, according to Frost & Sullivan. resource-demanding and time- Customer adoption can be strong, SMB SIP trunking adoption is also consuming of the three approaches. too. Across all U.S. cable operators, expected to increase; an IHS Markit With the build approach, the service nearly 40 percent of cable broadband survey found that 62 percent of provider designs, integrates and subscribers take phone services. One SMB respondents would use SIP for manages its own voice infrastructure, electric cooperative that has been in the a portion of their voice connectivity using traditional VoIP network elements triple-play game for more than five years requirements in 2017 as the use of (softswitches, session border controllers, reported a 56 percent take rate on voice. legacy TDM trunks decreases. application servers and so forth) or In rural markets, there is often These SMB VoIP services have newer network functions virtualization no choice for advanced VoIP services stronger margin profiles than (NFV) solutions – a complex, costly and from local providers, and customers residential services, and business technologically immature proposition. are stuck with antiquated, expensive customers have longer lifetime value Large capital outlays and high ongoing phone options that have unwieldy à la and greater customer stickiness. operations expenses translate to lopsided carte pricing models. Many of these customers are ready to switch and bundle when they have options. VoIP services also help broadband providers recover costly fiber plant SMB VOIP OPPORTUNITIES investments more quickly. With the FOR BROADBAND PROVIDERS right VoIP solution, broadband providers can realize 60–80 percent gross margins Business Lines offer advanced features such as hunt groups, advanced on residential voice services, accelerating call forwarding and other hosted call-control capabilities for analog investment payback. phones and key systems. Ideal for smaller offices that do not require a complete set of premium communications capabilities. THE SMB VOIP Hosted IP PBX/UCaaS delivers a fully managed, feature-rich, cloud- OPPORTUNITY based communications solution with IP phones that can be integrated into When it comes to VoIP, SMBs are business systems such as CRMs and office productivity suites. Perfect for a vast, largely untapped market for SMBs that want to extend office voice and unified communications (UC) fiber broadband providers. Though services to multiple offices, mobile employees and teleworkers. a majority of large enterprises have SIP Trunking offers IP-based PSTN connectivity services for on- already made the move to VoIP and premises PBXs and UC systems. unified communications solutions,

JULY 2017 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 85 TECHNOLOGY

business models with long payback Cloud source. With the cloud success-based business model and free periods. The build approach also source model, a trusted software resources to focus on premium services. diverts valuable capital and staff from partner delivers VoIP as a cloud- CONCLUSION strategic endeavors. based service. Unlike conventional Fiber broadband providers should Use a wholesale hosted/white- wholesale VoIP solutions, new cloud launch VoIP services to tap into the label service. voice platforms leverage the latest With the wholesale $60 billion fixed-line voice market. virtualization technology, bringing model, the service provider hands Adoption rates of 20 to 40 percent all the benefits of the cloud – web over the implementation, hosting and by residential customers will improve scalability, unrivaled service agility management of the VoIP infrastructure ARPU and boost customer loyalty. to a third party – often a retail CLEC. and pay-as-you-grow economics – Offering VoIP services for SMBs Most wholesalers leverage obsolete to the telecom world. All the VoIP further extends the addressable softswitch implementations that were network elements that service providers market and helps local businesses not designed for today’s software-as-a- normally need to buy, build and rapidly migrate to superior IP service (SaaS) world and will struggle operate are virtualized, securely hosted communications. With high take to support emerging technologies and in the cloud and managed by the cloud rates and margins, VoIP services future standards. provider. The SaaS solution integrates help improve asset monetization and The hosted/white-label approach with CLEC carrier services, simplifying accelerate investment returns. frees service provider staff to focus the operational environment. New cloud voice platforms let on differentiated services but is still Best-of-breed cloud voice broadband providers roll out residential inherently costly and inflexible, platforms provide easy-to-use web and business VoIP services quickly, given its reliance on third-party gear. portals to simplify customer life easily and profitably while maintaining Most wholesalers simply mark up cycle management and deep, flexible full control over product definition and their costs and pass them along to application programming interfaces customer relationships. A zero-capex service providers. The wholesalers financial model tightly aligns expenses often maintain control over product to streamline integration with back- with business demands, eliminating definition and have little ability to roll office systems and other third-party risk and uncertainty. out requested enhancements, as they integrations. They let broadband service If you’ve got fiber, there’s sound do not own the underlying technology providers launch VoIP services quickly reason to have VoIP too. And with the platforms. Worse still, most CLECs are and cost-effectively while maintaining cloud, there’s an easy way to do it. v focused primarily on their core retail strict control over branding, pricing services. Many treat their wholesale and customer relationships. hosted operations as side businesses By cloud sourcing VoIP services, Kevin Mitchell is vice president of and do not make the investments broadband providers can accelerate marketing for Alianza, a provider of in product and support necessary to time-to-market with an agile platform, cloud-based VoIP services. Contact him ensure successful outcomes. simplify operations, benefit from a at [email protected].

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Job info Approvals Fonts & Images Job 12674 Art Director TB Fonts Client COR Copywriter None TheSans C4s (SemiLight, SemiBold) Account Mgr TT Media Type Print Ad Studio伀甀爀 攀 砀Artist瀀攀爀椀攀渀挀None攀 攀渀猀甀爀攀猀 礀漀甀 栀愀瘀Images攀 琀栀攀 椀渀昀漀爀洀愀琀椀漀渀 礀漀甀 渀攀攀搀 Live None Print攀愀爀氀 礀Prd 椀渀 Mgr琀栀攀 搀攀BS挀椀猀椀漀渀ⴀ洀愀欀椀渀最 瀀爀漀ThinkstockPhotos-542095422_Glow挀攀猀猀 愀氀氀 琀栀攀 眀愀礀 琀栀爀漀甀最栀 琀漀 - Trim 3.375” x 2.75” 氀椀最栀琀椀渀最 甀瀀 礀漀甀爀 戀攀爀 挀漀渀渀攀挀琀椀漀Home_crop.psd渀猀⸀ 圀攀 猀瀀攀挀椀愀氀 椀(CMYK;稀攀 椀渀 猀 783琀爀愀琀 ppi;攀最椀 挀38.31%), Bleed None Notes 瀀氀愀渀渀椀渀最Ⰰ 攀渀搀ⴀ琀漀ⴀ攀渀搀 攀渀最椀渀攀攀爀椀渀Corning_Blue_BoxLockup_WhiteLogo_Sol最 挀漀渀猀甀氀琀椀渀最Ⰰ 瀀爀漀樀攀挀琀 - id_cmyk.ai (20.47%) None 洀愀渀愀最攀洀攀渀琀Ⰰ 爀椀最栀琀ⴀ漀昀ⴀ眀愀礀 愀渀搀 氀愀渀搀 猀攀爀瘀椀挀攀猀⸀ Pubs None Inks 㠀 ⴀ㈀㈀㔀ⴀ㤀㜀㄀㘀 Cyan, Magenta,䘀䤀一䰀䔀夀 唀匀䄀 ⸀䌀Yellow,伀䴀 Black

ENABLING COMMUNITIES, CONNECTING LIVES MAKE THEIR Broadband transforms communities, rebuilds urban centers, revitalizes schools, stimulates economic growth and delivers CONNECTIONS innovative residential and business services. Uniquely open MOVE-IN READY. and interoperable fiber-optic based access architectures enable service providers to expand their addressable market Deliver Fiber WiFi, full-featured and support the scale needed to unify Gigabit services across Voice services and an extensive residential broadband, cloud connectivity and infrastructure variety of entertainment options backhaul applications. to your residents.

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©2017 Charter Communications AD10377A Copyright © 2017 ADTRAN Inc. All rights reserved.

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AUGUST ADVERTISER PAGE WEBSITE 1 – 3 Gigabit City Summit Westport Commons ADTRAN 35, 88 www.ADTRAN.com/ Kansas City, KS broadband 913-475-9885 AEG 49 www.aeg.cc www.gigabitycitysummit.com AFL 9 www.AFLglobal.com/BBC SEPTEMBER Antronix 53 www.antronix.com 25 – 27 AT&T 19, 88 www.att.com/fiberproperties NMHC Student Housing Atlanta Economic Development Conference Tampa Marriott Waterside Series Inside Front Cover Flap-1, Hotel & Marina 89 www.bbcmag.com Tampa, FL Biarri Networks 73 www.biarrinetworks/fond 202-974-2300 • www.nmhc.org Broadband Communities Magazine 87, 89 www.bbcmag.com OCTOBER Broadband Communities 3 – 4 Summit Outside Front Cover Flap NETS (North East 76-79 www.bbcmag.com Telecommunications Showcase) Calix 61 www.calix.com/gigabit Doubletree by Hilton Charles Industries 57 www.charlesindustries.com Binghamton, NY 717-238-8311 • www.patel.org Clearfield, Inc. 89, Back Cover www.SeeClearfield.com Comcast (XFINITY Communities) 13 www.xfinity.com/ 17 – 20 xfiitycommunities SCTE Cable-Tec Expo Colorado Convention Center Corning 7, 88 www.corning.com/ Denver, CO flexnap/bbc 610-594-7327 • www.expo.scte.org COS Systems 81 www.cossystems.com 25 – 27 Danella 23 www.danella.com NMHC Optech Conference Design Nine (Wide Open Networks) 43 www.wideopennetworks.com Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino ETI Software Solutions 59 www.etisoftware.com Las Vegas, NV 202-974-2300 • www.nmhc.org Finley Engineeing 88 www.finleyusa.com GigabitNow 69 www.GigabitNow.com NOVEMBER GLDS 22 www.glds.com 2 Henkels & McCoy Group 63 www.henkelsgroup.com SHLB – Broadband4All Universal Service Symposium Mapcom 11 www.mapcom.com National Union Building MasTec 51 www.mastec.com Washington, DC Maxcell 37 www.maxcell.us/edge/ 202-263-4626 www.shlb.org/events/conference Multifamily Broadband Council 89 www.mfbroadband.org NiSC 88 www.NiSC.coop 7 – 9 NMHC 89 www.NMHC.org Fiber For The New Economy Broadband Communities Economic NTCA 75 www.PartnersInBroadband.com Development Conference OFS 71, 89 www.ofsoptics.com Renaissance Concourse Atlanta Airport Pavlov Media 3 www.pavlovmedia.com Atlanta, GA 877-588-1649 • www.bbcmag.com Preformed Line Products 39 www.preformed.com Smithville 47 www.SMITHVILLE.com MAY 2018 Spectrum Community Solutions 1 – 3 (Charter Communications) Across TOC, 88 www.SpectrumCommunity Broadband Communities Summit Solutions.com Renaissance Hotel Austin, Texas Walker and Associates Inside Back Cover www.walkerfirst.com 877-588-1649 • www.bbcmag.com

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Accelerating Broadband Deployment

The FCC examines what policy changes will help providers upgrade their networks.

By Heather Burnett Gold / Fiber Broadband Association

emand for high-performance broadband service because fiber networks provide a better experience and better is rising across the United States, and broadband quality of service by many measures than older, copper Dservice providers are rapidly deploying all-fiber technology. Communities and consumers across the country networks to help meet that demand. U.S. fiber-to-the-home have been clamoring for fiber; for potential fiber providers to deployment rose 13 percent in 2015; in 2016, the number of provide written notice to every customer of their intention to homes marketed with fiber services rose approximately 16 make networks better seems redundant (and adds costs and percent. FTTH providers and their customers recognize that delays). all-fiber networks provide the performance and scalability Finally, FBA proposed that the commission adopt criteria to meet bandwidth demands far into the future. However, to readily determine which state and local laws and regulations though the growth in all-fiber deployments is good news, the violate federal communications laws and inhibit broadband bad news is that barriers erected by some entities that own or deployment. Unfortunately, too often, state and local control critical infrastructure thwart even faster deployment governments, seeking to leverage their control over rights-of- and effectively waste capital. way and other government-controlled infrastructure, impose But there’s a movement afoot in Washington to change significant roadblocks to broadband and telecommunications the story. In April, the FCC initiated several proceedings that network deployments. The FCC can provide guidance as aim to “better enable broadband providers to build, maintain to what practices by state and local authorities prohibit or and upgrade their networks” and transition from legacy discourage the provision of broadband services. copper networks to next-generation networks and services. These rules are likely to have a demonstrable effect on The commission hopes to promote “more affordable and the industry. In other comments to the FCC, Hal Singer of available internet access and other broadband services.” Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business “Accelerating the fiber future” isn’t just a tagline. The predicts substantial growth in broadband deployment and Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) was pleased to submit investment if the FCC’s plan is adopted. Singer writes, “Our comments to the FCC regarding the proposed rule, first models forecast that with these new rules in place, up to an commending the commission for making the move. incremental 26.7 million premises would become economical Removing barriers to broadband deployment gets projects to serve with next-generation networks, driving up to $45.3 moving and delivering broadband to consumers, businesses billion in capital investment. … The incremental investment and institutions – and saves time and money while doing so. unlocked by the proposed measures could generate up to In our comments, FBA offered significant barrier-reducing about 358,000 jobs, support up to $28.4 billion per year in steps. We suggested the FCC amend its pole attachment rules incremental economic output over the deployment period and to address practices that delay and increase the cost of access. drive consumer welfare improvements of up to $2.7 billion.” We proposed that the FCC adopt a “one touch” make-ready Singer adds that his estimates “may be conservative.” policy for utility poles. This would allow a single construction The commission’s effort to streamline regulations is crew, chosen by the pole owner, to complete the work essential to deploying robust fiber networks capable of necessary to make a pole ready for the attachment of new meeting the needs of U.S. communities. We look forward equipment. One-touch ordinances are gaining popularity in to the FCC’s providing regulatory relief so providers can many communities because they minimize waiting time and, deliver faster, more affordable, more accessible broadband to in fact, the overall time to deploy networks. consumers and businesses. v Second, FBA urged the commission to repeal the 2015 network change notification rule, which imposes an unnecessary and costly process. Currently, incumbent Heather Burnett Gold is president and CEO of the Fiber local exchange carriers that want to upgrade to fiber must Broadband Association, a nonprofit association whose mission provide direct notice of copper retirements to residential and is to accelerate deployment of all-fiber access networks. You can nonresidential retail customers. We find this rule unnecessary contact her at [email protected].

92 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | JULY 2017 Did you like this article? Subscribe here!