May 29, 2008 -- Farmers Telecommunications Cooperative (FTC), an independent telecommunication services provider based in Rainsville, AL, is using ADC's Next Generation Frame (NGF) platform to deploy fiber to customers in its central office and wire centers in rural northeast Alabama.
FTC, the largest member-owned telecom co-op in Alabama, is carrying out a long-term plan to upgrade its existing network and deliver more bandwidth by deploying fiber to approximately 20,000 subscribers in Dekalb and Jackson counties. The co-op is employing an active Ethernet architecture to deliver advanced broadband services, delivering 100-Mbit/sec access to each customer.
"Active Ethernet offers considerably more bandwidth right out of the gate," comments David Garrett, central office manager for FTC.
Additionally, FTC chose a fully integrated IP/Ethernet-based access platform from ADC for Gigabit Ethernet transport. This enables the co-op to monitor, maintain and troubleshoot all broadband services through one platform.
ADC says that its NGF platform helped FTC to manage increased amounts of fiber as well as limited physical space within its wire centers. The NGF features a small footprint to maximize available space, notes ADC, providing ample trough space for cable and 12 high-density blocks per frame.
FTC, under a tight deadline to build a fiber network for DeKalb County's school system, brought in ADC's field engineers to help implement the first NGF deployments, which connected half of the schools in the county.
"Hands-on training is usually the best kind, and that's exactly what we got from ADC," continues FTC's Garrett. "After that, we were able to do our own NGF design and installation, which saved us time and money. With a target completion date for fiber overlay of 2015, we are confident in ADC's solutions and training as we continue to modernize our network."