Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) has selected Infinera for the metro optical network that supports its broadband service for Bristol, Abingdon and surrounding areas in southwest Virginia.
The Infinera DTN optical networking system, which is based on photonic integrated circuits, combines high-capacity DWDM transport, integrated digital bandwidth management, and GMPLS-powered service intelligence in a single platform.
BVU is a 64-year-old, city-owned utility that provides electricity, water and fiber-optic broadband services to a 125 square mile area, including the city of Bristol. It began to offer a fiber-based triple-play package in 2003 to provide residents a high-speed broadband option. The network includes a 250-mile fiber backbone. Consumers can choose services that range from 2mbps up to 16mbps. Business customers can purchase multi-gigabit services including Internet, transparent LAN, and high-capacity local access loops.
BVU needed a system that could respond quickly to spikes in demand and customer growth. Infinera’s digital architecture enables BVU to add large chunks of capacity quickly and easily. Furthermore, Infinera’s IQ network operating system uses advanced software intelligence to configure and provision wavelengths and set up circuits, keeping operating costs low.
In addition, Infinera’s Digital ROADM architecture enables the network to be reconfigured in software in response to changing traffic patterns.
“Infinera’s simplicity, flexibility, and raw capacity have played an important role in the services we offer our customers. It has been very valuable in helping us deliver services to existing commercial customers, and compete effectively for economic development projects within the state of Virginia,” said Mark Lane, BVU’s chief technical officer.
BVU is one of the few public utilities in the United States that has built a fiber-to-the-premises network offering the triple play of telephone, television and broadband Internet services. The city of Bristol, Va., recently was named one of the Top Seven “most intelligent communities” worldwide by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF), an independent think tank that studies economic and social developments for the 21st century.
