When we embarked on a multimillion-dollar circuit-to-packet total network migration, little did we know we were ushering in a "watershed moment in the industry's acceptance of next-generation switching technology," as one analyst has described our project.
From our corner of Arizona, the rationale for moving to packet-based switching was clear: Running a network based on aging switches represented a significant cost in our operations and lacked flexibility when it came to introducing new services. This was important to us. Despite being a telecommunications cooperative, we also operate a competitive division with big plans for the future.
Valley Telephone was established in 1962 as a cooperative, which means that the profits we make are distributed to our members, the customers. We have always been proud of our commitment to bring high-quality communications to as many of our local communities as possible, so we were pleased when, in 1995, we had the opportunity to grow by acquiring Copper Valley Telephone from US West.
More recently, we established a CLEC division, Valley Connections, and now Valley TeleCom Group is providing service to more than 10,000 customers in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.
Toward the end of 2004, we realized that we were facing a number of technology challenges. On the one hand, our existing legacy Nortel DMS-10s were a drain on our resources, with continual expensive upgrades required – the next big one being for CALEA (Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act) compliance. On the other hand, we were looking to grow Valley Connections with two new exchanges and introduce new services over a FTTH network.
We also were aware of the greater industry trends. For example, according to Gartner Inc., a research and advisory firm, in “Gartner's Top Predictions for 2006 and Beyond” (Nov. 28, 2005, by Daryl C. Plummer, Anne-Marie Roussel, Leslie Fiering et al), by 2010, 30 percent of U.S. homes will use only cellular or Internet telephony.
All these considerations pointed in one direction, so we decided to embark down the path of migrating to an entirely packet-based network with softswitches and IP-based access equipment. After a lot of research into various technology options, we settled on MetaSwitch for the Class 5 softswitch and applications; Occam Networks Inc. for broadband loop carriers; and Wave7 Optics for the FTTH equipment. All the selected vendors had proven deployments we could visit, supported native IP interfaces and fit well into our existing network, allowing us to migrate smoothly over time. While there were alternative options (including continuing to upgrade our DMS-10s), they all either were too rooted in legacy TDM technologies, or simply not designed for the scale of our rural network.
We started the deployment in mid-2005 and are now in the process of migrating traffic onto a packet-based network. The great thing about the MetaSwitch platform is that we can move at our own pace: since they support both TDM and VoIP protocols, allowing us to deploy alongside our existing equipment, we can upgrade the network one piece at a time. The other thing we like is that we can introduce new services, such as a Web interface for configuring services straight away to our existing POTS customers. We expect this to increase our revenue in-region, and to accelerate momentum for our CLEC division.
We anticipate the project, which was funded partially with RUS loans, will pay for itself within 18 months through network efficiencies, revenue from new services, and the avoidance of maintenance and upgrade fees on the decommissioned legacy switches.
Installation specifics aside, we think we’re ahead of the adoption curve and in line with leading analyst projections about softswitching and VoIP. This from an industry analyst who follows the VoIP and packet-switching markets closely: "Although early adopters such as Sprint and Verizon have committed to widescale softswitch deployment, Valley TeleCom may be one of the only U.S. carriers to have actually replaced every single legacy switch in its networks to support both local and long-distance services," said Teresa Mastrangelo, principal analyst with broadbandtrends.com, an independent market research and consulting firm specializing in the coverage of broadband infrastructure and services. "Valley's adoption of MetaSwitch therefore represents a watershed moment in the industry's acceptance of next-generation switching technology, reflecting a trend for carriers to replace their entire networks at once rather than a switch at a time."
Our company mission is to bring the most advanced services to rural customers. As Valley TeleCom continues to innovate, our rural subscribers will reap the benefits of major urban telecommunications capabilities. Features such as voice, video and data over a single IP connection lowers their costs and increases their ease of use. And MetaSwitch, Occam and Wave7 are and will continue to be key elements in our forward-looking technology mix.
Chanse Bruns is the network manager at Valley TeleCom Group. He can be reached at
chanse.bruns@vtc.net
.
Broadbandtrends.com
www.broadbandtrends.com
Gartner Inc.
www.gartner.com
MetaSwitch
www.metaswitch.com
Occam Networks Inc.
www.occamnetworks.com
Valley TeleCom Group
www.vtc.net
Wave7 Optics www.wave7optics.com
