Cox Business puts Calix into its SMB Ethernet plans

Cox Business has proven itself as an agile fiber-based Ethernet service provider not only to medium and large business, but now it's going to bring these capabilities to the SMB market.

Although Cox Business has and will continue to provide Ethernet services via its existing coax plant, it is leveraging Calix's  E7 Ethernet Services Platform (ESAP) and 700GX optical network terminals (ONTs) to deliver fiber-based Ethernet to the SMB segment.

The new deployment is all about service delivery options. By leveraging the Calix platforms, Cox Business will be able to deliver fiber-based Ethernet services over in either a point-to-point Ethernet and PON network configuration.

"Fiber-based Ethernet services deliver efficient, flexible and robust business data transport at a significantly lower cost than competitive solutions," says Dan Estes, executive director of technology at Cox Business in a release. "The modularity of the E7 is well-suited to our operational model, allowing us to pay as we grow as we pull fiber to Fiber Access Nodes deeper in the network and incrementally add new customers."

Just in time for this week's SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, the Cox Business win not only validates cable's interest in PON technology to deliver business-grade Ethernet services. This week CableLabs will release its DPoE (DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON) for Business Services, which will give cable operators a common method of using DOCSIS back office specifications and service concepts to provision and operate EPON-based (Ethernet Passive Optical Network) products when delivering IP and Ethernet services.

But the deployment also benefits Calix as well. Calix, which will enhance its Ethernet holdings through its impending acquisition of Occam Networks, now has a sound proof point from a major cable operator that its fiber-based products have utility outside of tier 2-3 ILEC market segment.

For more:
- see the release
- see the CableLabs release here

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