Fujitsu Wins NGN Contract

RICHARDSON, Texas -- Fujitsu Network Communications Inc., a leading supplier of IT and wireline/wireless networking solutions, today announced that the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), the largest public power company in the U.S., has awarded a federal contract to Fujitsu for a large optical communications network that links TVA main offices and key substation sites across seven states. TVA selected the Fujitsu FLASHWAVE® and NETSMART® product lines for its next-generation network, which will be constructed in multiple stages over several years.

This new, high-performance optical network will support a wide array of service types, including Gigabit Ethernet connections between routers, Fibre Channel connections between remote backup sites, and SONET/TDM connections that support their Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition (SCADA) system.

The robust communications network supporting the SCADA system is based on FLASHWAVE 4500 Multi-Service Provisioning Platforms (MSPPs), which are interconnected by high-capacity and geographically large SONET rings. FLASHWAVE 4100 MSPPs deployed at larger substations provide additional service capacity and interface flexibility.

For larger spans, or in locations where fiber availability is constrained, TVA is deploying the FLASHWAVE 7120 optical extension system, which was recently added to the FLASHWAVE portfolio through an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) alliance with BTI Photonic Systems. Traditionally, each service type requires a separate pair of fibers to support each protocol, which is not possible between some locations without adding fiber at a significant installation cost. By deploying the FLASHWAVE 7120 Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) platform, all service types can be combined onto a single pair of optical fibers between two locations, with each service type provisioned over its own secure wavelength. The FLASHWAVE 7120 optical extension system will also support the anticipated growth of the TVA network to 32 wavelengths between various sites.

“Utility companies such as TVA control a unique right-of-way on power poles and conduits, and in many cases have deployed their own fiber,” said Doug Saylor, senior vice president of planning and development at Fujitsu Network Communications. “Unfortunately, the increasing bandwidth requirements of these companies often exceed the available capacity offered by the fibers they’ve deployed, and adding new fibers is cost-prohibitive. Our FLASHWAVE 7120 optical extension system presents a highly cost-effective alternative that can expand the effective capacity of existing fiber within a given span in a matter of minutes.”

Fujitsu Network Communications, Inc.