Calix fiber access customers can sleep soundly because they know their networks are gigabit enabled. Without changing out subscriber electronics, all Calix fiber deployments can support symmetrical gigabit speeds. Calix customers see this capability as a way to protect their investment as bandwidths scale in the future. Our unique auto-detect technology ensures that symmetrical gigabit is available whether the customers deploy GPON or point-to-point gigabit Ethernet.
Recent headlines point to the possibility that gigabit speed services may arrive sooner than expected. Last month, two key announcements from the Gig.U initiative generated a great deal of excitement. The first out of the blocks was the announcement of a partnership between the University of Maine and Calix customer GWI, based in Biddleford, Maine. GWI’s Gigabit Main Street project will serve the University of Maine and two surrounding partner communities, Old Town and Orono.
Three weeks later, Gigabit Squared, a Calix partner in Cleveland, Ohio announced raising $200 million dollars to build Gigabit networks in five or six communities surrounding Gig.U member Universities. The Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program, created by Gigabit Squared, leverages their background in working with One Community in northern Ohio, a very successful public-private partnership that has made the Cleveland area a leader in broadband innovation and applications, particularly in healthcare.
As part of the Gigabit Neighborhood Gateway Program announcement, Gigabit Squared announced a pilot project with Case Western Reserve and a pilot project with Case Western. Expanding upon the visionary work of Lev Gonick, Case Western Reserve’s VP of Information Technology Services and CIO, the Judson at University Circle project will provide a test bed for testing health and wellness, home energy management, public safety and education applications. These services will be offered over the Calix E7-2 platform and indoor 716GE-I ONTs, with the Compass Flow Analyzer providing key usage data on traffic patterns and application utilization.
May’s gigabit momentum was followed by last week’s announcement of the initial U.S. Ignite participants and their projects. U.S. Ignite is a nonprofit initiative to help develop advanced, nest generation applications that require gigabit speeds. These applications will focus on “six areas of national priority: education and workforce development, advanced manufacturing, health, transportation, public safety, and clean energy.” Several Calix customers are included as participants in the initial US Ignite efforts, including Albion Telephone Company of Idaho, Hiawatha Broadband of Minnesota, and Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. Each of these projects is described in more detail in the Fact Sheet issued by the White House last week.
We are excited to be participating in these innovative projects over gigabit networks and believe that it will help Calix customers bring new applications to their subscribers. Come back to the Calix Blog for updates on these projects and emerging applications as they develop.
andrew_freeman
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