Home Telecom Selects Calix NG PON for Gigabit Network in Nexton, S.C.

SUMMERVILLE, SC — Home Telecom, a provider of information and communications services in South Carolina, has selected Calix, a provider of gigabit fiber deployments, to bring a multi-gigabit experience to homes and businesses in the Nexton community in 2016. With the average person soon projected to personally own 11 cloud-connected devices, the capacity of broadband networks must scale to continue to provide consumers with an optimized broadband experience. Home Telecom saw this shift coming and reset the bar for broadband excellence in South Carolina when it introduced its GigaFiT gigabit service in Nexton, making it the first gigabit community in the state nearly two years ago. Today, Home Telecom is raising the bar again, utilizing cutting edge fiber technologies to keep the 4500-acre Nexton community the most technically advanced in the state as fiber-connected homes are expected to generate 120 gigabytes (GB) of traffic per month by 2019, nearly double today's traffic. (Statistics from Cisco GCI and VNI)

Keeping Pace with Next-Generation PON Technologies
"We pride ourselves on being the agile innovator to the markets we serve, so it is fitting that as next-generation PON technologies come to market next year and beyond, Home Telecom will stay on the leading edge of bringing the most advanced services available to our subscribers," said William S. Helmly, Home Telecom president and COO. "Our commitment to pushing the envelope on the next generation of fiber technologies will allow Nexton's residents and businesses to step-up to the accelerating pace of the emerging multi-gigabit world. We are looking forward to continuing our long-standing partnership with Calix as we test the next-generation PON solutions in 2016."

Located in Summerville, South Carolina in the greater Charleston area, Nexton will have over 10,000 homes, including 2000 apartments, and 6 million square feet of commercial space. Earlier this year, Nexton Elementary hosted its first day of classes for more than 600 students. As a part of a gigabit-enabled community, Nexton Elementary took advantage of its advanced broadband network by giving every student an iPad or Chromebook to enable personalized learning for each pupil.

Enabling the Gigabit Lifestyle
"In Nexton, the gigabit lifestyle is an essential part of the community," said Kenneth T. Seeger, president, WestRock Land and Development. "We have seen residents embrace the technology and businesses move into the area because of the broadband foundation that has been in place since day one. With the ability for next-generation PON technologies to enable a multi-gigabit experience, we feel there will be no limitations on what the future holds for Nexton."

Home Telecom plans to enhance its GigaFi gigabit service with next generation PON technologies (XGS-PON and NG-PON2) integrated into Calix E-Series and GigaCenter solutions to deliver a multi-gigabit subscriber experience to Nexton residents and businesses alike. With the ability for both standards to offer symmetrical speeds up to 10 gigabits per second (Gbps) and coexist with already deployed GPON solutions, Home Telecom has multiple options for meeting the ever-changing broadband needs of subscribers within Nexton.

"After being the first company in South Carolina to light up an entire community with gigabit services, it is no surprise that Home Telecom would be among the first service providers to explore the many possibilities of next-generation PON," said John Colvin, Calix senior vice president of North American sales. "The multi-gigabit experience has the potential to transform how business transactions are conducted and how residential subscribers lead their daily lives. By working with Home Telecom on this project within Nexton, we will get to see first-hand the true promise of these game-changing broadband technologies."