ELLETTSVILLE (Indiana) – Smithville Fiber launched a $4.5 million network upgrade in early November, which will increase its enterprise-level data transport capacity to 100 gigabits per second, according to Darby A. McCarty, president and CEO. “This statewide upgrade reflects Smithville’s ongoing commitment to providing our customers with true 21st century broadband innovation on a fiber-optics platform,” Ms. McCarty said.
The upgrade will improve Smithville capacity at its locations and service hubs in Indianapolis, Bloomington, Columbus, Ellettsville, Jasper and other areas of Indiana.
Smithville currently offers up to 10 gigabit connectivity for its large-scale enterprise customers. The new network upgrade will increase that capacity, and also allow Smithville to begin offering “wave” level connectivity from speeds of 1 Gigabit to 100 Gigabits, with the ability to scale to 200 Gigabits in the future, according to Dave Brodin, Chief Technology Officer at Smithville.
The upgrade, which is expected to go live by the end of 2015, will primarily serve large-scale Smithville enterprise companies and organizations. The new 100 gigabit fiber ring will also carry all of Smithville’s IPTV business and residential television service offerings, as well as some residential Internet network traffic.
Smithville, which recently began using the brand name Smithville Fiber to reflect its long-term commitment to a 21st century fiber platform, is a fiber-optics industry pioneer in Indiana. It began a multi-year $100 million major system fiber overbuild of its older telephone customer base in 2008, and has since developed a number of privately financed new fiber installations in Jasper, Danville and elsewhere. These newer private developments deploy advanced fiber technology that allows the full capacity of gigabit connectivity to both residents and businesses.
“The new 100 gigabit ring will strengthen our core network and give Smithville the capacity for long-term growth at a very high service level,” said Brodin. “To use an increasingly common phrase in our industry, it will truly ‘future-proof’ our primary network and communication platforms.”
Smithville will be deploying technology from Ciena, including Ciena’s 6500 Packet-Optical Platform, equipped with WaveLogic 3 Coherent Optical Processors and integrated switching capabilities, said, Brodin. This Ciena system will provide the scalable capacity to support increased bandwidth demands with the highest levels of quality and survivability.
“Ciena’s technology coupled with other new advances in our network, Smithville will have dramatically increased capacity for a variety of new enterprise-level services,” explained Brodin. “This will include improving our capacity to directly partner or collaborate with other fiber broadband providers and related companies.”
Smithville Fiber’s continuing commitment to fiber-based communications innovation has earned it a Top 100 broadband national ranking several years in a row from the national Broadband Communities magazine review board of experts.
