May 26, 2011

Appalachian Fiber Network Uses Calix

Parker Fibernet, preferred service provider to the $26 million Appalachian Valley Fiber Network (AVFN) broadband stimulus initiative, will deploy Calix Unified Access systems to connect this middle-mile network to residential, business, and anchor institution subscribers across northwestern Georgia and eastern Alabama.

Upon completion of AVFN’s broadband stimulus initiative that will cover 12 rural counties with a middle-mile backbone, Parker Fibernet will leverage the Ethernet Extensible Architecture (EXA)-powered C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP) and E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP), as well as the 700-family of optical network terminals (ONTs), to facilitate the availability of fiber access services to the 144,000 residences, 8,300 businesses, and 185 anchor institutions passed by this network.

Subscribers to Parker Fibernet’s Calix-enabled services will be able to receive up to 1 Gbps of advanced broadband connectivity delivered via gigabit passive optical network (GPON), Active Ethernet (AE), and point-to-point Ethernet technologies.

The $26 million AVFN Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) middle-mile initiative is a public-private partnership between Parker Fibernet and several government agencies in Georgia and Alabama. Funds for this middle-mile initiative will install 182 miles of new fiber and lease 287 miles of dark fiber to complement Parker Fibernet’s existing resources. In turn, the network will interconnect with as many as five regional last-mile providers who have committed to using the new network to bring affordable high-speed services to rural and underserved households and businesses in the region.