Columbus Selects Calix E7 for Advanced Fiber Services in the Caribbean

PETALUMA, CA - Columbus International, a leading telecommunications provider in the Caribbean and Latin America, has selected the Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platforms (ESAPs) and 836GE Residential Services Gateways (RSGs) to expand its fiber initiatives in the region. These gigabit services capable networks will leverage GPON and point-to-point Gigabit Ethernet technologies in greenfield and overbuild environments to deliver digital voice, managed IP video, and advanced data services to residences and businesses. Fiber-based services utilizing the E7-2 modular ESAP and E7-20 multi-terabit ESAP have already been deployed on the islands of Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago to service Columbus' residential customers under its Flow brand and business customers under the brand Columbus Business Solutions. The deployment will expand to other countries that Columbus serves as demand for advanced broadband services grows.

Columbus has been updating and expanding its existing infrastructure and network in Barbados with fiber to deliver more bandwidth-intensive services. In addition to the flexibility of the Calix E7s, the Calix Management System (CMS) easily interoperates with existing back-office systems, delivering a number of internal efficiencies in subscriber activation and provisioning.

"Cable operators are integrating fiber into their networks globally to support the advanced business and residential applications of the future," said John Colvin, senior vice president of North American sales and marketing at Calix. "In the Caribbean, many of the countries have social initiatives that seek to drive global competitiveness through state-of-the-art broadband offerings. Columbus has become a key enabler for these aspirations for the entire region, and is betting that investment in fiber provides the company a key advantage in meeting the emerging broadband requirements and expectations of the countries that it serves."