PETALUMA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calix, Inc (NYSE:CALX) today announced that customers across the Midwest are rapidly deploying very high-speed digital subscriber line 2 (VDSL2) services on the Calix C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP) to evolve their networks simply and quickly to meet demand for advanced services. VDSL2 on the C7, available and being widely deployed today in conjunction with software Release 7.0, leverages the copper that already exists in the access network to deliver broadband speeds that can be up to twice as fast as traditional asymmetrical digital subscriber line 2 plus (ADSL2+) services at distances up to nearly a mile from the central office (CO) or remote terminal (RT).
Calix customer networks across the Midwest that upgrade to Release 7.0 software and Combo2-24V cards are becoming Ethernet eXtensible Architecture (EXA) Powered, benefiting from the efficiencies and simplicity of a pure Ethernet deployment environment and able to meet the rising broadband demands of their subscribers, including advanced IPTV services and high-bandwidth business services. By pushing fiber deeper into their networks, shortening the copper loops that feed their subscribers, and deploying these powerful new technologies, all Calix customers deploying Combo2-24V VDSL2 cards and Release 7.0 software are moving “Fiber Forward” and evolving the services capacity of their networks. The result: a more efficient Ethernet-based broadband services delivery infrastructure and long term operational model, and, most importantly, a “universal DSL” infrastructure that leverages VDSL2 with ADSL2+ fallback support to deliver what Calix believes to be the best broadband experience over copper possible. Whether they are moving “Fiber Forward” with advanced DSL technologies like VDSL2, or the latest fiber-to-the-premises technologies like gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) or Active Ethernet (AE), Calix customers are strengthening their relationships with residential and business subscribers – providing the high-end broadband services that are increasingly being demanded.
“Competition was getting increasingly fierce in the communities that we serve, and our ability to instantly increase our bandwidth by deploying VDSL2 and Release 7.0 provided us with a powerful response,” said Ren Preheim, network operations manager at Interstate Telecommunications Cooperative (ITC) in Clear Lake, South Dakota. “The new Combo VDSL2 cards are a card swap, with the same port-for-port density as our existing ADSL2+ cards, yet they deliver up to twice the bandwidth to our subscribers within a mile of our equipment. This enables us to get aggressive with additional high definition television (HDTV) programming and higher broadband speeds, and in so doing stay ahead of our competition.”
“ADSL2+ wasn’t providing us with the bandwidth we needed to address the demand for multiple streams of standard definition (SD) and high definition (HD) video, so we were looking for ways to quickly and efficiently increase our broadband speeds,” said Frank Bulk, technology and product development manager at Premier Communications in Sioux Center, IA. “Upgrading our C7s to the Ethernet-based VDSL2 and Release 7.0 allows us to use our existing access infrastructure, both fiber and copper, while dramatically increasing our bandwidth and priming ourselves for the simplified video provisioning model available in Release 7.0. Calix continues to gives us the solutions that keep us competitive.”
“We needed more bandwidth for our IPTV service, but the jump to fiber-to-the-premises was not economically feasible for us,” said Doug Nelson, chief executive officer at Terril Telephone Cooperative in Terril, IA. “We elected to move ‘Fiber Forward’ by pushing fiber deeper into our networks and leverage VDSL2 across the Calix Unified Access portfolio, including both the C7 and E5-121 Ethernet Service Access Nodes (ESANs) retrofitted into existing cabinets in our network. The result for us is the best of both worlds – a superior broadband infrastructure for advanced services via a cost effective upgrade of existing facilities.”
“Businesses in our community were asking for faster upstream broadband speeds than our existing ADSL2+ infrastructure could offer,” said Joe Jetensky, director of regulated operations at Blair Telephone in Blair, NE – part of the American Broadband group. “By dropping VDSL2 cards into our existing C7 infrastructure, we were able to address the unique needs of our business customers, including Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) services support, while leveraging the ADSL2+ fallback capabilities in the same cards and not operationally disrupting our existing subscribers.”
The Combo2-24V VDSL2 card on the C7 MSAP is a single-slot, 24-port card that can be deployed in any of the 20 standard line card slots in the more than 25,000 C7s currently deployed throughout North America. Making use of the latest in silicon and processor technologies, its density is the highest in the industry, with 480 ports of VDSL2 and telephone service (POTS) available in a single 8-rack unit (RU) C7 MSAP – or 60 combo VDSL2 ports per RU. The Combo2-24V card is EXA Powered, sharing a common, standards-based Ethernet kernel designed for the access network with a variety of other Calix C7 line cards and E-Series platforms for optimal interoperability as well as deployment and provisioning simplicity. Each Combo2-24V card is port-for-port compatible with existing ADSL2+ cards, facilitating line card upgrade and replacement, and can be deployed in conjunction with any of the other 46 lines cards available on the C7 MSAP. Capable of supporting a variety of digital subscriber line (DSL) standards (G.Lite, ADSL, ADSL2, and ADSL2+) as well as ADSL and VDSL2 port bonding, including non-contiguous port bonding, Calix believes the Combo2-24V offers truly “universal DSL,” where the optimal DSL service delivery technology for virtually any copper deployment scenario can be addressed via one line card.
“The combination of the Combo2-24V card and Release 7.0 software on the C7 marks a watershed moment for Calix customers,” said Kevin Pope, senior vice president of product development at Calix. “Any Calix customer can now deploy one ‘universal DSL’ card that snaps seamlessly into their existing chassis without even changing the fan tray, while at the same time moving to the efficiencies of an all-Ethernet service delivery model. The Combo2-24V provides the bandwidth horsepower and breadth of features to address emerging residential and business broadband service requirements head-on, and we are delighted to see our customers rapidly translate its capabilities into powerful new services for their subscribers.”
