For example, AT&T planned to build fiber to 3 million homes in 2021, but a couple of months ago, it estimated it would get to only around 2.5 million, mainly due to supply chain issues. This is not a huge miss for AT&T, but it is still half a million homes, and with today’s growing remote workforce, there has never been a more vital need for reliable, high-speed internet.

New funding and training programs offer hope that supply chain and labor issues won’t stall fiber rollouts forever.

Rising Costs, Components Backlog
Supply chain woes currently are among the most frustrating roadblocks to fiber builds, leading to a nasty trickle-down effect. Rising costs of everything from meat to gasoline have plagued the U.S. over the last 18 months. The telco industry is not exempt. It starts with rising oil prices, which raises gas prices, which leads to higher freight and shipping costs for materials to make equipment. Those materials cannot be produced or assembled because of the increased wage demands and shortage of workers needed to do everything from get materials off docks to assemble and install fiber infrastructure.

The apparent shortage in chipsets, semiconductors and other components creates a backlog of work and delays in meeting buildout goals. The materials that make up components don’t make it to the manufacturers and therefore can’t be built. To remedy this, service providers, or the demand side, might consider looking to nontraditional suppliers that may be able to provide necessary components more quickly than their usual vendors. The vendors, or the supply-side, in turn should consider limiting part numbers.

Vendors can alleviate the backlog by providing parts or supplies that can scale (up or down) rather than satisfy a small or niche application. This will help consolidate inventory and materials, reducing time to market and leading to fewer supply failure points. For example, historically, tools that connect fibers came in a wide variety of types and sizes, in some cases to fit a service provider’s specific needs. Phasing out legacy tools and equipment will force service providers to upgrade toward more modern architectures and network components and potentially keep them on track with deployments.

Skilled Labor Shortages
The broadband industry is experiencing a significant labor shortage, but not because of the pandemic. The need is due to the lack of skilled workers to install fiber. It takes people to connect threads and perform installations, and without them, there’s a real possibility that the speed of rollouts will continue to be slow in the future.

New bills and government programs, such as the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, COVID-19 relief as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, and the newly passed $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill, of which $65 billion is slated for broadband, will create thousands of jobs.

In addition, community colleges and veterans training institutions are working to provide courses that bring qualified individuals to the market, providing service providers and contractors with skilled labor. New training programs, such as the Fiber Broadband Association’s OpTIC Fiber Optic Technician certification course, can help fill the gap.

Lack of materials and labor is slowing down the speed of broadband deployment. It is a vicious cycle, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel. The newly passed infrastructure bill, state initiatives and a strong nationwide focus on workforce development offer hope for a turnaround that will make broadband more accessible to more people across the U.S.

To read this article on Broadband Communities, visit: https://www.bbcmag.com/community-broadband/the-vicious-cycle-of-the-supply-chain-in-fiber-broadband-is-an-end-in-sight. 

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

Radisys has been working with Telefonica on field trials of our Connect Open Broadband technology in Brazil to demonstrate the benefits of open software and white box hardware. This is the first implementation of open broadband architectures in Brazil, and we are very happy with the results to date. To outline the results of this trial, Telefonica and Radisys have collaborated on a white paper that outlines the deployment of Radisys’ Open Connect Broadband portfolio including the first field trial of a truly open whitebox optical line terminal (OLT) solution.

Architected for broad interoperability

Radisys provided an architecture that addressed Telefonica’s network needs and provided it with an upgrade path as it migrates to XGS-PON that offers faster speeds, more capacity, and being able to serve more customers, both business and residential. Connect Open Broadband allows service providers to implement a programmatic phase-in of new equipment versus a complete rip and replace as their network needs and technology change.

Radisys is committed to tightly integrated Open Networking Foundation (ONF) and Broadband Forum (BBF) community-defined open interfaces. For example, while many “whitebox OLT” solutions claim to be open, they are only open to a certain number of vendors’ PON control and management products. Radisys’ Connect Open Broadband OLTs are truly open whitebox OLTs and have been certified by the ONF to demonstrate interoperability with open source VOLTHA (Virtual OLT Hardware Abstraction). The trial has the Connect Broadband Access Controller (CBAC), a VOLTHA based PON control and management software, running on the Whitebox OLT to ease the introduction without affecting the existing network operations.

In the Brazilian trials, Telefonica has deployed its own gateway units at the customers’ premises. Because Radisys’ hardware is an open whitebox OLT, service providers can mix and match solutions in their networks without experiencing interoperability issues. Operators can change out hardware and install another vendor’s whitebox OLTs without having to worry about downtime. Additionally, provisioning and updates can be done via Radisys Management System (RMS), an element management system (EMS), being pushed out from a central location like a data center, eliminating the need to physically do the work in the field.

Moving to the cloud

One of the major benefits of open disaggregated broadband solutions is the ability to move both the PON network control and management to the cloud. Connect Open Broadband abstracts functions from proprietary black boxes to software running on open whitebox solutions and allows service providers to disaggregate their networks and reduce costs through software-defined network control. 

The RMS allows service providers to move their central office functions to the cloud. By introducing virtualization to these central office functions, RMS enables service providers to integrate their Operations Support Systems (OSS), Business Support Systems (BSS), and multi-vendor network components into a single web-based interface for simplified operations and optimal efficiency. Because it can be cloud-based, RMS easily scales to maintain high-performance levels even as the number of network events increases.

Radisys Connect Broadband Access Controller (CBAC) transforms traditional broadband access (OLT) into a virtualized form (vOLT), which allows operators to drastically reduce their central office capital and operating costs. Its microservices architecture and cloud-native design allow service providers to enable on-demand scaling and deployment agility and simplify network operations with end-to-end orchestration for a seamless customer experience.  

Adaptable hardware

One of the ways Radisys helps simplify network operation costs is by offering hardware that conforms to a number of open standards. Radisys offers an intelligent, scalable and secure software-defined PON distribution based on the Open Networking Foundation’s (ONF) SEBA reference platform and enhanced with Radisys innovation. This architecture also allows for a seamless introduction of the Broadband Forum’s OB-BAA architecture by conforming to the standard YANG models with the Northbound Interface (NBI).

As part of the trials, Telefonica installed Radisys’ RLT1600X OLT, an ONF Certified “Any-PON” solution that will allow it to support both G-PON and XGS-PON without the need to change out or upgrade the PON hardware and simplify network operations cost-effectively. The Any-PON solutions allow operators to switch from G-PON to XGS-PON on a port-by-port basis, ensuring they have the infrastructure in place.

Radisys’ Connect Open Broadband portfolio also features a whitebox Combo PON OLT that supports both G-PON and XGS-PON within the same PON port of the OLT. The whitebox OLTs are based on the ONF’s VOLTHA/SEBA reference architecture and are field hardened and scaled for commercial deployments today. This architecture provides a compact fixed-form factor solution with high port densities to deliver data center-driven cost efficiencies and simplify deployments.

Learn more about Connect Open Broadband Portfolio

Read the full Telefonica and Radisys white paper to learn how Radisys Connect Open Broadband portfolio is capable of supporting any combination of PON technology and helps service providers and municipalities make the transition from vendor-specific proprietary black box solutions to virtualized, fully programmable software working with white box hardware-based network elements.

Radisys Connect Open Broadband portfolio was recently selected as the winner in the Innovation in Network Technology category for the 10th Annual 2021 Pipeline Innovation Awards. Connect Open Broadband was selected as the winner by a panel of key stakeholders from top service provider, analyst, and financial institutions from Pipeline’s Industry Advisory Board.

Radisys remains committed to providing service providers with the best open solutions that deliver flexible deployment options, open network designs, and microservices architectures. To learn more, visit https://www.radisys.com/connect/connectopenbroadband.

Rajesh Chundury, Vice President, Customer Solutions 

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

“We are beyond excited for Bob, our company and our clients,” noted Mandelker, who will remain with Harrison Edwards in a consultative role. “He is the right person at the right time to lead Harrison Edwards into the future.” She noted that Bob “has the perfect combination of qualities” in a leader. “First, he has tremendous vision for the future, he spots trends early and capitalizes on every opportunity. Second, he has a real passion for excellence and teambuilding. Keeping a sharp eye on providing a great client experience also is central to his thinking.”

As CEO and Managing Partner, Knight will direct the company as it expands its key sectors which include: broadband/wireless, real estate/economic development, government relations, healthcare, crisis communications and entertainment. Since its founding in 1987, Harrison Edwards, Inc. has continually evolved into a dynamic, nimble and award-winning integrated marketing agency. The Armonk-based firm is well-known for its effective marketing campaigns, working with media on the local, regional, and national levels, and developing incisive strategies for its clients. In 2021, the firm received the dual designation as Facebook Business Partner and Google Partner.

Knight commented: “I’m thrilled to assume the leadership role at Harrison Edwards and am equally excited for the many opportunities ahead for our firm and in our industry. Our people are dynamic and smart, and I’m fully dedicated to bringing out the best in each of them and in every one of our clients. It’s a privilege to build upon Harrison Edwards’ strategic foundation, forged by Carolyn Mandelker over the past 35 years, and to ensure the agency’s continued success.”

Bob Knight joined Harrison Edwards in 2005. He was named COO/Executive Vice President in 2015 and became Partner in 2018. He is widely considered the nation’s leading expert in community and stakeholder engagement for fiber-broadband projects and works with clients in the public and private sector to advance high-speed connectivity. In the public sector, he is serving his sixth term as an Economic and Community Development Commissioner, Town of Ridgefield, Connecticut. He also serves Ridgefield’s Deputy Recovery Coordinator and sits on the State of Connecticut Region 5 (Pandemic) Long-Term Recovery Committee for Business and Jobs. He also is a state committee member of the Regional Plan Association of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Knight is co-chair of the Fiber Broadband Association’s Public Officials Group in Washington, DC, representing 150+ cities, towns and counties across 33 states; a founding member of the National Fiber Coalition; and is a 2021 Chairman of the Broadband Communities Summit in Houston, TX. He is a past Board Chair of the Westchester Coalition for the Hungry and Homeless and served as Board Vice President for the Public Relations Society of America’s Westchester/Fairfield Chapter.

Earlier in his career, Bob was a top-rated radio air personality and programmer. Notably, in 2000, he replaced Ryan Seacrest at K101 in San Francisco, then served as Director of Operations and Programming for NextMedia Chicago where he co-hosted “The Morning Beat with Jeff and Bobby.” A Westchester native, Bob now lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut with his wife and two school-aged children. 

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

Legislation approved by the U.S. Senate last week provides $128,245,250 for Maine from the American Rescue Plan’s Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. In addition to the funding for broadband, Maine’s five indigenous tribes will receive $167,000 under the same legislation.

Combined with the broadband funds Maine is projected to receive from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that’s currently before the U.S. House of Representatives, the state is in line to receive hundreds of millions of dollars to boost affordable high-speed broadband access and narrow Maine’s digital divide, the office of U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said in a news release Friday.

In a separate announcement, Gov. Janet Mills said: “This pandemic has laid bare the dire need for strong connectivity in every part of Maine, and this federal funding will be a tremendous boon to our efforts to expand affordable, high-speed Internet across the state.”

“With this federal funding, we will redouble our efforts to ensure that all Maine people and Maine businesses, regardless of zip code, are able to utilize the vital tool that is broadband to improve their lives and grow our economy.”

The funds will be used by the Maine Connectivity Authority, a new quasi-independent agency tasked with making high-speed Internet service available throughout the state.

‘Game changing for Maine’
Joshua Broder, CEO of Tilson, a Portland-based network deployment and IT professional services provider with a national footprint, told Mainebiz he expects the funding to have a huge impact in Maine.

“This federal broadband funding will be game changing for rural Maine, and will bring globally competitive broadband to tens of thousands of Mainers,” said Broder, who was honored as a Mainebiz Business Leader of the Year in 2018. “This is foundational for us building a modern economy and connecting all of us to education, work and health care.”

King, who co-chairs the Senate Broadband Caucus said the $128 million for broadband will create new opportunities for people throughout Maine, especially in rural areas.

“It is clear as day that a high-speed, affordable broadband connection is fundamental to participating in the 21st century economy,” he said. “Too many Maine families have been forced to go without that vital tool — watching economic opportunities disappear, struggling to access their education and missing on convenient ways to access critical health care.”

 “These American Rescue Funds, combined with the investments included in the Senate’s bipartisan infrastructure deal, are a major step towards ensuring that every Maine person — regardless of where they live — can access the opportunities provided by a broadband connection. My colleagues and I worked hard to include these funds in the American Rescue Plan, and I’m glad to see the bill will continue to meet the needs of Maine people.”

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

As network operators look to deploy fiber to support a wider range of applications and deployment scenarios, the FieldSmart FiberFlex 3000 all-in-one design integrates fiber, power, and active equipment. The flexible design makes it the ideal active cabinet to help operators close the digital divide by supporting remote optical line terminals (OLTs) with passive optical network (PON) distribution, wireless base stations with fiber backhaul aggregation, and active network equipment with back-up power needs. The FiberFlex 3000 enables many emerging applications such as Smart City IoT, wireless 5G ORAN, and Metro Edge services that require powered elements such as compute processors, servers, and fiber aggregation be placed closer to the end users.

“Fiber deployments are scaling at record pace as operators look to leverage demand for the services and applications that are driving the economy forward,” said Nate Jacobsen, Product Manager for Outside Plant Products at Clearfield. “There is no “one size fits all” solution but the FiberFlex 3000 provides the density, scalability and flexibility service providers need so they can target any application, streamline service introduction and reach as many subscribers as possible.”

The FiberFlex 3000 features a 19- or 23-inch vertical equipment frame to provide 36 rack units (RU) for active electronics and passive equipment with no batteries, 30RU with one string of batteries, or 20RU with two strings of batteries. Measuring 72”H x 30”W x 36”D, this multi-use enclosure makes it easy to drop into any pad or vault mount option and accommodates both traditional telco equipment (12” depth) and server blades (30” depth) with HVAC, heat exchanger or direct air cooling options. Each FieldSmart FiberFlex 3000 provides up to 864 internal fiber distribution ports for subscriber PON deployments, along with complementary splitter capacity, and accepts local AC power via the integrated AC Load Center equipped with a generator plug for back-up power. True to Clearfield’s craft-friendly modular designs, the open racks and cable entry ports with a removable plate facilitate ease of installation and field expansion.

More information on Clearfield’s FieldSmart FiberFlex 3000 can be found in this introductory video, the associated data sheet or at www.seeclearfield.com.

XXX

About Clearfield, Inc.

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD) designs, manufactures and distributes fiber optic management, protection and delivery products for communications networks. Our “fiber to anywhere” platform serves the unique requirements of leading incumbent local exchange carriers (traditional carriers), competitive local exchange carriers (alternative carriers), and MSO/cable TV companies, while also catering to the broadband needs of the utility/municipality, enterprise, data center and military markets.  Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield deploys more than a million fiber ports each year. For more information, visit www.SeeClearfield.com.

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

Mosaic One correlates network events and insights to provide service providers with unique perspectives into subscribers’ usage behavior and devices. The new applications enable carriers, regional service providers, altnets and utilities to benefit from cloud-delivered SaaS capabilities that are uniquely designed for their specific teams:

• Mosaic One Promote: Marketers can boost ARPU and minimize churn by precisely targeting subscribers with the right offers at the right time on email, mobile and/or social channels.
• Mosaic One Care: Customer success teams can troubleshoot subscribers’ broadband connections end to end from the access network all the way down to end users’ handheld devices, TVs or laptops, with all the necessary information available to them in seconds, providing premium customer experiences.
• Mosaic One Operate: Operations teams can proactively increase uptime, plan capacity and minimize truck roll costs with plug-n-play provisioning capabilities.

“Mosaic One allows us to offer differentiated services across our residential and business broadband services,” said Joey Garner, Executive Vice President at TEC. “It enables us to leverage subscriber intelligence to create premium managed Wi-Fi offerings and better serve our customers.”

“The expansion of Mosaic One is a testament to our long-term vision of empowering service providers to deliver amazing broadband experiences,” said Robert Conger, Senior Vice President of Technology and Strategy at ADTRAN. “These new applications expand our end-to-end broadband access solutions offer, making it a complete suite of tools not available anywhere else in the market.”

To learn more about Mosaic One and its new applications, please visit adtran.com/Mosaic-One.

About ADTRAN
ADTRAN, Inc. is a leading global provider of open, disaggregated networking and communications solutions that enable voice, data, video and internet communications across any network infrastructure. From the cloud edge to the subscriber edge, ADTRAN empowers communications service providers around the world to manage and scale services that connect people, places and things. ADTRAN solutions are currently in use by service providers, private enterprises, government organizations and millions of individual users worldwide. Find more at www.adtran.com, Linkedin and Twitter.

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

While other broadband technologies, including fixed wireless and satellite, will also play key roles in bridging the digital divide and connecting increasing more homes and businesses, fiber has been a dominant force by offering higher speeds, easy upgrades, and lower latency. In fact, the number of U.S. homes passed by all-fiber networks now exceeds 50.6 million; with more than 22.5 million homes connected to all-fiber networks for at least one service (internet, television, or telephone). The 2021 North American forecast predicts a U.S. fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) investment of more than $60 billion in the next five years!

As we emerge from a year of lockdowns and isolation, Alianza is excited to hit the road again for a conference dedicated to helping accelerate the deployment of fiber broadband. Join us at Fiber Connect 2021 next week. We have new customers to announce, new full-stack cloud communication solutions to share, and data to how service provides can providers roll out residential and business VoIP services quickly, easily, and profitably — while maintaining full control over network usage, branding, pricing, and customer relationships.

Alianza Accelerates Network Monetization for Fiber Broadband Service Providers

Despite a lack of travel and events, 2020 was one of Alianza’s strongest years for adding new customers, many who sought an established cloud communications provider to partner with in order to expand their customer base and grow beyond what rural broadband builds are capable of.

By cloud sourcing VoIP services, providers can accelerate time-to market, avoid lopsided business models with high upfront costs and long paybacks, and free up valuable resources to focus on strategic endeavors.

Unlike conventional wholesale VoIP solutions, our full-stack cloud communications platform leverages the latest virtualization technology, bringing all the benefits of the cloud — web scalability, unrivaled service agility, and a pay-as-you-grow model — to your network. All the VoIP network elements that your business would normally need to buy, build and operate are virtualized, securely hosted in the cloud, and managed by Alianza.

As we prepare for Fiber Connect 2021 next week, we are announcing six new fiber broadband ISPs as customers including electric cooperatives, a municipality, and community owned network:

1. Beacon Broadband. A wholly owned subsidiary of Coos-Curry Electric Cooperative in Oregon is launching broadband, TV, and phone service to communities on the southern Oregon coast. They specialize in delivering High Speed Wireless broadband to homes and businesses to areas that have little or no broadband access.
2. Ciello. The ISP powered by San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative has been delivering a broadband portfolio, including phone services, to the Valley’s rural communities since 2015.
3. DE Fastlink. Launched this year, the ISP division of Dixie Electric in Mississippi is bringing broadband and phone to more than 30,000 homes and businesses in its seven-county service area in Mississippi.
4. GigabitNow. With fiber broadband in communities in California, Oregon, Arizona, Washington, and Massachusetts, this ISP ditched its switch and upgraded their VoIP solution with our cloud to deliver a full communications suite to its residential and business customers. GigabitNow offers unique customized fiber internet solutions for cities, communities, multi-tenant buildings, and businesses of all sizes.
5. Hood River Electric Cooperative. Serving its members in Oregon with fixed wireless and fiber broadband for nearly two decades, the co-op is now adding VoIP services.
6. TCLPfiber. Traverse City Light & Power’s ISP launch last year with broadband and phone services and is building out to more areas of the city in the next few years.

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

As the company enters a new phase of growth, Indigo has also unveiled a refreshed brand as of 14th June 2021, which includes changing the brand name of the company to Indigo from Indigo Telecom Group.  This includes a full integration of Indigo’s subsidiary, 4site, into the Indigo brand. This rebrand reflects the increased number of partnerships the company has forged with hyperscalers, enterprises and data centres.

The refreshed Indigo brand includes a new tagline “Engineering a Digital Future” in reference to Indigo’s position as a global leader in digital infrastructure. The new brand reflects Indigo’s focus on capitalising on global market opportunities around Data Centres, Fibre to the Home (FTTH), Wireless/5G, Digitisation and Telco Network Services.

ADVA, a leading provider of open networking technology for cloud and mobile connectivity, recently signed up to Indigo’s NOC and FLM services. Roy Friend, Service Business Manager, ADVA, said: “At ADVA, we work directly with our customers to develop network solutions that enable them to grow their business and seize new opportunities. One of the keys to our success here is working with partners that can help us exceed expectations. That’s why we chose Indigo to help us deliver unbeatable support services. With its proven NOC and FLM Service and excellent track record in meeting SLAs, Indigo is a partner that we can trust.”

Led by new CEO Ian Duggan, Indigo continues to expand internationally at pace with services available in 90 countries. From May this year, Indigo has bolstered its presence in the APAC region by building its on-the-ground team and committing to revenue growth over the course of 2021 and beyond. To cater for increased demand for fibre, 5G and data centre engineering services, Indigo also scaled up operations in Germany and the USA.  In May this year Mike Maziarka joined the company as Sales Operations Manager for the USA to accelerate the growth the company is experiencing in the region and to focus on securing multinational customers across the USA.

Kevin Taylor MBE, Executive Chairman, Indigo: “The Indigo board is pleased to announce that the 4site brand will now be fully integrated into the Indigo brand. We are also taking the opportunity to refresh the Indigo Telecom Group brand to align with the next chapter of our growth. With a global footprint in over 90 countries and as partner to most of the world’s top brands, we pair dynamism and diligence, realising and maximising the value of connectivity from end to end, from present to future.

This brand refresh more accurately reflects this vision to accelerate the limitless possibilities of global connectivity enhancing performance now and into the future.”

Ian Duggan, CEO, Indigo, said: “The growth figures are hugely encouraging for our business and it is testament to the entire team who have worked incredibly hard despite the challenges we’ve all faced over the last year. For Indigo, this next phase will certainly be our most challenging – but one we’re excited to enter. As a business, a huge reason why we’re successful is the people we have. Having the best talent that is diverse and vibrant is also a key factor for us as we grow our footprint internationally. In addition, our commitment to the principles of ESG is at the forefront of everything we do.”

Indigo’s vision is to design, build and support the world’s global digital infrastructure, delivering successful outcomes for customers and partners, whilst building great careers for its people.

Today, Indigo has access to over 1,000 engineers globally supporting data centres, fibre, wireless and network services. In January, the company announced plans to hire 100 people to its Fibre Centre of Excellence in Limerick, Ireland. In 2020 alone, Indigo welcomed 140 people to the team.

For more information, visit www.indigotg.com.

About Indigo

Indigo provides design, build and support engineering services to fixed and mobile carriers, and the enterprise sector since 1997.

Indigo collaborate, challenge, research, and develop to enable our customers to stay ahead of emerging and expanding technologies. With the brightest minds and leading technical insights in the business, we design to innovate, build to evolve, and support to enhance the performance of digital infrastructure better, faster, and more safely than any other player in the market.

With a global footprint in over 90 countries and as a partner to most of the world’s top brands, we pair dynamism and diligence, realising and maximising the value of connectivity from end to end, from present to future. By creating flexible and future-focused digital foundations, our customers are adapting and scaling at pace. We are relentless in our pursuit of innovation empowering our customers to deliver richer experiences for their businesses and more meaningful connections for their customers.

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

More than 14,000 students have enrolled, who together with their household members, represent more than 25,000 people who now have internet access through HCS EdConnect.  Students who are on free or reduced lunch or whose families receive SNAP benefits are eligible for the program, which installs internet service with at least 100 Mbps from EPB in each qualifying child’s home. 

“We love it, we don’t have to worry about the internet anymore,” said Kimberly Rios-Gonzalez, Hamilton County Schools parent and HCS EdConnect participant. “My daughter no longer worries about turning her work in on time. I can connect my phone and talk to my mom and stay on there for hours — the little things rank up to something huge.” 

“The impact of HCS EdConnect goes far beyond the benefits it provides for students,” said Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger. “The whole family can use the internet to access online services, work remotely, seek employment, and access entertainment.” 

Chattanooga is one of a handful of leaders in the United States – including Chicago, Detroit, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C. – that have launched a program in the last year aimed at closing the digital divide. Chattanooga is taking the most comprehensive approach with a commitment to continuing the program for at least 10 years while providing a connection at least twice as fast as typical educational access offerings from other providers with symmetrical speeds (same speed for uploads and downloads) and no data caps. Additionally, while other programs are heavily dependent on WiFi hotspots, which can be unreliable, HCS EdConnect delivers a fast and highly dependable fiber optic connection to the vast majority of participants, relying on hotspots for only six percent of students who live in areas that EPB cannot serve, as well as students who do not have a permanent address. 

HCS EdConnect has been recognized by, among others, Bloomberg, U.S. News & World Report, and Vox, as a model program. The program also has the chance to deepen our understanding of how internet access can impact individual learning outcomes and the local economy, as program partners have engaged researchers from Boston College to study the impact of HCS EdConnect. 

“We are showing the rest of the country what it looks like to close the digital divide in education,” said Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly. “HCS EdConnect is a comprehensive solution, and since the partners have made a 10 year commitment to the program, this will be a lasting solution.”  

The digital divide existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, but the health crisis highlighted how severe the consequences of the digital divide can be. Initially, remote learning was extremely challenging, if not impossible, for a sizable portion of Hamilton County Schools students. However, HCS EdConnect, coupled with other efforts such as the rapid expansion of EPB public WiFi access points, improved learning for students. 

“For the next decade and hopefully beyond, HCS EdConnect will provide high-speed internet access to nearly 30,000 economically disadvantaged students as well as their families, and I’m proud to be part of a community who prioritized closing the digital divide in the midst of global pandemic” said Dr. Bryan Johnson, superintendent of Hamilton County Schools. “Private and public partnership was a critical part of this program being possible and we will continue to seek community partners who can join us in helping all children thrive and experience a future without limits.”

HCS EdConnect is possible because EPB deployed a ubiquitous, community-wide fiber optic network in 2010. As a result of this in-place infrastructure which passes every premise, the new program is able to provide the final link in delivering the service both quickly and affordably. 

Funding partners have provided $7.9 million to cover upfront infrastructure costs for the program including additional equipment, fiber optic drops and wireless routers.  HCS EdConnect is a public-private partnership made possible through support and engagement from Hamilton County, Hamilton County Schools, the City of Chattanooga, EPB, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee, The Benwood Foundation, the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga, the Footprint Foundation, The Maclellan Foundation, Lyndhurst Foundation, private donors, and CARES funding from the State of Tennessee.

Each year, eligible students will be able to opt into the program, and their families will stay connected year-round, including summers, for at least 10 years or until the child is no longer enrolled in Hamilton County Schools. 

“The internet is no longer a luxury, but a necessity of modern life,” said Deb Socia, president of The Enterprise Center, which has been integral in coordinating HCS EdConnect. “Every child gets a schoolbook and when the internet is the medium for learning, every child must have access.” 

“HCS EdConnect is one of the most exciting ways Chattanooga’s community-wide fiber optic network benefits the people we serve and helps enhance our area’s quality of life,” said EPB President & CEO David Wade. “HCS EdConnect leverages our smart infrastructure to support students and their families, as well as the local economy.”

Hamilton County Schools, The Enterprise Center, and EPB continue to work with their partners to add even more eligible families to the program.

About EPB

EPB serves the greater Chattanooga area by providing world-class energy and connectivity solutions as a means of promoting economic development and enhancing quality of life for our community. We deliver electricity to more than 170,000 homes and businesses across our 600 square mile service area which includes most of Hamilton County as well as parts of surrounding counties in both Tennessee and Georgia. In 2010, EPB Fiber Optics, which offers internet, TV, and telephone services, became the first provider in the United States to deliver up to 1 Gig (1,000 Mbps) internet speeds utilizing a community-wide fiber optic network which is accessible to every home and business in its service area. In 2015, EPB became the first, and to date, only American ISP to make up to 10 Gig (10,000 Mbps) internet speeds accessible to all of its residential and commercial customers as a standard offer.

EPB has also utilized its community-wide fiber optic network to deploy the most advanced and highly automated smart grid power management system in the nation. In recognition of EPB’s groundbreaking infrastructure, the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are utilizing EPB’s smart grid as a national model for researching and developing best practices. EPB is also the first major power distribution utility to earn the USGBC’s PEER certification for having a highly automated, modernized electric power grid.

EPB is an independent board of the City of Chattanooga which began serving customers in 1939. Visit EPB.com for more information.                        

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

The company has made a significant investment in talent and technology to make VETRO FiberMap faster, smarter, and ready to scale, modernizing and redefining how fiber networks are planned, designed, built, and operated. In a pivotal moment for America and the world, VETRO is primed to be the platform that powers broadband equity by enabling operators and owners to digitize, visualize, and operationalize their network data.

The challenge of making the sprawling complexity and intricacy of networks visible and operational has long frustrated network owners and software developers alike, and solutions have fallen short. While other industries have streamlined and scaled with the productivity, centralized knowledge, and democratized data that has become the standard in enterprise cloud business software, telecommunications operators have struggled to design, manage, market, and sell network assets with decades-old technology and disjointed collections of single-use apps.

Now, in this critical moment when the world is looking to these same network operators to modernize connectivity and bridge the digital divide, VETRO is empowering them with the intuitive tools, techniques and aesthetic of truly disruptive software. With the ability to render spatial data more quickly than ever before, users are able to operationalize and query their network data at scale and on demand and leverage new insights to uncover new opportunities for expansion, revenue, cost efficiencies, and customer satisfaction.

“VETRO is our partner in innovation,” said Andrew Eubank, VP of Fiber at Visionary Broadband. “We chose VETRO for the simplicity, scalability, and responsiveness of the team. Very few companies have shown such a commitment to making their product work for their users, and we’re excited to use the power of the VETROFiberMap platform to accelerate our deployment even further.”

The latest enhancements to the platform build on the already best-in-class features with deeper, clearer network visibility, more flexibility to explore and filter data, and more powerful insights in a scalable, secure, and future-proof framework. All of this is available in real time to anyone in the organization, served up how and when they need it.

“We talk a lot about ‘underserved’ communities’ when it comes to connectivity, and in a way these providers have been underserved themselves when it comes to access to the tools and technology they need to rise to this unprecedented opportunity,” said Will Mitchell, CEO and Cofounder of VETRO. “We worked with operators to understand their needs and built this platform to empower them with a solution that modernizes their operations and brings their data to life. Creating a digital home for the physical internet is the true disruptive power of VETRO.”

About VETRO Inc.

VETRO is a SaaS software company delivering unparalleled internet infrastructure intelligence through a unique mapping platform. We deliver the world’s best map-based SaaS platform to plan, design, build and operate the internet infrastructure that enables a connected and sustainable world. VETRO is built for ISPs and others who own or manage fiber networks and need a fiber specific asset management platform. At VETRO, we are passionate about enabling better connectivity for all, and delivering disruptive digital transformation for all Communications Service Providers. 

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

“I am honored to be recognized alongside great leaders in my region by EY US,” said Beranek. “I am proud to lead a company with high-integrity employees that have greatly contributed to Clearfield’s success. Through our products, we are delivering fiber-fed broadband and are thrilled to have built a company that is capitalizing on the rapid network buildouts happening today and that will accelerate due to the post-pandemic appetite for broadband connectivity.”

Entrepreneur of the Year is one of the preeminent competitive award programs for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The nominees are evaluated based on six criteria: entrepreneurial leadership; talent management; degree of difficulty; financial performance; societal impact and building a values-based company; and originality, innovation and future plans. Since its launch, the program has expanded to recognize business leaders in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries around the world.

“Under Cheri’s leadership, Clearfield’s record and reputation in the community broadband market has grown exponentially,” said Ron Roth, Chairman of the Board for Clearfield. “Clearfield holds a strong competitive position in the market because of its ability to remove obstacles for the integration of wireline and wireless networks and offer fiber management expertise in areas with great growth potential such as 5G, NG-PON, and edge computing. Cheri is very deserving of this recognition. There is no doubt that the Clearfield team will continue providing solutions that enable the lifestyle that better broadband provides under her leadership.”

Cheri was selected by a panel of independent judges. Award winners will be announced during a special virtual celebration on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, becoming lifetime members of an esteemed community of Entrepreneur of the Year alumni from around the world. Regional award winners are eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards, to be announced in November 2021 at the Strategic Growth Forum®, one of the nation’s most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in June 2022.

About Clearfield, Inc.

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD) designs, manufactures, and distributes fiber optic management, protection and delivery products for communications networks. Our “fiber to anywhere” platform serves the unique requirements of leading incumbent local exchange carriers (traditional carriers), competitive local exchange carriers (alternative carriers), and MSO/cable TV companies, while also catering to the broadband needs of the utility/municipality, enterprise, data center and military markets.  Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield deploys more than a million fiber ports each year. For more information, visit www.SeeClearfield.com.

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER

“If you don’t have robust connectivity to the Internet, you aren’t a full participant in society,” Ernesto Falcon, Senior Legislative Counsel with Electric Frontier Foundation (EFF), said during a recent Fiber for Breakfast episode. “Your freedom of association, your freedom of expression, your ability to be a full-fledged citizen is curtailed.”

Falcon and EFF have focused efforts in recent years to addressing two questions:

1. How do we get 21st century access to all people, and what does that mean?
2. How do we lower the bar enough where broadband access is no longer the profits of a handful of very large companies, and can we bring that down to the local level?

“Thirty years ago, when EFF was founded, our founding members were a lot of the people who built the original, early technology of the Internet and believe that as the technology advances, our rights should stay the same,” Falcon explained.

Unfortunately, Falcon noted that is not the case for all Internet users. As a result in 2019, EFF called for change.

“We said the United States, as well as the states, local governments and local policy, need to have a fiber for all plan,” he continued. “They need to focus on delivering high capacity, 21st century access to all people, and we need it desperately.”

EFF has focused a lot of work in Sacramento in recent years and assisted in its passing of net neutrality, according to Falcon. After completing that project, he and his team turned to the broader state of California to explain to state regulators and other entities what is at stake if fiber is not widely adopted.

“California’s broadband plan and broadband infrastructure policy today is terrible,” Falcon warned, explaining that up until recently, the state’s laws noted a 6/1 mbps connection is adequate. “Which I think for many in this audience would hear that number and think, ‘Why does that even matter in today’s world, let alone even five years ago?’ But essentially, the state would not support broadband infrastructure if your community had greater than your 1990’s era DSL.”

The pandemic revealed what a terrible idea that was, Falcon said.

“California was funding slow networks on an incremental basis on the idea that, ‘Something is better than nothing,’ and ‘Slight upgrades are better than nothing.’ When usage and demand rose over the pandemic, suddenly millions of Californians were reliant on connections that simply could not deliver the access they needed,” he explained.

Falcon stressed that there is a digital divide that exists, but that connectivity issues do not stop in rural communities.

“There’s also this reality that if your community has just basic Internet access, but it’s not being upgraded with fiber today, you are also part of the wrong side of the digital divide, even if you have access,” he said. “Because if the usage has grown to where it is now—and it’s probably going to stay at this level—and you’re unable to even participate fully, then you really don’t have useful access. Forget about the 2015 definition anymore because it’s kind of useless as a metric.”

Falcon and EFF set about writing legislation to update the California restructure plan in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic with one goal in mind: every state dollar earmarked for building a new network will be a fiber network.

“No more dollars spent on slow, incrementally upgrading legacy networks,” he stressed.

Falcon said the debate for this legislative change was based on three issues:

1. Determining what is truly “unserved.” Falcon and his team argued that if you lack a 25/25 mbps connection, you are eligible for a fiber network.
2. What is “future-proof infrastructure?” EFF determined that a future-proof infrastructure should have sufficient capacity to deliver 100/100 mbps and a latency averaging at or less than 20 milliseconds to allow for real-time interactive applications.
3. The ability to utilize “open access projects.” Falcon said if the government was to build and take on 100% of the cost of constructing, these networks must be open and sharable.

Near the end of 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order, putting to rest the debate over download speeds by increasing state standards from 25 mbps to 100 mbps.

“Notably, he said nothing about the upload speed, which kind of gives you an idea of the influence of the legacy industry that really can’t handle a high upload unless they transition to fiber—which they should,” Falcon noted. “I think any rational player in this space isn’t really resting on slow access as a means of a perpetual status. They have to think about how they can transition, at some point, to fiber.”

Following the Governor’s executive order came a call for a new California Broadband Plan, for which Falcon said EFF continues to articulate priorities.

“We want to get fiber to every single person, without exception,” he said. “Often people will talk about this in the sense of, ‘These people are too expensive to serve,’ or ‘These people can’t be connected to.’ I think it’s just a failure of imagination as well as a failure of policy and regulation to really emphasize 21st century access and a transition process for all networks to eventually get to that point.”

As for California, Falcon said his team will keep fighting this fight for the next few weeks.

Listen to Ernesto Falcon’s full presentation on the Fiber for Breakfast Podcast.

KP_IMAGE_PLACEHOLDER