With a commitment to spend $20 million on expanding its fiber network, it's clear that fiber is a big part of Windstream's Ethernet push into retail and wholesale customers, but the ILEC is not turning its back on leveraging its ubiquitous copper network.
To wit, the fifth-largest U.S. ILEC has deployed Hatteras Networks' HN6100 to deliver Ethernet over Copper (EoC) and Ethernet over TDM (EoTDM) network infrastructure. Hatteras claims that the HN6100 can deliver up to 40 Gbps of bandwidth on bonded copper or available fiber.
Available in more than 1,000 of its exchanges covering about 98 percent of its ILEC territory, it's safe to say that Windstream has carved out a sizeable niche with its Ethernet Business Services offerings.
While its deployment with Hatteras is new, Windstream's movement in providing EoC and EoTDM services isn't. In late 2007, the independent ILEC began rolling out EoC in its Nebraska and Kentucky markets to extend its ConnectStream virtual LAN services and EIA services over its copper network infrastructure to bridge the gap between traditional T1 access and fiber-based Ethernet services. EoC is not just about larger businesses alone for Windstream either. Last January, Windstream extended its EoC service to SMBs via its Ethernet Internet Access service.
For more:
- see the release here (pdf)
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