Washington, DC – At the U.S. Conference of Mayors Winter Meeting, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski called for at least one gigabit community in all 50 states by 2015. Challenging broadband providers and state and municipal community leaders to come together to meet this Gigabit City Challenge, Chairman Genachowski said that establishing gigabit communities nationwide will accelerate the creation of a critical mass of markets and innovation hubs with ultra-fast Internet speeds. “American economic history teaches [...]

EVANSTON, IL – Illinois Governor Pat Quinn was joined by leaders from the city of Evanston and Northwestern University to announce a $1 million state investment to help the city become an Illinois Gigabit Community, bringing ultra-high speed Internet to one of the nation’s top universities and the surrounding area, home to more than 160 start-ups. This gigabit service will be crucial to developing an economic innovation corridor that will attract entrepreneurs who create jobs [...]

QUEBEC CITY, CANADA — EXFO Inc., a provider of test and service assurance solutions announced today that it has signed a partnership agreement with Sumitomo Electric Industries (SEI), a global manufacturer of fiber-optic components and subsystems, whereby its recently launched FG-750 Node iOLM, an OTDR-based remote test unit for automated FTTH fault management, is now fully qualified with Sumitomo’s reflective termination filter technology. Through this partnership, both companies will leverage their respective FTTH test and [...]

LOS ANGELES — Thirty-nine percent of U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 34 would consider replacing their television cable/satellite provider with a streaming media subscription service in 2013, according to the results of a new survey released today by Belkin, a leading provider of technology products for the connected home. Comparatively, 31 percent of those ages 35 to 54 and 20 percent of those over 55 would consider replacing their television cable/satellite provider [...]

BINGHAMTON, NY – U.S. Senator Charles Schumer visited the site of the future Southern Tier High-Tech Incubator, along with a top Economic Development Administration (EDA) official to make the case for federal funding from the EDA’s Public Works Program for the project. The incubator, which will be located at Binghamton University, is intended to strengthen the greater Binghamton region’s economy as it works towards more advanced business development. Senator Schumer emphasized that The Southern Tier [...]

EL PASO, TEXAS/CIUDAD JUÁREZ, MEXICO – Transtelco announced that it has completed construction of its high capacity metropolitan fiber optic network in Mexico City, Mexico. Located in the heart of the largest border region in the world, Transtelco’s geographic focus includes the entire southern United States/Mexico border, and now central Mexico. The multi-duct, multi-ring network will service Transtelco’s growing wholesale and enterprise customers in Mexico’s largest city. The new infrastructure will add significant capacity to [...]

SPARTANBURG, SC – AFL and Dura-Line have joined together to develop Enterprise Air-Blown Fiber (eABF), a high-performance, blown fiber optic cabling system, which is engineered to offer a reliable, easy-to-integrate optical fiber network communications infrastructure. With one of the highest fiber density solutions in the blown fiber market, the eABF solution has several key elements that, when combined yield a highly flexible, future-proof communications pathway. Ideal for data centers, private networks, high-rise buildings, urban and [...]

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, a manufacturer of optical fiber and connectivity solutions, announced the official launch of its 4th Level Data Center Solutions product line. 4th Level provides a fully integrated and end-to-end optical fiber solution that meets the unfulfilled needs of today’s evolving data centers for real-time, onsite and flexible optical fiber infrastructure design. Over two years in development, the 4th Level product line was built around the core concept [...]

OAKLAND, CA — Zhone Technologies, Inc., a global leader in FTTx network access solutions, announced that its ONT was deployed by North State, a broadband and entertainment provider based in High Point, North Carolina, to deliver IPTV and video services via fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). As one of the largest independent communications and home entertainment providers in North Carolina, North State maintains a robust network comprising more than 68,000 miles of high-capacity fiber delivering voice, video, broadband [...]

HOUSTON – Alpheus Communications, a leading provider of Texas metro-regional fiber and networking solutions, announced that it has built out its fiber network to several large downtown Houston buildings. With this increased footprint, more enterprises can take advantage of the highest-quality network and Ethernet services, from 1.5 Mbps up to Gigabit speeds, without long lead times or high cost of construction. The downtown Houston buildings added to the Alpheus network include: 1001 Fannin St., Two [...]