ATLANTA -- Wave7 Optics Inc., a leading developer of FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises) systems for residential and business services, today announced that Comporium Communications (Rock Hill, S.C.), the 20th largest incumbent local exchange carrier in the U.S., has selected the company’s Last Mile Link system for new FTTP networks that are going live this year.

Comporium, who, with more than 150,000 current customers, is one of the largest telecommunications companies and cable TV system operators in the Southeast, has decided to deploy FTTP as its broadband service for new home and office building development, also known as “green field” development.

Comporium will use FTTP to provide the triple play of voice, video and data services to homes and businesses throughout their service area. Residential customers typically will enjoy up to four lines of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) telephone service, up to 150 channels of digital and High Definition television (RF or IP, with plenty of available bandwidth to accommodate additional HDTV service), and 10 Mbps or even faster Internet service. Business customers will have access to multiple T1 equivalent ports, video services, multiple phone lines and full Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) or 10 GbE support.

The selection of the Last Mile Link illustrates a growing trend in the industry to deploy “active Ethernet” based FTTP networks, as opposed to strictly “PON” (passive optical network) systems.

“After reviewing all of the different FTTP technologies, we determined that an Active Ethernet approach is the best long-term solution,” said Dan Smith, vice president of engineering & planning for Comporium. “As IP over Gigabit Ethernet has reached maturity and all network architectures continue to migrate towards IP, we wanted to put in a platform that would take advantage of the magnitude of Ethernet technology and the resulting capital and operational savings. The Last Mile Link product from Wave7 met our criteria of having highly scaleable bandwidth, support of both RF and multicast IP Video, and support of circuit- and soft-switched voice. As compared to coax or copper networks, the possibilities of fiber are endless. It is the only truly future-proof plant.”

Wave7 Optics Inc.