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Lumos will use STL's fiber optic tech to help meet its fiber deployment goals in three states
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STL last year opened its first U.S.-based fiber optic plant in South Carolina
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Fiber optic vendors are moving their operations stateside to help ISPs prep for the BEAD program
Well, that didn't take long. STL is already cashing in on a decision to bring its fiber manufacturing stateside, striking a deal to supply cables to regional ISP Lumos.
In addition to fiber, STL will supply Lumos with its Opto-bolt product, a pre-connectorized drop cable designed to reduce installation time by “de-skilling field installation, while bringing modularity into the network design,” according to Lumos Chief Network Officer David Smith.
Essentially, STL is providing Lumos a way to reduce fiber deployment costs by “increasing the efficiencies of an installation along with reduced material usage," he claimed.
Lumos provides fiber internet to more than 300,000 homes and businesses in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, with plans to reach 1 million fiber passings by 2026. The company is undertaking engineering and construction in 18 markets within those three states, Smith noted.
It helps STL and Lumos are neighbors. Though STL is headquartered in India, it invested $56 million to open its first U.S.-based fiber optic plant in Lugoff, South Carolina (dubbed the Palmetto Plant).
STL Managing Director Ankit Agarwal told Fierce in September the Lugoff facility is not only for making more product but also to help operators tackle the skills shortage in the broadband industry. Its pre-connectorized solutions “can save anywhere between 30-40% of the installation time.”
In related news, South Carolina’s broadband office recently awarded Lumos $1.2 million in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. Lumos will use the money, along with over $800,000 in private capital, to expand its network in Spartanburg County.
Fiber vendors onshore operations
STL is one of a number of fiber optic vendors that’s moved manufacturing stateside, as operators gear up to bid for Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) funding.
Vecima just teamed up with Mara Technologies to manufacture its SF-4X Optical Line Terminals (OLTs) in Michigan. CommScope, Corning and Nokia have also unveiled expanded manufacturing plans in the last year.
Dell’Oro analyst Jeff Heynen said BEAD projects will generate additional fiber demands “beyond what is already being supplied to tier 1 operators, mobile operators and MSOs for their own fiber initiatives.”
“Service providers of all size are going to need a healthy ecosystem of fiber cabling providers to make sure there is enough supply so that their project timelines can be met,” he concluded.