BroadbandBroadband StimulusStimulus ProgramProgram FundsFunds FiberFiber The final broadband stimulus awards were announced just ahead of the statutory deadline. Lots of new and interesting fiber builds are in the works.

By Masha Zager ■ Broadband Properties

he two federal agencies responsible for disbursing institutional networks; though few NTIA projects will con- broadband stimulus funds have now completed their nect homes or businesses with broadband in the short run, Tawards, and awardees are starting to plan and build they should make bandwidth more affordable in existing their projects. Although we and others have noted that some broadband networks and should also make new, privately of the money is being spent on dead-end technology, overall funded broadband builds more economically feasible. The these programs should improve broadband access and op- NTIA grants may well be “gifts that keep on giving,” and tions for many Americans. we look forward to seeing their effects. The Rural Utilities Service, which focused on first- In this Fiber Deployment Roundup, we not only list the mile projects, is funding many fiber-to-the-home builds, final awards to FTTH projects and report on awardees’ vendor large and small, that will help to rapidly bring disadvan- selections, but we also profile several awardees, showing what taged communities into the 21st-century knowledge econ- their projects will mean for their communities. omy. The National Telecommunications and Informa- tion Administration focused on middle-mile projects and – MZ

Final RUS Awards for FTTH Projects The final batches of RUS broadband stimulus awards included several went to rural electric cooperatives, and there were also wireless, DSL, satellite and cable technologies, along with a siz- four awards for countywide or multicounty public broadband able helping of fiber. Projects that include FTTH are shown networks. Though many awardees had prior experience with below. Most awards went to the small rural telcos that are FTTH, quite a few appear to be embarking on their first fiber traditional recipients of RUS broadband funding. However, builds. (See earlier issues of BBP for more RUS awards.)

Provider State Amount Potential Subscribers Prior ($ millions)* FTTH? Arrowhead Electric Cooperative MN $16.1 11,363 residents, 138 businesses, 63 community www.aecimn.com institutions Cass County MO $26.0 25,900 residents, 710 businesses, 118 community www.casscounty.com institutions Cedar Falls Utilities** IA $0.9 1,753 residents, 259 businesses in 89 square miles x www.cfu. outside existing territory Cross Telephone Company** OK $17.6 52,000 residents, 4,180 businesses, 111 community x www.crosstel.net institutions Five Area Telephone Cooperative TX $2.5 498 residents, 235 businesses, 1 community institution x www.fivearea.com Hill Country Telephone Cooperative** TX $12.2 4,200 residents x www.hctc.net

22 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 Provider State Amount Potential Subscribers Prior ($ millions)* FTTH? Kit Carson Electric Cooperative NM $63.8 20,500 households, 3,600 businesses, 183 community www.kitcarson.com institutions, two Native American Pueblos La Jicarita Rural Telephone Cooperative NM $11.9 3,000 residents, 40 businesses, 8 community institutions www.lajicarita.com Lake County MN $66.4 37,000 residents, 1,000 businesses, 98 community www.co.lake.mn.us institutions LENOWISCO Planning District Commission/ VA $20.2 42,000 residents, 1,550 businesses, 100 community x Sunset Digital Communications institutions www.lenowisco.org Medicine Park Telephone Company OK, TX $3.0 4,500 residents, 3 businesses, 30 community institutions x www.mptelco.com Midstate Communications SD $9.1 3,715 residents, 176 businesses, 28 community x www.midstatesd.net institutions Midvale Telephone AZ, ID $4.5 1,400 residents, 130 businesses, 7 community x Exchange institutions www.midvaletelephone.com North Alabama Electric Cooperative AL $19.1 20,120 residents, 1,442 businesses, 53 community www.naecoop.com institutions Orangeburg County SC $18.7 9,078 residents, 90 businesses, 12 community www.orangeburgcounty.org institutions Pioneer Telephone Cooperative OK $35.9 9,800 residents, 160 businesses, 5 community x www.ptci.com institutions Plains Cooperative Telephone Association CO $11.1 2,740 residents, 272 businesses, 42 community www.plainstel.com institutions Pride Network LA $36.2 25,243 residents, 2,978 businesses, 172 community x www.xfone.com institutions Red River Rural Telephone Association ND, $9.1 2,600 residents, 228 businesses, 6 community x www.rrt.net MN institutions Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe NY $10.6 3,750 residents, 200 businesses, 42 community www.srmt-nsn.gov institutions Scott County Telephone Cooperative VA $24.9 12,000 residents, 80 businesses, 16 community x www.sctc.org institutions Sjoberg’s Cable MN $.9 656 residents, 15 businesses, many small farms, 3 x www.mncable.net community institutions Smithville Telephone Company** MS $7.1 1,795 residents, 15 businesses, 5 community institutions x www.smithville.net Southwest Telephone Exchange IA $6.0 1,468 residents, 55 businesses, 9 community institutions x www.interstatecom.com Spruce Knob Seneca Rocks Telephone WV $8.5 6,378 residents, 207 businesses, 23 community x www.spruceknob.net institutions Stoneham Cooperative Telephone CO $1.6 155 residents, 9 businesses, 4 community institutions Corporation 970-735-2251 Sunset Digital Communications TN $24.5 27,500 residents, 471 businesses, 65 community x (with www.sunsetcom.net institutions LENOWISCO Planning Commission) Trans-Cascades Telephone Company OR $2.4 340 residents, 46 businesses, 3 community institutions x www.relianceconnects.com Tri-County Telephone Membership Corp. NC $14.1 10,780 residents, 889 businesses, 32 community x www.gotricounty.biz/ institutions United Electric Cooperative MO $21.2 www.ueci.org

October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 23 Provider State Amount Potential Subscribers Prior ($ millions)* FTTH? Waitsfield-Fayston Telephone Company VT $5.6 1,385 residents, 56 businesses, 2 community institutions x www.wcvt.com Willard Telephone Company CO $0.8 1,900 residents, 8 businesses, 3 community institutions 970-228-4571 Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership NC $21.7 12,803 residents, 606 businesses, 56 community x Corporation institutions www.yadtel.net

* May be supplemented by funding from other sources **Includes wireless or DSL technology as well as FTTH

INDEPENDENT TELCOS Stimulus Funding Recipients Select Vendors Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership Corporation in North Carolina will use Broadband loans and grants will allow rural Zhone’s MXK intelligent GPON solu- tion and its zNID optical network termi- telcos to accelerate their plans for deploying fiber nals (ONTs) for its broadband stimulus- funded project. Since 2007, Yadkin has to homes and businesses. passed more than 16,000 homes and businesses with fiber – 42 percent of the premises within its footprint – and, with project. Shawnee was awarded $8.5 mil- FTTP network in the rural Morris, the help of the RUS grant and loan, it lion in federal and state funds to connect Minn., exchange, and Farmers Tele- will now be able to reach the rural por- homes, businesses, government offices phone Company received $9.7 million tions of its service area more quickly. and medical facilities in one of the na- to build out fiber facilities and services “One of the initial goals for our tion’s most remote and underserved re- to rural parts of its serving area. Both FTTH project was to reach all custom- gions. Long distances between commu- Federated and Farmers will deploy ers within our regional footprint with nities and a dispersed population have GENBAND’s C15 to increase network fiber-based triple-play services by 2019,” posed challenges in bringing broadband capacity, improve efficiency, lower costs explains Mitzie Branon, Yadkin’s gen- access to the 90 Illinois communities and deliver advanced IP residential and eral manager. “However, with the re- that Shawnee serves. With Zhone’s plat- business communications services. Tom ceipt of the broadband stimulus funding form, Shawnee can use a combination Lorenz, operations manager of Federated and the support of Zhone as our GPON of broadband technologies, including Telephone Cooperative, says small and partner, we will be able to overcome the GPON and ADSL2+, to provide high- medium business customers will now be anticipated cost challenges and time- speed access to even the most rural loca- able to install unified communications, to-market requirements for the rural tions in a cost-effective manner. hosted call centers and videoconferenc- fiber extension and complete our entire Halstad Telephone Company ing capabilities without having to invest FTTH project by 2015 – which is four (HTC), Federated Telephone Coop- in managing equipment on premises. years earlier than initially planned.” erative and Farmers Mutual Tele- NTELOS, which received a broad- Brian Caskey, chief marketing officer phone Company have all selected band stimulus grant to build out FTTH for Zhone, says the broadband stimulus GENBAND’s C15 compact softswitch to 9,000 premises, will use ADTRAN’s initiative has accounted for an uptick in to help deliver services over fiber. HTC, flagship product, the Total Access 5000 the number of fiber projects the com- which received $11.7 million in broad- Multi-Service Access and Aggregation pany has been asked to support. band stimulus funds, deployed the C15 Platform (MSAP) and Total Access 300 Shawnee Telephone Company, to support advanced IP services in pre- Series ONTs for the deployment. The whose RUS award we reported on in viously underserved and unserved com- Total Access 5000, with its all-Ethernet July, also selected Zhone’s multiservice munities across Minnesota and North core, will enable NTELOS to provide access node for its Southern Illinois Dakota. Federated Telephone Coop- both FTTH and broadband DLC ser- Sustainable Broadband Transformation erative received $3 million to build an vices and significantly improve broad-

24 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 band penetration in this region. In ad- work and know its benefits firsthand. chose the Occam Networks BLC 6000 dition to this award, NTELOS will also This product will allow us to quickly multiservice access platform (MSAP) to deploy the ADTRAN platform through- and efficiently expand our fiber network extend its fiber network throughout the out other portions of its service areas. to the customer, providing higher broad- southern parts of its service area. Second- Glenn Butler, NTELOS vice presi- band speeds and IPTV service.” round stimulus grants and loans of $20 dent of wireline engineering and plan- Marquette-Adams Telephone Co- million will fund the fiber deployment ning, says, “We have deployed the Total operative, which serves Adams and Mar- to more than 4,600 previously unserved Access 5000 in other parts of our net- quette Counties of central Wisconsin, homes and businesses.

Broadband Stimulus Award Winner Profile: Madison Telephone A family-owned business, Madi- cost – and GPON technology in the ru- son Telephone began operating in ral area, where conserving fiber greatly Madison, Kan., in 1946. Today, with affects cost. “We’ll use extended- the second and third generations of reach GPON because of the distances the founding family still at the helm, we have to cover,” Meyer says. “Some the company provides local and long-distance wireline houses are as far as 15 to 18 miles from the central office. phone service, broadband access and wireless phone It’s a large, diverse area and it’s challenging. We’re in the service to 575 customers. “We try to offer as much as heart of the Flint Hills, with rolling hills and trees. You need we can,” says CEO Mary Meyer, explaining that Madison a rock saw 6 feet in diameter to saw a trench through the extended fiber deep into rural areas so it could deliver rock, then cable is laid in the trench.” The expense of dig- ADSL throughout its entire service area. ging through flint is one reason the project was unafford- In town, ADSL gave Madison enough capacity to able without help from the stimulus program. compete successfully with the local cable company’s In addition to laying and lighting the fiber, Madison broadband offering. However, outside of town, where will replace its antique switch (“It’s on its last legs and a there were fewer than three customers per square mile, prayer”) with a new MetaSwitch softswitch. Madison could support only sub-megabit broadband. The project timetable depends on this winter’s For farmers looking to do precision farming, 512 Kbps or weather. Construction was scheduled to begin in Oc- 768 Kbps was woefully inadequate; even home broad- tober; if the weather is mild, Madison could build out band users were unhappy. “When we speeded up the the FTTH network by the end of 2011, but Meyer says town broadband, we irritated the rural people, who de- the second quarter of 2012 is more likely. The company manded to know when they’d be served,” Meyer says. has already begun educating customers about the ben- “We knew we had to get fiber to the home, and the efits of fiber and querying them about where they want switch was 25 years old, but we couldn’t pay back a $7 equipment placed on their property. million or $8 million loan.” She worried that a competitor Initially, Madison will provide voice and Internet ac- would enter the market with better service. cess; video service will have to wait until a new middle- When the Rural Utilities Service awarded the com- mile fiber project brings the cost of bandwidth down to pany a $3.5 million grant and a $3.5 million loan to add a reasonable level. A group of 29 telephone companies to $.8 million in private funding, the project suddenly in Kansas is cooperatively funding the middle-mile fiber, became viable. “We can see our way clear to pay back and the Madison leg of the project is expected to be half the amount,” Meyer says. “Stimulus funding saved completed by the end of 2011. At that point, Meyer says, our company.” She was delighted to tell rural customers transport costs should decline considerably, and Madi- that the company hadn’t forgotten them, and that their son plans to contract with another local independent turn would come soon. telco to share its VoD service. Meyer expects the upgraded communications net- SAWing Through Rock work to be a boon for the entire area. She says, “The Because Madison had worked successfully with Calix to funding is a godsend for our company, our community, deploy ADSL, it selected Calix equipment for the FTTH de- our employees and our subscribers. Just to keep a com- ployment. The new network, which will reach every loca- pany like this with nine employees in a small town is tion in Madison’s service area, will include active Ethernet very vital for our community. We would just see people technology in the town – which is so small and compact leaving to get [higher-speed broadband], and we didn’t that dedicated fiber does not significantly raise the project want that to happen.”

October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 25 Marquette-Adams Telephone will double the size of its fiber network and save $50,000 per year in electricity costs.

“Our goal at Marquette-Adams is to deliver the highest combination of fiber access technologies. Services to residences, quality of services possible to our subscribers so that they are businesses and cell towers will be delivered over GPON, while not handicapped by living in a rural area,” says Jerry Schneider, transport over a redundant 10 gigabit Ethernet (10GE) fiber the company’s general manager. “With the new funding, we ring will be implemented primarily via the Calix E7 Ethernet will routinely deliver 100 Mbps access to our customers and Service Access Platform. The E7 platform will allow Highland will easily scale up to 1 Gbps with active Ethernet solutions Telephone to adapt efficiently to both low- and high-density from Occam. They have been a true partner throughout this service areas in its network and deliver up to 100 Gbps of band- stimulus application process and worked with us to maximize width to each half-rack-unit slot, which is expected to meet the our network value.” service demands of this regional network for a decade or more. With the broadband stimulus funding, Marquette-Adams Calix’s C7 multiservice access platform will also be used to will leverage its existing core network and the Occam BLC provide 10GE transport as well as business services support. 6000 to expand its fiber network 500 miles beyond the current Applications will include RF video overlay with RFoG in- serving territory, doubling the network to 1,000 miles in total. teractive technology, Metro Ethernet Forum services for busi- The flexibility of the Occam BLC 6000 MSAP and its support ness, and mobile backhaul. Several Calix 700GE and 700GX of active Ethernet and GPON will allow Marquette-Adams to ONTs will be used, each capable of delivering broadband reach subscribers regardless of where they live. In addition, by speeds of up to 1 Gbps and optimized for the targeted appli- utilizing existing central office and transport equipment from cations. Highland Telephone Cooperative also intends to use Occam Networks, Marquette-Adams will keep the deploy- Calix Professional Services for engineering, furnish and instal- ment of new active electronics to a minimum and estimates an lation services. annual electricity and battery savings of $50,000. Marquette-Adams started a six-year transition to an all- A Present for Santa Claus: Fiber to the home fiber infrastructure in 2008, using Occam’s BLC 6000 and a Perry-Spencer Rural Telephone Cooperative (PSC) has mix of GPON and active Ethernet technologies. More than deployed the Occam BLC 6000 multiservice access platform 1,000 customers are currently served over this network, and (MSAP) in an FTTH project that serves Christmas Lake Vil- the remaining 2,400 customers will transition to fiber by 2012. lage in Santa Claus, Ind. “It has always been PSC’s goal to Fiber subscribers can access traditional voice and data services, assist in the economic development of our rural community as well as video services such as HD television programming. by providing quality and affordable telecommunications ser- Highland Telephone Cooperative selected the Calix Uni- vices,” says Daren Brown, plant manager of PSC, noting that fied Access portfolio to deliver advanced broadband services to the company would add new and more video services and more 20,000 homes and businesses in rural Tennessee and Kentucky. Internet bandwidth. “Just as the Authority brought opportunity Since February, PSC has installed a mix of active Ethernet and economic development to this region over half a century and GPON technologies in the BLC 6000 MSAP, transitioned ago, we believe the broadband stimulus program is going to some ILEC customers from copper and added new CLEC cus- have the same impact in stimulating new development in this tomers to a fiber-based network. In addition to the new fiber rural region of Tennessee,” says Fred Terry, general manager. deployment in Santa Claus, PSC added active Ethernet to serve In the $66.5 million project, Highland Telephone will use a business customers from its existing 10GE ring. The network was initially deployed for fixed wireless backhaul and has facilitated the convergence of wireless and business Ethernet traffic. PSC is currently connecting small and medium businesses and hospi- tals with high-speed voice, video and data over copper, fiber and Cable Billing native Ethernet services. Occam currently supports more than 2,000 total access lines throughout PSC’s service network. Billing & Provisioning In August, ’s Fioptics network powered Over 300 Satisfied Operators the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters & Women’s 800.882.7950 Open, two top-ranked tennis events held at the Lindner Fam- www.glds.com Lowest Total Cost Solutions ily Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio. Cincinnati Bell was chosen FTTH, Voice, Video & Data Digital • VOD • VoIP as the exclusive provider of fiber-optic video and broadband Data • Hotel PPV Friendly, Expert Support services for the tournament and also broadcast closed-circuit coverage throughout the tournament site. Jim Ruehlmann,

26 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 Cincinnati Bell VP for business market- “but it is a huge first step in that direc- DVR, on-screen Caller ID and integra- ing, says, “Our Fioptics networks are tion. We know that Red Wing residents tion with voice and Internet access. Allo engineered to serve the needs of large- won’t rest until the full project is done, Communications’ IPTV network relies bandwidth customers who demand high and HBC has the same resolve.” on Microsoft Mediaroom middleware speed and reliability.” Allo Communications introduced and is managed and integrated using Finally, the original RUS programs its new Fiber TV service to customers 180SQUARED’s v.Allegro solution set still exist and are still helping rural telcos in western Nebraska. Allo Communi- – software and services that help provid- upgrade their infrastructure. The RUS cations customers will receive IPTV ers plan, deploy and manage a complete recently awarded $3.7 million from its service with 74 HD channels, remote IPTV implementation. Telecommunications Loan Program to Bernard Telephone Company, an Iowa ILEC. The company will use it to up- grade its network to fiber to the home. New at Clearfield: Clearview xPAK Advances small count fiber deployment. COMPETITIVE PROVIDERS BUILD OUT FIBER RST Communications, a new CLEC operating in North Carolina and South Carolina, selected Motorola’s GPON solution to deliver services throughout its fiber-to-the-home network. RST will provide broadband IP voice, video and data delivery, as well as smart-grid and People other energy-management applications. RST is addressing markets that include municipalities, residential subdivisions, WHERE FIBER MANAGEMENT COMES TOGETHER. hotels and hospitals. Hiawatha Broadband Commu- Information nications, a competitive provider that already serves a number of small Minne- sota communities, is extending its FTTH Technology network to the city of Red Wing. The first step in the process, accord- ing to Dan Pecarina, HBC vice president for technology, is to extend fiber from the current network terminus north of Wabasha through Red Wing – a project that involves the cooperation of the city of Red Wing, the Red Wing Port Au- thority, the Red Wing Area Chamber of Commerce, Goodhue County, the state Join the conversation with your network of Minnesota and other organizations. The fiber extension was engineered peers at www.FiberPuzzle.com. as part of HBC’s application for a first- round ARRA grant. Even though the grant request was denied in January, business opportunities in Red Wing and Lake City, including the Red Wing Port Authority’s proposal to build a technol- ogy incubator, prompted HBC’s board to approve the extension of the network. Construction is scheduled to be com- pleted in November, and the network will serve customers along the route with voice and data services. “It’s not the @ClearfieldFiber www.ClearfieldConnection.com 800.422.2537 full FTTH project that we want,” says Gary Evans, HBC’s president and CEO,

October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 27 Municipal Fiber Super-Fast Broadband from Municipal Fiber Systems All eyes are on EPB Fiber Optics, the municipal FTTP network in Chatta- EPB, the municipal provider in Chattanooga, nooga, Tenn., which received nation- wide attention in September when it an- Tenn., announced 1 Gbps Internet service nounced it would offer the only citywide 1 Gbps broadband service in the United citywide. In the same week, HomeServe USA States for both residential and business said it would build a new call center there. customers. EPB already offers triple-play services to more than 100,000 homes and busi- nesses in metropolitan Chattanooga and availability of the EPB fiber optic net- able, you’re at least a player in the pro- surrounding rural areas and will soon work was a major factor in HomeServe’s cess of recruiting business.” offer services to every home and busi- decision. The city of Highland, Ill., a small ness in a 600-square-mile, nine-county EPB appears to have inspired other city outside St. Louis, Mo., decided to area. EPB is also using its network as municipal providers to market ultra- deliver triple-play services over fiber when the backbone for its , which high-speed offerings. Shortly after its it determined that a lack of broadband al- will provide increased power reliability, 1 Gbps announcement, the CEO of ternatives adversely affected quality of life greater operational efficiency and more Bristol Tennessee Essential Services,was and economic activity in the city. High- power management tools for the utility’s quoted as saying that his company would land will use a combination of GPON electric customers. soon follow suit because “everything and active Ethernet technology from The new 1 Gbps symmetrical service they can offer, we’ll be able to offer.” In Calix, which just announced that it had offering is the fastest broadband service addition, LUS Fiber, the municipal pro- shipped its millionth fiber access port. in the United States and is tied with a vider in Lafayette, La., raised its top-tier Utah-based open-access operator handful of international communities residential offering to 100 Mbps. (LUS UTOPIA announced PAETEC as the for fastest in the world. At least three of already had a 100 Mbps commercial 12th service provider to join its network. the providers offering 1 Gbps service – offering.) PAETEC offers data, voice and IP ser- including not only EPB but also Hong vices to business customers, along with Kong Broadband Network Limited and BVU Optinet Partners With enterprise communications management ZON Multimedia (Portugal) – are us- Planning Commission software, network security solutions and ing Alcatel-Lucent’s GPON technology. BVU OptiNet, the municipal tele- managed services. Todd Marriott, UTO- “Chattanooga is light years ahead com utility of Bristol, Va., announced PIA’s executive director, says the move when it comes to providing ultrafast a strategic partnership agreement with by PAETEC, which is the first national broadband,” says Tom Edd Wilson, Cumberland Plateau Company (CPC), provider recruited by UTOPIA (it serves President and CEO of the Chattanooga a division of the Cumberland Plateau more than 84 of the top 100 Metropoli- Area Chamber of Commerce. “By of- Planning District Commission in rural tan Statistical Areas and has customers in fering the fastest available speeds to a southwestern Virginia. Through this all 50 states), is “great validation of the whole community comprising a diverse new 10-year agreement, BVU will con- improvements and growth we’ve seen population living in both urban and ru- tinue to provide telecommunications over the last two years.” ral areas, Chattanooga has become the services over fiber to organizations in Jackson Energy Authority (JEA) living laboratory for today’s innovations CPC’s footprint. By partnering with selected Tantalus as its smart-grid tech- and tomorrow’s companies.” BVU OptiNet, CPC has brought re- nology platform. JEA, a Tennessee mu- In the same week EPB announced dundant fiber optic broadband service nicipal utility located midway between its 1 Gbps service offering, HomeServe to its district, spurring an influx of new Nashville and Memphis, operates an USA, a provider of home warranty and employers and high-tech jobs. “Building FTTH network that has provided triple- repair services, announced plans to broadband services throughout this re- play services since 2004. Now it is roll- establish a new customer care center gion is vital to our economy,” says Larry ing out demand-response applications, in Chattanooga that will employ 140 Carr, executive director of CPC. “If you such as smart thermostats and load con- people. According to local press, the have high-speed Internet services avail- trol, in addition to implementing smart

28 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 metering to more than 100,000 electric, water and gas endpoints. The project Fibrant, the municipal operator in Salisbury, N.C., also includes deployment of electricity meters with remote disconnects, which expects to launch services in November that rival will give JEA a practical way to stop and start services without site visits. anything the big-name providers can offer. Fibrant Communications, the municipal operator in Salisbury, N.C., which is nearly ready to launch, will ri- vices. Crowell says, “We’ll have much definition streams into homes, a capa- val any services the big-name providers more bandwidth than the others, and bility not previously available in this can offer, according to Michael Crowell, we’ll be offering a superior level of cus- market. Fibrant expects this service to Salisbury’s director of broadband ser- tomer service” – including four high- be especially attractive to young people,

Broadband Stimulus Award Winner Profile: South Central Telcom South Central Telcom was one of while the younger generation is inter- the earliest independent telcos to de- ested in “using the computer as a TV ploy fiber to the home. After provid- rather than fighting over the remote ing telephone service in rural Kansas control.” A number of customers have for nearly 50 years, the company de- signed up for high-speed Internet ac- cided to offer broadband in 2001 and cess specifically for gaming. almost immediately discovered its aging copper plant wasn’t up to the task. To deliver broadband, it obtained Fiber to the Ranch an RUS loan and upgraded its facilities. At that time, says With the broadband stimulus program, SC Telcom saw an opportunity to extend fiber into its most rural ILEC planning director Eric Ryker, fiber still cost 25 percent territory, where cattle ranching is the primary occupa- more than copper to deploy, “but the right person made tion and density is less than one home per mile. It also a presentation to the board, the board agreed with the decided to enter the small town of Attica as a com- recommendation and we’re happy to have started so petitive provider, both because Attica residents had no early.” Today, about 85 percent of the company’s 1,600 wireline broadband available and because the town is ILEC customers – all except those in the highest-cost ar- close enough to SC Telcom’s ILEC territory to be served eas – are served with fiber. by existing employees. Allen says, “We talked with At- Several years later, the company also began to over- tica community leaders, such as the schools and the city, build portions of its CLEC area with fiber, starting with prior to submitting our application, and we got a pretty the most profitable neighborhoods. Today, its customer good response – they encouraged us to pursue it. So we penetration in CLEC fiber areas is 60 percent, compared performed a survey, which came back pretty positive.” with about 35 percent in the CLEC areas where it resells The rural ILEC project was funded in Round 1 of the service over incumbents’ copper loops. stimulus program with an $871,000 grant, and the Attica Fiber to the home has become important to the project was funded in Round 2 with a $558,000 grant and economy of SC Telcom’s service area. Steve Allen, SC Tel- a $560,00 loan. (Both projects also include private fund- com’s marketing manager, says a number of local busi- ing.) Because the Round 1 award wasn’t quite sufficient nesses have taken advantage of this robust infrastruc- to build fiber to the entire area, SC Telcom is considering ture, including a safety solutions company that conducts a mix of fiber and fixed wireless as an interim solution. If live training sessions over the Internet as well as several RUS accepts the revised plan, wireless broadband will be companies that have set up high-speed connections used to reach the most remote customers. among their multiple locations. Several residents have In Attica, SC Telcom plans to deploy Calix’s active Eth- started Internet-based businesses, and businesses in ernet technology, even though it has used PON technol- general are beginning to look beyond the local commu- ogy – first BPON and then GPON – for the better part of a nity for customers. decade. Ryker says, “We believe active Ethernet probably Residential subscribers have become avid users of has a longer life today than GPON, plus it’s easily upgrad- broadband video, online gaming, Facebook and other able and has huge bandwidth.” Construction is scheduled applications. Allen says the older generation is more in- to start in the spring, and the company is already looking terested in sharing family photos and staying in touch, for a site for a new central office.

October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 29 city council – at least for the time being. i3 America is conducting the first U.S. trial of nDanville is a three-phase project that began with an institutional network, its fiber-through-the-sewer technology. added fiber to businesses and Wi-Fi hotspots and was slated to continue this year with fiber to the home. Despite the strong positive response to the city’s mar- consistent with the city’s goal of attract- in addition to Quincy – particularly ket survey, council members were wary ing and retaining young professionals. communities that offered themselves as of lending money for the pilot project in Fibrant is using Clearfield fiber man- candidates for . the current economic climate. agement systems, including FieldSmart “Quincy will benefit from installing Fiber Crossover Distribution System a fiber-to-the-home network, and we are localities prepare (FxDS) patch panels in its headend and very interested in seeing how i3 America to Lease Fiber to businesses FieldSmart Fiber Scalability Centers may be able to work with us to achieve Carroll County, Md., announced a (FSC) or PON splitter cabinets in the this goal,” says Mayor John A. Spring. partnership agreement with the Mary- field. Crowell says, “For four years we “The pilot project, with no financial ob- land Broadband Cooperative (MDBC) looked at a lot of alternatives. Ultimately, ligation for the city, will allow us to test to provide local businesses and service we selected Clearfield’s cabinets because i3 America’s technology and construc- providers with access to the county- of their size and compactness. We didn’t tion methods as well as gauge the com- owned fiber optic network. The county’s want to go into our neighborhoods and patibility of our sewer system for a pos- economic development department install refrigerator-sized boxes. We knew sible rollout to the entire community.” hopes to spur commercial and industrial the people wouldn’t like that. Clearfield The pilot project timeline includes four business growth by providing cost-effec- had a definite advantage of size. They’re days for deployment followed by a 30- tive fiber connectivity to businesses. small and compact. Most people don’t day evaluation period. The MDBC, a public-private part- even know they’re there.” i3 America’s business model is to de- nership, will lease fiber from the county, Crowell also admired Clearfield’s el- ploy the network, light the fiber (mostly and MDBC members – including gov- egant design: “It’s real easy to go into the with GPON equipment), install its provi- ernment entities, service providers and cabinet and put in a jumper. We didn’t sioning software and then contract with a businesses – will be able to lease dark have to have special training for our network operator to run the network and fiber from MDBC. Larry Twele, direc- technicians. … There’s also good storage with service providers to offer services. tor of economic development, says, “The capability within the cabinet so you don’t Its fiber-through-the-sewers technology, Carroll County Fiber Network is a sig- just have a bunch of patch cables looking which the company says can save between nificant economic development initia- like spaghetti. They have been designed 30 percent and 50 percent of deployment tive that will benefit the business com- so it’s really easy to keep your cables in a costs, involves placing coated fiber, which munity for years to come. With our own neat and orderly fashion.” it manufactures, along the bottom of fiber optic network, high-speed broad- the inside of the sewer. (Other kinds of band access will be more readily avail- i3 America Announces conduit, such as water mains and steam able and affordable. Carroll County is First Pilot Project pipes, can also be used.) now better positioned to be more com- The city ofQuincy, Ill., approved a pilot TheWiredWest consortium in west- petitive for business attraction and bet- project with i3 America, the U.S. divi- ern Massachusetts took another step for- ter prepared to keep and grow our exist- sion of British fiber deployer i3 Group, ward in September when delegates from ing business base.” to demonstrate the company’s fiber de- WiredWest towns decided to establish The City Council of Edmonds, ployment technologies and methods. i3 the organization as a public cooperative Wash., voted unanimously to pursue a Group builds fiber optic networks using made up of member towns. Choosing policy of leasing some of the city’s ex- ready-made ducts, including the sewer public cooperative status enables Wired- cess dark fiber to generate revenue and system. Although the company has al- West to move forward legally, practically attract new businesses. Edmonds, which ready begun several ambitious projects and financially. Work on other aspects of installed fiber to connect its municipal in the U.K., the pilot project in Quincy the project, including engineering, busi- buildings, has excess capacity on its net- will be its first in the U.S. market. ness planning and financing, is proceed- work. The city council resolution prom- “U.S. homes and companies need ing simultaneously over the next several ises to “review any legitimate contract or access to high-speed broadband, and months to ensure that WiredWest is po- opportunity that serves the interest of i3 America’s mission is to bring afford- sitioned to secure financing and begin the citizenry of Edmonds.” According able fiber networks to cities and regions construction as soon as enough towns to local press reports, possible markets across the country,” says Elfed Thomas, join the cooperative. for the fiber include other government CEO of i3 Group, which is in “serious In Danville, Va., nDanville’s pilot entities, private businesses, educational discussions” with several communities FTTH project was voted down by the institutions and medical facilities.

30 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 BROADBAND STIMULUS AWARD WINNER PROFILE: VERMONT TELEPHONE One of the most ambitious and un- that, to continue providing broadband usual stimulus-funded projects is at all, he needed a more economical VTel Wireless’s Wireless Open World source of Internet access. (WOW) initiative, which aims to com- When middle-mile carriers proved bine FTTH and 4G wireless technolo- unresponsive to the company’s gies on a large scale and spur broadband adoption with needs, VTel created its own transport network, spend- its Rural Broadband Farm Forum program. ing $15 million over several years to build or buy 1,500 Vermont Telephone Company, or VTel, is one of the miles of fiber from Montreal to New York City and across largest family-owned telephone companies in the United New Hampshire to Boston. “We were digging under States and has served southern Vermont since 1890. Mi- Lake Champlain,” Guité says. “It was long and hard, but chel Guité, the current owner, president and CEO, bought we put up the first dense wave-division multiplexing the telco from Contel/GTE in 1994 with a view toward im- (DWDM) network in Vermont.” The network gave VTel proving the telecommunications services in the region. the ability to supply bandwidth to its own customers at For years, he says, he has “wrestled with the broad topic a reasonable cost and wholesale excess capacity to the of how we might survive as a rural telco,” an exercise that region’s universities and other institutions. has shaped his company’s technology strategy. Nearly a decade ago, Guité hoped to transition VTel Fiber OR WIRELESS? from a copper-based to a fiber-based carrier but immedi- With the fiber transport network completed, Guité again ately ran up against the problem of excessive bandwidth considered transitioning to fiber in the access network. costs. The company paid nearly $1 million per year in This time, he was talked out of it by one of his wholesale transport charges just to support DSL, and Guité realized customers – Mark Silis, director of telecom infrastructure

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October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 31 at MIT. According to Guité, Silis warned him that the This time, possibly because Google had popularized FTTH equipment on the market was still not sophisti- the concept of gigabit fiber, the Rural Utilities Service cated enough to be worth investing in. Silis advised him found the proposal exciting and funded it in its entirety to invest in wireless licenses instead. with an $82 million grant and a $35 million loan. Although VTel did begin building FTTH on a small scale, At the same time, Guité proposed – and won – a $12 Guité took Silis’ advice and set about buying wireless spec- million NTIA grant to improve the middle-mile infra- trum, much of it in the 700 MHz range. “We spent our own structure in northern Vermont. Arguing that the short- money – a huge capital investment – trying to do the best age of bandwidth and transport capacity had slowed job we could in our own narrow area,” Guité says. the deployment of resources for such initiatives as dis- tance learning, access to Internet2 and remote access STIMULUS PROGRAM TO THE RESCUE to large databases and libraries, VTel proposed expand- By the time the broadband stimulus program arrived, ing its fiber network to deliver up to 10 Gbps Ethernet VTel was a profitable company with great depth of wire- broadband to more than 200 high schools, hospitals, less and fiber resources. Guité’s instinct – contrary to higher-education institutions, telephone companies most of the advice he received – was still to extend fiber and public-safety entities. to the premises if possible, largely because “the prob- lem with Springfield [VTel’s home base] is that any com- The rural broadband farm forum pany that’s successful here moves out.” Though a hedge Finally, building on the successful experience of the De- fund might exploit its current assets and move on, Guité pression-era Radio Farm Forum and many third-world thought a family business should behave otherwise. community development projects, VTel proposed a Ru- However, leveraging the company’s resources by ral Broadband Farm Forum. Through this program, field building out the last mile would take anywhere from 15 workers will organize thousands of neighbor-to-neigh- to 20 years – if the company even survived the process. In bor, small-group meetings to discuss how broadband can the stimulus program, Guité saw an opportunity to build help find jobs, improve schools, launch businesses, access faster and with less risk. In Round 1, VTel proposed de- government assistance and enhance rural life. livering 1 Gbps to every home in its service area via fiber Saying the program would “win broadband hearts and, at the same time, delivering 4G wireless broadband and minds,” Guité asks, “Why not have forums with fam- to every home in southern Vermont, using LTE technol- ily members of stroke victims talking about how they ogy. “Let’s try to make our existing phone company a re- might help with rehabilitation? Math teachers could talk ally exemplary demonstration of what good technology about doing a better job with broadband for distance using fiber can be,” he explains, adding that he believes learning. Anesthesiologists could talk about broadband a combination of fiber and wireless broadband will ul- helping them access data with portable laptops.” timately be most attractive and most beneficial to cus- As part of the WOW project, VTel is also working with tomers. However, the proposal fell on deaf ears. utilities to test smart-grid applications over 4G wireless In the second round, calculating that he had nothing networks. Guité says, “Our goal is to create the first state to lose, Guité upped the ante by proposing not only giga- with 100 percent smart grid and broadband.” bit fiber to all VTel’s customers but also 4G wireless broad- Here’s how VTel’s website sums up its message to its band throughout the entire state of Vermont and parts subscribers: of New York and New Hampshire. The wireless network is We are committed to making this happen. Rolling out targeted to Vermont’s 33,000 unserved households; Guité broadband is good for us, good for Vermont and good for explains, “Although the signals cover all of Vermont, the the American people. The funds are available, the plan is network isn’t optimized the way it would be to serve the in place and time and effort are all that is required to bring whole state – it’s optimized to get to the unserved.” this to fruition.

Other deployers New Vision for Syracuse New Visions Powerline Communica- when someone connected a single PC to ing console, Internet photo frame and tions (which, despite its name, is now a cable modem,” says Carmen Branca, countless other devices to their home focusing on fiber to the home) launched president of New Visions. “Our higher- networks. When these applications run 110 Mbps/30 Mbps Internet service to tier customers are usually networked simultaneously, it’s easy to see how faster residential and business customers on within the home using a wireless router, services will be needed. ... Virtually all the west side of Syracuse, N.Y., using and they’re connecting a desktop com- applications benefit from an increase in GPON technology. “Gone are the days puter, two or three laptops, a gam- speed.”

32 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 RBOC Update AT&T U-verse in Champaign AT&T and Regency Apartments an- government is providing $300,000 for Moncton area of New Brunswick. Cus- nounced an agreement to deliver U-verse workforce training and has entered into tomers in the city of Dieppe are the first triple-play services to the 316 units at a three-year extension of its existing ser- to be able to order FibreOP services, Windsor West Apartments in Cham- vice agreement with Bell Aliant. Premier closely followed by the town of Riv- paign, Ill. – one of the first fiber-to-the- Robert Ghiz says, “Access to high-speed erview and the city of Moncton. In addi- unit projects AT&T has deployed in Internet service is an ingredient of eco- tion, Bell Aliant announced that Killam Illinois. (AT&T will soon face competi- nomic and social development across the Properties’ Forest Hill Towers, a newly tion in Champaign from the municipal island community. We’re happy that Bell renovated, 151-unit high-rise building UC2B project, which is building a fiber Aliant will make this fiber-to-the-home in Fredericton, New Brunswick, will be optic network to connect community an- network available to business, educators the first FibreOP-enabled multiresiden- chor institutions and will make its fiber and homes on Prince Edward Island.” tial building in Atlantic Canada. Killam available to residential service providers.) Bell Aliant also announced that it partnered with Bell Aliant to retrofit the Windsor West is a newly constructed had launched FibreOP in the Greater building with fiber to the unit. apartment community that overlooks a five-acre lake and features geothermal heating and cooling and energy-efficient Vendor Spotlight windows and doors. The agreement 180SQUARED...... www.180squared.com between AT&T and Regency Consoli- ADC...... www.adc.com dated Residential is part of the AT&T ADTRAN...... www.adtran.com Connected Communities program. Alcatel-Lucent...... www.alcatel-lucent.com In Canada, where the federal regula- Calix...... www.calix.com tory agency recently ordered incumbent Clearfield...... www.clearfieldconnection.com telcos and cable companies to make their advanced networks available to GENBAND ...... www.genband.com competitive providers at a 10 percent Hitachi...... www.hitel.com markup, Bell Aliant is now rolling out i3 America...... www.i3-america.com its FibreOP network in Charlottetown MetaSwitch...... www.metaswitch.com and Summerside, Prince Edward Is- Microsoft ...... www.microsoft.com land. Bell Aliant says it is investing $20 Motorola ...... www.motorola.com million to serve approximately 30,000 Occam Networks ...... www.occamnetworks.com homes and businesses in Charlottetown Tantalus...... www.tantalus.com and Summerside by the end of 2011. Zhone Technologies ...... www.zhone.com As part of the project, the provincial

Cable Companies Troy Deploys RF Over Glass is using the Hitachi voice services,” says Dick Freeman, Troy steadily increased their use of the Hitachi Node+Zero RFoG product to provide Cablevision president. “We find they Node+Zero RFoG solution, and it has services in the greater Troy, Ala., area perform flawlessly, and the all-fiber net- proven to be an easy migration from their to about 1,600 business and residential work provides advantages for both busi- existing hybrid fiber-coax outside plant subscribers. Continuing deployments in ness and residential customers, includ- to a fiber-to-the-premises configuration. 2010 are expected to reach an additional ing uniform service quality, increased Operators like Troy Cable are realizing 1,100 customers. reliability, lower powering and reduced the economic and network efficiency of “We began deploying the Hitachi maintenance costs.” maintaining their existing RF headend Node+Zero RFoG modules about one According to Michael Allen, Hitachi infrastructure while enjoying the benefits year ago, delivering video, data and vice president of sales, “Troy Cable has of fiber as a last-mile architecture.”

October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 33 Broadband Stimulus Award Winner Profile: Reservation Telephone Cooperative Reservation Telephone Coopera- to North Dakota and Montana. (Al- tive has served the farms, ranches though the field was mapped in the and small towns of central North Da- 1990s, most of the oil was not eco- kota for 60 years, providing the con- nomically recoverable until recently.) nections that keep this large, sparsely Parshall, the town of 1,000 where RTC populated territory in touch with is headquartered, became the center the rest of the world. Although its of much of the oil exploration activity. 5,700-square-mile territory has only “It’s turned this place upside about 9,000 access lines, RTC has provided many of its down,” Goodall says. “It’s brought people in here like subscribers with broadband, using cable, DSL and, most you wouldn’t believe. It’s not only affected us but all our recently, fiber to the home. communities. … They’re building houses unbelievably In 2007, when preparing to embark on some major fast, and the people moving in want service – phone, In- construction – including upgrading the telephone and ternet, video, security cameras and cell backhaul. We’re cable networks in its larger towns and installing new getting a lot of use out of the fiber.” plant to serve lakeside cabins for vacationers – the com- In addition to serving new arrivals, RTC is extending pany decided the time was right to begin a complete fiber to wellheads so oil companies can monitor their transition to fiber to the home. The FTTH project, which wells with IP cameras and respond quickly to leaks. was expected to take seven to 10 years altogether, is “They’re doing a lot of stuff with fiber that we never now about one-quarter complete. Old copper, includ- dreamed of three years ago,” Goodall says. ing a great deal of messy-looking aerial plant, is being scrapped, and all customers are being cut over to fiber. Fiber to the reservation To justify the fiber rollout, RTC offers as many services The most remote portion of RTC’s territory, which makes as possible, including IPTV. Its first FTTH project yielded up about a quarter of the land area, is the Fort Berthold a video take rate of 70 percent, which the company Indian Reservation from which the company took its found encouraging, considering that satellite TV was a name. Because of its isolation, Fort Berthold was not strong competitor. one of the first areas RTC scheduled for a fiber build- “When you build fiber to the home, it’s a big expense, out. However, the oil boom and the stimulus program so it’s important that the customer take services,” says changed the company’s priorities. Brooks Goodall, RTC operations manager. “Our goal The oil boom brought back many reservation resi- is the triple play. For that, you’ve got to provide good dents who had left to find work elsewhere. They returned video, and we feel that ours is good – we have local not only because they could work in the oilfields but news and weather. Phone service is dying, but we try to also because they could move in with family members tie that in. And now we’re putting in security cameras for or live in campers on the reservation. Some are build- businesses and cabin sites.” ing new houses there, and water and electric utilities are Local businesses have welcomed fiber connectiv- also being built out. “There’s a town that had a popula- ity because it allows them to operate much more effi- tion of 50, and now it’s close to 1,000, with campers and ciently. Pharmacies are now operating remote offices via everything,” Goodall says. “With all the people moving video link. Other multiple-location businesses save on IT in, they’ve maxed out the copper plant.” costs by using centralized servers instead of duplicating When broadband stimulus funding became available, hardware and databases at each location. RTC applied for $21.9 million in loans and grants. It was RTC also provides fiber-based services to institutional awarded funding in Round 1 of the Broadband Initiatives customers, including cities that are attaching fiber to Program. The funding will help build out fiber to homes, water meters; hospitals that are extending telemedicine businesses, schools and libraries on and near the reserva- services to outlying clinics; a local college; military instal- lations and, of course, cellular providers that require ro- tion and to connect the tribal government facilities that bust backhaul capability. “Whatever a customer wants, provide social services, health care and public safety. we can provide,” Goodall says. “We just hope people Goodall says tribal government officials, who are located need more and more.” in several far-flung towns, will now hold meetings via vid- eoconference instead of having to drive long distances. The Boom RTC selected GPON technology from Calix for its Shortly after RTC started its FTTH build, a boom began in build. However, it has designed its network to be easily the Bakken Shale Oil Field, which stretches from Canada converted to active Ethernet by placing GPON splitters

34 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010 Reservation Telephone is in an unusual situation: Its fiber-to-the-home build will support tribal services on the Fort Berthold Reservation – still a high-poverty area – and will also support the once-in-a-century oil boom that’s going on in the same place at the same time.

in the central offices instead of in the field and by- us Although bend-insensitive cables are used most often in ing ONTs that can handle both technologies. With this MDUs, Goodall chose them because they function well in architecture, Goodall says, RTC is future-proofing the North Dakota’s 110-to-minus-40 temperature range. company. Plowing the extra fiber was not significantly For its IPTV middleware, the company chose Micro- more expensive, he says, and because active Ethernet soft Mediaroom. Goodall says Mediaroom has appeal- has a longer lifespan, “in the long run, it’s a lot cheaper.” ing features such as fast channel change – and, more Fiber connectivity solutions, which are provided by important, Microsoft is likely to survive the middleware ADC, include LSX 288 fiber panels (which Goodall says shakeout, stay in the IPTV business and continue to up- “are a little more forgiving, look a lot better, and are easier grade and support its product. RTC is one of the first to run”), plug-and-play splitter chassis, fiber entrance cab- companies in the United States to deploy the Hyper V, or inets, OMX fiber frames, fiber guide systems, FDH3000 small-server architecture, version of Mediaroom, which OSP cabinets and RealFlex bend-insensitive ONT cables. was virtualized to make it economical for small telcos. AMT 26966 Broadband_Ad_MECH:AMT 26966 10/30/09 2:58 PM Page 1

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October 2010 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 35 Deployer Spotlight States with deployments referenced in this article

Alaska

North American Telcos Reservation Telephone Allo Communications www.allophone.com Cooperative www.reservationtelephone.com AT&T www.att.com RST Communications www.rstcommunications.com Bell Aliant www.bellaliant.ca Shawnee Telephone Company www.shawneetelco.com Bernard Telephone South Central Telcom www.sctelcom.net Vermont Telephone Company www.vermontel.com Company www.bernardtelephone.com Yadkin Valley Telephone Cincinnati Bell www.cincinnatibell.com Membership Corp. www.yadtel.net Farmers Mutual Telephone Company www.farmerstel.net Other North American Deployers Federated Telephone Cooperative www.fedtel.net BVU OptiNet www.bvu-optinet.com Halstad Telephone Company www.halstadtel.com EPB Fiber Optics www.epbfi.com Hiawatha Broadband Communications www.hbci.com Fibrant Communications www.fibrant.com Highland Telephone Cooperative www.highlandtel.net Highland, Ill. (city) www.ci.highland.il.us Jackson Energy Authority www.jaxenergy.com Madison Telephone www.madtel.com New Visions Powerline Marquette-Adams Communications www.nvplc.com Telephone Cooperative www.ma-central.com Quincy, Ill. (city) www.quincyil.gov NTELOS www.ntelos.com Troy Cablevision www.troycable.net Perry-Spencer Rural UTOPIA www.utopianet.org Telephone Cooperative www.psci.net WiredWest www.wired-west.net

INTERNATIONAL DEPLOYMENTS

National Broadband Network in Australia is saved ... Ericsson connects India’s Commonwealth Games ... Telefonica Chile pledges $2.5 billion for FTTH... BT brings fiber to Cornwall Read all these stories and more in the digital edition at www.bbpmag.com/bbponline.php

36 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | October 2010