PCCA Journal 3rd Quarter 2013 - page 46

PCCA Journal|3
rd
Quarter 2013
46
News Briefs
Continued from page 45
such that acceptance of this funding, and the associated obli-
gations, now makes sense for AT&T.
“Last summer, AT&T was in the middle of a strategic re-
view regarding, among other things, its rural properties. The
outcome of that review was Project VIP, a multibillion-dollar
investment in wired and wireless broadband. We decided
to expand our U-verse and IPDSL footprint, as well as our
LTE build. Acceptance of CAF funding will permit a further
expansion of the U-verse/IPDSL footprint to additional loca-
tions that stand to benefit greatly, as they currently have no
fixed broadband service of at least 768 kbps/200 kbps.
“To its credit, the FCC also addressed the uncertainties we
had identified. In particular, they clarified that: (1) CAF Phase
1 recipients will not be subject to any later-adopted broadband
measurement requirements; (2) recipients will be in compli-
ance with the requirement that pricing and usage allowances
be “reasonably comparable” to urban areas, if they offer iden-
tical plans in such areas; (3) acceptance of funding will not
trigger reporting requirements beyond the funded locations;
and (4) obligations will end within three years.
“CAF Phase 1 is now a model of what universal service
must be in the 21st century. It entails clearly-defined obliga-
tions that are limited in time and geographic scope, and to
which providers voluntarily agree in exchange for funding.
The FCC deserves kudos for the design of this program.”
Verizon Successfully
Completes 200G Field Trial
V
erizon announced in August that it has successfully
completed a field trial demonstrating the ability
to double the capacity of a fiber by using 200G
technology on Verizon’s ultra-long-haul production network
between New York and Boston. The trial, which involved
sending traffic approximately 260 miles, proves the ability
to double spectral efficiency while reducing the cost per bit
when compared with 100G technology, currently the fastest
speed available on Verizon’s network. By doubling the spec-
tral efficiency, this advanced technology can help meet the
robust traffic growth from such drivers as online video, LTE
4G, and cloud usage, the company said.
The trial used the same hardware that currently supports
Verizon’s 100G ultra-long-haul traffic, along with pre-produc-
tion software to configure a Ciena Wavelogic3 coherent opti-
cal processor. Coherent optic technology reduces the amount
of amplification necessary to send the optical signal while
increasing the distance it can be sent without additional loss
of signal quality.
The trial used 16QAM (quadrature amplitude modula-
tion) on a single wavelength with the typical 50GHz channel
spacing to increase the amount of traffic carried. The 16QAM
technology doubles the number of bits per wavelength, al-
lowing for twice the data to be encoded when compared with
standard 100G technology.
“Verizon continues to lead the industry in next-generation
technology research and take our network to the next level to
meet future needs of our business and consumer customers,”
said Ed Chan, Verizon vice president of network technology.
“This accomplishment is a key technology differentiator and
lays the groundwork for Verizon to continue to deliver capac-
ity relief in a robust and scalable way.”
For more than a month, the 200G transmission was con-
ducted on a Verizon ultra-long-haul optical system, with no
impact to the live customer traffic also carried on the system,
validating this technology in an operational network.
“Proving greater spectral efficiency and a lower cost per
bit, this trial illustrates the ability to double the traffic carry-
ing capacity of optical channels with no change to the under-
lying infrastructure,” said Francois Locoh-Donou, senior vice
president, Global Products Group, Ciena.
Frontier Files Connect
America Fund Applications
O
n August 20, Frontier Communications announced
that it has applied for more than $71.5 million from
the Connect America Fund (CAF) to support the de-
livery of broadband to an additional 119,000 households. The
funding, if awarded by the Federal Communications Commis-
sion (FCC), will allow Frontier to accelerate broadband avail-
ability in its high-cost, unserved areas across multiple states.
Frontier said its proposal to bring broadband to additional
new locations would be on top of the $2.2 billion the compa-
ny has invested of its own capital over the past three years to
increase broadband access and improve network infrastruc-
ture across Frontier’s territory. Frontier also participated in
the first round of CAF support last year and is in the process
of deploying broadband with those funds to approximately
92,000 new locations. Over the past three years, Frontier mar-
kets have seen an average increase in broadband penetration
from as low as 62 percent to over 90 percent.
Frontier Executive Vice President of External Affairs
Kathleen Abernathy said, “Frontier is a broadband company
focused on delivering the life-changing benefits of broadband
across our entire service area. CAF support is an important
component of Frontier’s continued strategy to expand broad-
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