KIANEWS Knoxville Utilities Board selected LightSpeed Technologies for Nokia IP Core for XGS-PON network
07. 02. 2023 Tuesday / By: Robert Denes / Industrial / Exact time: BST / Print this page
K NOXVILLE, Tennessee USA - Knoxville Utilities Board, the award-winning electric, natural gas, water and wastewater utility, announced that LightSpeed Technologies, Inc., a Nokia partner and system integrator, provides next-generation network solutions for core and middle-mile infrastructure in in support of a multi-million dollar multi-gigabit symmetric passive optical network (XGS-PON) enabling Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) to its more than 478,000 municipal customers. The currently implemented IP Core Network primarily consists of the most modern technologies, Nokia7750 Service Routers. When completed, the XGS-PON network will allow KUB to provide 100% fiber-to-the-home symmetrical broadband Internet access to its customers.
The Knoxville Utilities Board was created by amending the Knoxville City Charter in 1939. As an independent agency of the City of Knoxville, KUB provides electric, natural gas, water and wastewater services to nearly half a million customers in Knoxville and parts of seven surrounding counties. In 2021. December, KUB announced that it will start building its new optical network. Lightspeed has been selected to provide the IP core of the XGS-PON network, which will be delivered in a multi-phase approach.
The first phase involves building the backbone of the fiber optic network, which runs along the existing power lines. The second phase will expand the network deployment to different areas and will continue until fiber optic fiber is deployed throughout KUB's entire electrical service area. Once completed, KUB will offer broadband services to its customers, including standard triple play services including internet, TV and voice.
“KUB believes that broadband services should be available no matter where you live. Partnering with Lightspeed helps bridge the digital divide in the communities we serve,” adds Andrew Hmielewski, Director of KUB Fiber Operations.
"We are grateful to be Knoxville's hometown and look forward to enhancing our service capabilities and continuing to help our community grow in the years to come."
Bridging the digital divide with more affordable broadband solutions is important to local governments in Knoxville, Tennessee and the surrounding areas. According to Broadband Now, Knoxville is the 23rd most connected city in the state of Tennessee. Today, nearly half of Knoxville's population has access to multiple providers, more than 9,000 people do not have access to more than one landline provider, and more than 3,000 people do not have access to a 25 Mbps landline connection.
"We were delighted that KUB selected us to help expand their utility services with state-of-the-art fiber broadband capabilities so that KUB can continue to provide affordable Internet, voice and TV services to their municipal customers," said John Brannon, LightSpeed Technologies CEO.
“Our award-winning management, engineering and operations team brings a wealth of experience and knowledge in XGS-PON deployments to this project. We look forward to working with other utilities and cooperatives to add services and expand the capabilities of their customers.”
LightSpeed's mission is to help customers achieve best-in-class solutions for their networks. Founded in 2001, the company specializes in providing end-to-end network services and support, including network planning and design, installation and integration services, project management, ongoing maintenance and technical support. The Speed of Light team has successfully deployed numerous XGS-PON networks since 2015 and has been named Nokia's Best North American Value Added Reseller five times in the past six years.
Via Link"As Nokia's largest value-added reseller in North America by 2022, we have great confidence in LightSpeed's technical capabilities and experience as an exclusive supplier of Nokia products and services since 2001," said Vikas Trehan, North America Partner Sales Leader at Nokia.
"We are excited to see the positive impact the implementation of the network will have on the Knoxville community and the surrounding counties served by KUB."
