SANTA BARBARA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Occam Networks®, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCNW), announced today that Marquette-Adams Telephone Cooperative, a telecommunications provider serving the Adams and Marquette Counties of central Wisconsin, has chosen Occam and its BLC 6000 multiservice access platform (MSAP) to extend its fiber network throughout the southern parts of its service area. A combination of $20 million in second-round Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) grants and loans will fund the fiber deployment to over 4,600 previously-unserved homes and businesses.
“Our goal at Marquette-Adams is to deliver the highest quality of services possible to our subscribers so that they are not handicapped by living in a rural area,” said Jerry Schneider, general manager of Marquette-Adams Telephone Cooperative. “With the new funding, we will routinely deliver 100Mbps access to our customers and will easily scale up to 1Gbps with Active Ethernet solutions from Occam. They have been a true partner throughout this stimulus application process and worked with us to maximize our network value.”
With the broadband stimulus funding, Marquette-Adams will leverage its existing core network and the Occam BLC 6000 to expand its fiber network 500 miles beyond the current serving territory, doubling the network to 1,000 miles in total. The flexibility of the Occam BLC 6000 MSAP and its support of Active Ethernet and GPON will allow Marquette-Adams to reach subscribers regardless of where they live. In addition, by utilizing existing central office and transport equipment from Occam Networks, Marquette-Adams will keep the deployment of new active electronics to a minimum and is estimating an annual electricity and battery savings of $50,000.
“Marquette-Adams’ dedication to true broadband access for an unserved population that also delivers on the National Broadband Plan’s goal of 100Mb speeds is a perfect example of how rural service providers are at the forefront of broadband deployment in the US,” said Juan Vela, Director, Solutions Marketing and Strategy for Occam Networks. “In closely working with Marquette-Adams throughout the application for stimulus funding, it was clear that their approach to extending their network was both innovative and economical, which was well-received by the RUS.”
Marquette-Adams started a six-year transition to an all-fiber infrastructure in 2008 utilizing Occam’s BLC 6000 and a mix of GPON and Active Ethernet technologies. Over 1,000 existing customers are currently served over this network and the remaining 2,400 of Marquette-Adams customers will transition to fiber by 2012. Fiber subscribers are able to access traditional voice and data services, as well as video services such as HD television programming.
