CenturyLink and Calix have installed G.fast technology in Platteville, Wisconsin, in what is said to be the largest single G.fast implementation in the US to date, reaching 44 multi-dwelling units (MDUs) and nearly 800 individual subscribers.
‘We saw an MDU-rich college town like Platteville as an ideal proving ground for G.fast technology. It’s teeming with savvy young subscribers hungry for an outstanding broadband experience, yet residing in apartments and other dense housing environments that can be difficult to reach with powerful broadband technologies,’ said Aamir Hussain, CenturyLink executive vice president and chief technology officer.
CenturyLink brought fibre to the premises to the majority of residential and business customers in the city in 2015, but MDUs were largely left out of the initial deployment. G-.fast provides an alternatives to expensive all-fibre roll outs, by allowing the service provider to re-use the existing internal wiring in the apartment buildings.
The US service provider says it is evaluating other locations in its network and other types of deployment, beyond MDUs, where G.fast technology could be used to accommodate the growing broadband needs of its customers, including neighbourhoods where fibre-to-the-curb (FTTC) would allow G.fast to push higher speeds over the short amount of copper into the home.
CenturyLink has deployed the full suite of Calix software, systems, and services in Platteville. This includes the Calix AXOS G.fast solution, with all systems and services managed via the cloud through Calix's Compass Consumer Connect Plus software.
The Calix 801F GigaPoint acts as the access demarcation point at the subscriber premises, terminating G.fast delivered over twisted copper pair or coaxial cable, and managed via the cloud through Calix Consumer Connect Plus software. Each GigaPoint is fed via a variety of Calix access nodes optimised for their location and role in the network – either sealed access nodes (E3-16F DPUs) that sit outside each building or E5-16F access nodes inside each building.
E7-2 modular access systems in the central office use GPON technology to deliver services over fibre to each access node. End-to-end turn-up and provisioning is handled via the cloud through SDN-optimized Calix Activate software, which is integrated with CenturyLink’s own orchestration software.
‘The CenturyLink G.fast deployment in Platteville demonstrates to the world how the promise of G.fast can be transformed into reality,’ said Michel Langlois, senior vice president, systems products at Calix. ‘We are proud to have not only helped CenturyLink prove-in this powerful technology over both existing copper pair and coaxial infrastructure, but to have also provided the platform allowing it to scale into North America’s largest G.fast deployment in record time.’