This Year's FTTH Top 100 List Recognizes the Shift of Momentum
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
This year’s FTTH Top 100 list recognizes the shift of momentum from fiber-to-the-home deployers to communities. A BBC Staff Report he broadband industry is growing publicized municipal successes – that tions that inspire and help communities and changing – and so is Broad- they can take active roles in developing to undertake such projects. TBand Communities’ annual Top broadband infrastructure. This doesn’t Last year, one such organization, 100 list. In fact, it has grown to two necessarily mean building public net- the Blandin Foundation, was added to lists. This issue debuts the FTTH Top works, a route effectively outlawed by the list. This year’s list also includes the 100, which celebrates organizations for a number of states. Alternative paths to US Ignite Partnership, Gig.U and the their contributions to “Building a Fiber- FTTH involve forming public-private Institute for Local Self-Reliance, along Connected World.” The October 2012 partnerships, negotiating with tradi- with a law firm (the Baller Herbst Law issue will present the MDU Top 100, tional deployers in nontraditional ways Group) and a consulting firm (Gigabit which celebrates companies that provide and encouraging nontraditional de- Squared) that focus on helping commu- technology amenities for multifamily ployers (rural electric co-ops, ISPs, tech nities deploy broadband for economic housing. The two lists will overlap, but companies and others) to build fiber in revitalization. separating them allowed BroadBand their communities. To tip the scales to- October’s MDU Top 100 list, by Communities to track the evolution of ward fiber, communities are also volun- contrast, will showcase the development the industry in two different directions. teering to become test beds for advanced of technology amenities in multifam- In the FTTH industry, momentum applications and services by using their is shifting from deployers to communi- broadband networks for smart-grid ap- ily housing. Though fiber to the home ties themselves. This is occurring for plications (or vice versa), by sponsoring is steadily gaining a foothold in the two reasons. First, communities with- application development contests or by MDU world – the reason for the overlap out fiber broadband see that “help is not participating in broad-based efforts such – the MDU Top 100 will include other on the way,” as Christopher Mitchell as US Ignite. broadband technologies as well as solu- of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance Because of this shift to community- tions for in-building cellular coverage, put it in his article in the May-June is- led projects, the 2012 FTTH Top 100 mobile-device connectivity, communi- sue of BroadBand Communities. Large list includes not only more community cations with residents, home automation deployers have reached the final stages broadband networks than the 2011 and other amenities that today’s MDU of their planned buildouts, broadband BBC Top 100 but also more organiza- residents demand. stimulus funds have all been awarded and recent changes to the Universal Ser- vice Fund rules make FTTH financially AbouT The AuThors challenging for small deployers. The FTTH Top 100 list was researched by Marianne Cotter, Rachel Ellner and Kas- Second, communities have become sandra Kania and overseen by editor Masha Zager, with added research and analysis aware – thanks to the broadband stimu- from corporate editor Steve Ross. To nominate a company for next year’s FTTH lus program, to Google’s Fiber for Com- Top 100 or for the MDU Top 100 in October, email [email protected]. munities program and to some well- 28 | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | www.broadbandcommunities.com | July 2012 TOP 100 Fiber-To-The-Home SELeCTIoN CrITERIA In selecting the FTTH Top 100, the FTTH TOP 100 AT A GLANCE editors looked for organizations that advance the cause of fiber-based broad- Fiber and Fiber Cable. .| 38 band by Network Testing, Monitoring and Management services. | 39 • Deploying FTTH networks that are Network Planning, Design, engineering, especially large or ambitious, have Construction, Installation. .| 42 innovative business plans or are in- Customer-Premises equipment tended to transform local economies other Than Network Interface Devices. | 54 or improve communities’ quality of Network Management solutions. .| 59 life Fiber-to-the-home electronics. .| 60 • Supplying key hardware, software or Test and Measurement equipment. .| 61 services to deployers Passive Components for FTTh Networks • Introducing innovative technologies (outside Plant and Inside Plant). .| 62 that have game-changing potential, optical LAN solutions. | 64 even if they have not yet been com- Carrier ethernet solutions. | 72 mercially deployed Distributors of Fiber optic Products. .| 76 • Providing key conditions for fiber builds, such as early-stage support or demand aggregation. phone cooperative and several nonprof- of broadband technologies. For some its, some of which themselves include companies, broadband represents only a To be listed among the FTTH Top both public and private partners. small part of their business. In making 100, an organization may be based any- where in the world but must do busi- Although some companies on the these selections, the editors considered ness in North America. Overall size is list focus entirely on fiber to the prem- how important the organizations are to unimportant, as is corporate form – the ises or other fiber-based broadband tech- advancing true broadband rather than list includes government agencies, a tele- nologies, most deliver or support a mix how important broadband is to them. Company Web Address PhoNe DesCriptioN 3M Company/ www.3M.com/telecom 800-426-8688 Interconnection, connection protection, Communication Markets fiber management and facilities protection Division products for broadband networks Actiontec Electronics www.actiontec.com 408-752-7700 Broadband customer-premises equipment ADTRAN www.adtran.com 256-963-8000 Solutions for ultra-broadband, FTTH, Optical Networking Edge, mobile backhaul, Ethernet, service migration and service management ADVA Optical Networking www.advaoptical.com 888-340-4885 Optical+Ethernet systems for long- haul, metro core, backhaul and access networking, including WDM-PON Advanced Media www.amt.com 954-427-5711; Distributor of fiber optic transmission Technologies 888-293-5856 equipment, headends, IP and QAM set-top boxes, cable modems AFL www.AFLglobal.com 864-433-0333; FTTx electronics, outside plant, fiber 800-235-3423 optic cable, video solutions, network management platforms, fusion splicers, test equipment, training, systems integration, service provision Alcatel-Lucent www.alcatel-lucent.com 908-582-3000 Broadband access equipment, IP routing platforms, optical switching and transport solutions, next-generation network and IMS solutions, network management, service integration, right-of-way solutions July 2012 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 29 Fiber-To-The-Home TOP 100 Company Web Address PhoNe DesCriptioN Allied Telesis www.alliedtelesis.com 800-424-4284 FTTH equipment, aggregation switches and routers, multiservice access platforms, multiservice gateways, media converters, network management and provisioning systems Anritsu Company www.anritsu.com 800-ANRITSU Network test and measurement (267-4878) instruments, optical and RF components, service assurance solutions ARRIS www.arrisi.com 678-473-2000; Optical and RF equipment for HFC and 866-362-7747 fiber networks, including RFoG; modems and gateways; software for remote workforce management and network management Astec Underground www.astec 865-408-2100; Trenchers, vibratory plows and directional underground.com 800-527-6020 drilling equipment AT&T, AT&T Connected www.att.com/ Voice, video, data and wireless services Communities communities Atlantic Engineering Group www.aeg.cc 706-654-2298 Design and field engineering, aerial and underground construction and professional services for FTTH and smart- grid networks Aurora Networks www.aurora.com 408-235-7000 Optical transport products that support operators’ evolution to FTTP, Fiber Deep and advanced HFC architectures Baller Herbst Law Group P.C. www.baller.com 202-833-5300 Legal services, public policy advocacy BEC Technologies www.bectechnologies.net 972-422-0877 FTTH optical network terminals and solutions for home networking and smart home energy management Blandin Foundation www.blandin 877-882-2257 Grant making, community leadership foundation.org development and public policy programs BVU Authority www.bvu-optinet.com 276-669-4112 Broadband voice, video and data services; consulting services Calix www.calix.com 707-766-3000; Broadband access platforms for fiber 877-766-3500 and DSL networks, network and services management software, value-added software as a service Charles Industries www.charles 847-806-6300 Fiber optic distribution enclosures industries.com and cabinets, fiber aggregation and demarcation interconnects and hubs, fiber cross-connects CHR Solutions www.chrsolutions.com 713-351-5111 BSS/OSS solutions, consulting and engineering services, IT managed services Cincinnati Bell www.cincinnatibell.com, 513-397-9900 Telephone, data, video, wireless and data www.cincinnatibell.com/ center colocation services Fioptics Cisco Systems www.cisco.com 770-236-5000 FTTH hardware, set-top boxes, cable modems, headends, network management systems Clearfield www.clearfield 763-476-6866; Fiber distribution systems for inside plant, connection.com 800-422-2537 outside plant and access networks 30 |