2018 Fiber-To-The-Home Top 100

"Building a Fiber-Connected World" is the tagline of Broadband Communities magazine, and each year the FTTH Top 100 list recognizes organizations that lead the way in this arena.

Fiber-to-the-home deployment in the United States is at an all-time high. In 2017, the number of U.S. households with access to fiber broadband increased by 4.4 million, and the increase for 2018 will likely be even higher. About 35 million households, or 28 percent of all U.S. households, now have fiber access. Everyone is getting in the game of gigs, it seems – from AT&T, which is on track to pass 14 million homes with fiber by mid-2019, to tiny, rural towns connecting their hundred-odd premises.

It’s no wonder the industry is expanding and the number of companies competing for the Top 100 slots continues to grow. That’s great for the country as a whole, even if it makes life difficult for the editors who assemble this list.

“It’s fascinating to me that the role of the co-ops, municipalities and local utilities originated back in the 1930s to provide electric power to rural areas, and nearly 100 years later, they have assumed another critical mission: bringing high-speed broadband to underserved areas. This time, broadband is vital to rural America’s economic viability.”
– Frank Gine, CEO, ETI Software Solutions

The 2018 FTTH Top 100 list represents the whole fiber-to-the-home ecosystem. Optical fiber and fiber cables; passive equipment for connecting, protecting and managing fiber; and active equipment for sending and receiving signals over fiber are the most basic components of an FTTH network, along with software for planning, setting up and managing networks and for provisioning and billing fiber services. The list contains many companies that design, manufacture and distribute these essential products.

To put these pieces together requires firms that finance, plan, design, engineer, construct and install fiber optic networks, as well as those that make equipment for digging, pushing, pulling and attaching fiber. These, too, are represented on the list. Also included are a variety of organizations that advocate for better broadband or create conditions that make FTTH more profitable.

Finally, there wouldn’t be any fiber to the home if not for the deployers – large and small, private and public, incumbent and competitive – that invest in FTTH networks.

Companies newly added to the list represent a variety of ecosystem niches. In fact, several are creating entirely new niches. TDS Telecom and Adams Telephone Cooperative are incumbent telephone companies, and Adams is now leveraging its FTTH experience to help other small ILECs deploy fiber. Allo Communications and Huntsville Utilities are pioneering new types of public-private partnerships for deploying FTTH, Allo as a private-sector partner and Huntsville Utilities as a public-sector partner. Conexon is a consulting company that specializes in helping electric cooperatives build and operate FTTH networks. FibNet is an integrator that specializes in a new technology it hopes will be a game-changer for deploying fiber in remote areas. ONUG Communications is a design and engineering firm that uses automated tools to optimize fiber network designs. Palmetto Engineering & Consulting, in addition to providing engineering and consulting services, is the developer of a widely used GIS system.

SELECTION CRITERIA

In selecting the FTTH Top 100, the editors looked for organizations that advance the cause of fiber-based broadband by

• Deploying networks that are large or ambitious, have innovative business plans or are intended to transform local economies or improve communities’ quality of life
• Supplying key hardware, software or services to deployers
• Introducing innovative technologies with game-changing potential, even if they have not yet been commercially deployed
• Providing key conditions for fiber builds, such as early-stage support or demand aggregation.

To be listed among the FTTH Top 100, an organization may be based anywhere in the world but must do business in North America. Except for broadband service providers, which are inherently local, we give preference to organizations that serve national rather than local markets. Overall size is unimportant, as is corporate form – in addition to for-profit companies, the list includes municipalities, a telephone cooperative and several nonprofits.

Although some organizations on the list focus entirely on fiber to the premises or other fiber-based broadband technologies, most deliver or support a mix of broadband technologies. For some, broadband represents only a small part of their business. In making these selections, the editors considered how important the organizations are to advancing fiber broadband rather than how important broadband is to them.

The FTTH Top 100 list was researched by Marianne Cotter, Rachel Ellner and Kassandra Kania and overseen by editor-in-chief Masha Zager, with recommendations and advice from editor-at-large Steve Ross. To nominate a company for next year’s FTTH Top 100, email masha@bbcmag.com.

“Given the ongoing industry consolidation, communities without a local option for high-quality internet access will increasingly be stuck with a monopoly provider.”
– Christopher Mitchell, Director, Community Broadband Networks, Institute for Local Self-Reliance

3-GIS

www.3-GIS.com
+1 (256) 560-0744

Key Products: Web-based tools and services for mapping, network design and management.
Summary: 3-GIS Fiber Network Solutions is a browser-based, GIS fiber design and asset management system – a single-platform, single-database solution for fiber network design, construction output and tracking, and fiber asset maintenance/management. Built on Esri’s powerful ArcGIS Server platform, 3-GIS Fiber Network Solutions offers desktop and mobile tools for designing and documenting network assets during all phases of a network life cycle, including planning, design, construction and network management. Data can be stored in the cloud or on an organization’s server. Expanding the functionality of its asset tracking tools, the company recently introduced Web JS, which supports multiple network views and Google Street View. The web-based architecture allows designers, field crew, project management staff and other stakeholders to access accurate, real-time network information. 3-GIS Design Services provides consulting services to municipalities and network builders considering and deploying FTTH networks. Founded in 2006, 3-GIS is headquartered in Decatur, Alabama.

Adams Telephone Co-Operative/CheckPoint Solutions

www.adams.net / www.checkpointsolutions.net
+1 (217) 214-2774

Key Products: Consulting services for FTTH deployers, including opportunity assessment software, ongoing support and systems automation
Summary: Adams Telephone Co-Operative, a member-owned telco in Illinois, has deployed fiber for more than a decade. Today, more than two-thirds of the premises in its traditional service area have access to fiber broadband, and its Adams Fiber subsidiary is building fiber as a competitive provider in nearby towns. With more than 1,500 miles of fiber deployed and a set of well-developed processes and in-house software tools for deployment, Adams now serves 25 communities with fiber to the home. In 2016, after many inquiries, it formed a new subsidiary, CheckPoint Solutions, to share its expertise with other small companies that wanted to build FTTH in underserved communities and guide them through a software-developed automation process from beginning to end. CheckPoint already counts 12 other independent companies, including telephone and electric, as clients. It offers strategic advice and support that includes software-defined needs analysis, identification of growth opportunities, ROI analysis, risk management, demand measurement, customized reporting and more. Adams Telephone, founded in 1952 and based in Golden, Illinois, has 85 employees.

ADTRAN

www.adtran.com
+1 (256) 963-8000

Key Products: Solutions for FTTH, FTTN and FTTdp architectures; mobile backhaul; software-defined access; subscriber experience; network modernization and management; system integration
Summary: ADTRAN is a top-three global supplier of next-generation broadband access solutions for residential, enterprise and mobile services markets served by cable MSOs, telecom service providers, municipalities, utilities and electric co-ops. The ADTRAN Total Access 5000 multiservice platform is the most widely deployed solution in North America, supporting hundreds of gigabit communities. Additionally, ADTRAN’s next-generation 10 Gbps FTTH technologies allow operators to double the lives of their fiber optic distribution networks while lowering operational expenses by supporting both enterprise and residential customers. These solutions are complemented by a full suite of subscriber experience, network modernization and system integration services and a pool of next-generation alliance partners. ADTRAN is based in Huntsville, Alabama, and had 2017 sales of approximately $667 million.

AFL

www.aflglobal.com
+1 (864) 433-0333 / +1 (800) 235-3423

Key Products: Fiber optic cable and connectivity, outsideplant fiber and electrical conductor hardware, copper apparatus, fusion splicers, test and inspection equipment, training, design, engineering, integration
Summary: AFL products, services and engineering expertise help broadband providers create or improve their infrastructures and enable delivery of voice, video and highspeed data communications. AFL’s product portfolio includes fiber optic cable and connectivity, outside-plant closures and terminals, demarcation devices, WDM/splitter modules, fusion splicers, test and inspection equipment, electrical conductor accessories and Light Brigade training and education. AFL plans, designs, builds and maintains communications networks, offering FTTx and MDU solutions for masterplanned community networks serviced by telephone, cable TV and wireless providers; utilities/electric cooperatives; and industrial companies and enterprises. In 2016, AFL advanced its FTTx portfolio with the release of its MDU product set. The company continues to release and promote new cable technologies suitable for applications in metro and access networks, such as Wrapping Tube Cable with SpiderWeb Ribbon, an ultra-high-density fiber optic cable that offers fiber counts up to 3,456, and the LM-Series MicroCore cables for microducts, with fiber counts up to 432. Founded in 1984, AFL is headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and is a division of Fujikura Ltd. The company has more than 4,500 associates around the world and has operations in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, Asia and Australia.

“There is a fundamental need for smart mapping tools in all facets of the FTTx life cycle. Fiber network mapping data can propel networks forward when operators are freed from old thinking and CAD drawings. Imagine a broadband network map that said, ‘Ask me anything.’”
– Will Mitchell, Co-Founder and CEO, NBT/VETRO

“Rural leaders know that to have strong economies, quality education and health care, and lifestyle options, broadband is necessary. After years of hard work, Minnesota is seeing the impact of partnerships among community leaders, state funders and community-minded providers. This winning combination is the way forward to connected communities that work for all.”
– Dr. Kathleen Annette, President and CEO, Blandin Foundation

Alianza

www.alianza.com
+1 (864) 433-0333

Key Products: Cloud-based VoIP platform
Summary: Though early fiber-to-the-home deployers were mainly telephone companies, many of today’s new entrants to the FTTH field have no history of providing voice services. For a broadband operator without telephone equipment or expertise, using a cloud-based system is the simplest, most economical way to add a voice offering – typically a highmargin service. Alianza’s Cloud Voice Platform, a web-scale voice over IP (VoIP) solution built for broadband providers, provides the functions required to deliver and support residential and business VoIP services. The platform does not require capital expenditure or equipment installation, and Alianza alleviates most operational and regulatory burdens associated with phone services. Since announcing a solution specifically for FTTH providers in February 2017, Alianza has made inroads with electric cooperatives, utilities and municipalities that deliver FTTH broadband to their communities. In the last year, Alianza has signed on more than 10 new FTTH ISPs to help them launch VoIP or replace outdated solutions and improve their phone services. The company has more than 60 ISP customers on the platform. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Lindon, Utah, Alianza has more than 60 employees.

Allo Communications

www.allocommunications.com
+1 (308) 633-5000

Key Products: Internet access, metro Ethernet, phone and video services over fiber optic networks
Summary: Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Imperial, Nebraska, Allo Communications has built fiber broadband networks throughout Nebraska as a competitive service provider. In addition to offering residential and business triple-play services, the company has a broad vision of fiber as a transformational technology. To that end, it has a policy of building out its fiber networks citywide, rather than in selected neighborhoods, and it works with communities to help them use their networks to expand business opportunities, create jobs and improve quality of life. Allo provides services in nine Nebraska communities and one community in Colorado, serving a total population of 375,000. Two current projects involve partnerships with city governments. In Lincoln, Nebraska, Allo leases the city’s conduits and is extending the conduit system into residential neighborhoods and building fiber to the home. In Fort Morgan, Colorado, Allo is leasing the city-owned fiber network to deliver broadband services. Allo was acquired in 2015 by Nelnet, a company based in Lincoln. Allo has 2017 revenues of $25.7 million and more than 500 employees.

“In student housing, managed internet/Wi-Fi is now a standard amenity, and within the next five years, we expect this may become the case across the luxury MDU world. The reason is simple: Residents desire always-on connectivity, and more recently, IoT has become an industry buzzword, which further increases the connectivity requirement.”
– Richard Holtz, CEO, InfiniSys

Baller Stokes & Lide

www.baller.com
+1 (202) 833-5300

Key Products: Legal services, public policy advocacy
Summary: This telecom law firm has a long, consistent record of supporting the use of advanced broadband infrastructure to drive the development of economically strong local communities. The firm represents public and private entities on a broad range of communications matters, both nationally and in more than 35 states. It is best known for its work in opposing state barriers to local internet choice. The firm has worked on many leading public communications projects in the United States and was a consultant to Google on its Fiber for Communities initiative. As founder and president of the US Broadband Coalition, the firm’s president, Jim Baller, played a leading role in forging a national consensus on the need for a national broadband strategy and on the framework for such a strategy. He is co-founder and president of the more than 500-member Coalition for Local Internet Choice, which works to preserve and protect the right of local governments to make the critical broadband infrastructure decisions that will affect their communities for decades to come. Founded in 1983, Baller Stokes & Lide is based in Washington, D.C. It has four full-time attorneys and a network of part-time local and regional counsel across the United States.

Bechtel

www.bechtel.com
+1 (415) 768-1234

Key Products: Engineering, procurement, construction, project management
Summary: A global engineering, construction and project management company founded in 1898, Bechtel has completed more than 25,000 projects across 160 countries on all seven continents. For the Verizon Fios network, Bechtel engineered fiber routes and hub locations in the Western and Mid-Atlantic states. In addition, Bechtel was engaged by Google Fiber to build fiber to the premises and provide high-speed television and internet service. Bechtel’s work for Google Fiber involves designing and installing more than 15,000 miles of fiber in cities across the Southeast, including Charlotte and RaleighDurham, North Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee; and Atlanta. The company has 53,000 employees and operates four global businesses: infrastructure; nuclear, security and environmental; oil, gas and chemicals; and mining and metals.

BHC RHODES

www.ibhc.com
+1 (913) 663-1900

Key Products: Planning, design and construction of FTTx projects
Summary: BHC RHODES provides civil engineering services to telecom firms that build and maintain fiber networks across the United States. It has designed and managed thousands of miles of telecom network infrastructure for clients that range from small communities and telcos to large international service providers. BHC RHODES’ FTTx services include feasibility studies, cost estimating and budgeting; planning, layout and network architecture; GIS and AutoCAD mapping; hut site development and construction; outside-plant design; site surveys; right-of-way permitting and asset management. Based in Overland Park, Kansas, with $18 million in 2017 revenue, BHC RHODES has been in business for 25 years and has more than 135 employees. 

“There is no longer a limitation on who can enter the broadband industry. It is becoming a “first come, first serve” opportunity for any entity willing to undertake the opportunity and enter this industry. Our firm originally started engineering broadband networks for telecom companies. Today we have successfully helped more than a dozen different types of organizations find creative ways to finance, partner and build out broadband networks throughout the United States.”
– Mike Boehne, President and CEO, Finley Engineering

Biarri Networks

www.biarrinetworks.com
+1 (877) 730-1999

Key Products: Software for fiber optic network design
Summary: Over almost a decade, Biarri Networks has developed a simplified, web-based approach to fiber optic network planning and engineering. Its software platform, FOND, uses automation and optimization techniques, based on a patented algorithm, to remove much of the complexity of FTTx network planning and design. Conceived in 2008 as part of the Biarri Group and formally established as a separate entity three years later, Biarri Networks got its start developing software to design the 11-million-home Australian National Broadband Network and the 5-million-home Chorus New Zealand network. Over the last six years, Biarri software has been used in the design of successful networks across Asia and Europe, and the company began operating in the United States in 2014. Biarri’s U.S. clients include Tier-1 telecommunications providers, design and engineering firms such as ONUG Communications, infrastructure data firms such as QC Data, fiber overbuilders such as Allo Communications, municipalities, and public-private partnerships. Biarri is headquartered in Windsor, Australia, and recently established a U.S. head office in Denver. It also has field offices in New Jersey and San Francisco. Biarri has 100 employees worldwide.

C Spire / C Spire Fiber

www.cspire.com/home-services
+1 (855) 277-4734

Key Products: Voice, video and internet access delivered over a fiber-to-the-home network
Summary: C Spire is building an ultra-high-speed network in Mississippi to attract investment and economic growth and pave the way for improvements in health care, education, civic life and municipal services. Using a crowdsourcing model, the company started offering services in multiple cities in fall 2014. C Spire’s FTTH deployment in Mississippi is supported by the fiber optic infrastructure it built to support its LTE network and business services. Recently, Madison County, Mississippi, signed a franchise agreement to bring C Spire Fiber to residents in some of its unincorporated areas, and C Spire’s Business Solutions division announced it is building fiber optic infrastructure near 18 key business developments and industrial sites in DeSoto County, Mississippi. In the last year, C Spire launched C Spire TV, a streaming app that includes cloud DVR, eliminating the need for a set-top box. The company also began a smart-city technology trial involving smart lighting and vehicle traffic analytics applications in Ridgeland, Mississippi, and it is partnering with electric power company Entergy on an $11 million fiber infrastructure project spanning more than 300 miles in 15 Mississippi counties. These and other projects are parts of a broader C Spire Tech Movement initiative designed to leverage the company’s technology leadership and investments to help transform its service areas. Based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, C Spire is privately owned and employs 1,425 people.

Calix

www.calix.com
+1 (707) 766-3000 / +1 (877) 766-3500

Key Products: Fiber access solutions for residential and business services, network and services management software, value-added software as a service
Summary: Calix, with more than 1,400 customers worldwide, serves more North American FTTx providers than all other equipment vendors combined. It also serves several international markets with fiber and copper access solutions. In 2017, it completed a multiyear transformation from being mainly a wireline access systems provider to being mainly a software platform, cloud analytics, services and solutions provider. Calix’s intelligent access solutions leverage its software solutions. Calix Cloud launched in early 2017, delivering Calix Marketing Cloud and Calix Support Cloud to more than 100 customers. EXOS, a carrier-class premises software platform that supports residential, business and mobile subscribers, is coupled to the GigaFamily premises devices. The AXOS platform, introduced in 2015, allows software functions in the access network to run independently of the underlying hardware. This brings SDN/NFV functionality to the access network. The number of applications using AXOS has expanded to approximately 1,000 modules. For instance, Calix introduced AXOS SMx in 2018 to give service providers the flexibility to deploy SDN networks with automated workflows that use existing back-office business systems. Calix has shipped 25 million ports of fiber and copper access lines to providers that have more than 100 million subscriber lines. Headquartered in Petaluma, California, Calix had 2017 revenue of $510 million and spent almost $128 million on research and development. It had 1,030 employees at the end of 2017.

“I believe more communities today, compared with a year ago, are realizing their best option is probably not to go head-to-head with private providers. Instead, they view broadband as a utility infrastructure and open it up to multiple providers. My gut feeling says that open-access networks will play an increasingly important role in the coming years.”
– Isak Finer, CMO, COS Systems

CenturyLink

www.centurylink.com
+1 (318) 388-9000

Key Products: Data, voice, video, managed security services, hosting, cloud and IT consulting services
Summary: A global communications and IT services company focused on connecting its customers to the power of the digital world, CenturyLink provides broadband, voice, video, advanced data and managed network services over a 450,000-route-mile U.S. fiber network and a 360,000-routemile international transport network. CenturyLink launched its 1 Gbps FTTH service in Omaha, Nebraska, in 2013; it now passes more than 1.5 million homes with 1 Gbps service and continues to expand the service. CenturyLink also offers network and data systems management, big data analytics, managed security services, hosting, and cloud and IT consulting services. Last year’s acquisition of Level 3 Communications expanded CenturyLink’s presence significantly, boosting its U.S. route miles from 25,000 to 450,000. In 2018, CenturyLink announced that because of market changes, it will no longer expand its Prism TV service, though it continues to serve existing markets. CenturyLink recently deployed a field trial of ADTRAN’s virtualized OLT 10G-PON solution, a disaggregated, software-defined access solution designed to create a more flexible, scalable, manageable access infrastructure. Headquartered in Monroe, Louisiana, CenturyLink is an S&P 500 company and is included on the Fortune 500 list of the largest U.S. corporations. With approximately 49,000 employees, CenturyLink posted operating revenue of $17.5 billion in 2017.

Cincinnati Bell

www.cincinnatibell.com / www.cincinnatibell.com/fioptics
+1 (513) 397-9900

Key Products: Telephone, data, video, wireless and information technology solutions
Summary: Households and businesses in Greater Cincinnati have access to Cincinnati Bell’s integrated communications solutions, which include local, long-distance, data, internet, entertainment, wireless and information technology services. In addition, Cincinnati Bell offers complex information technology solutions, such as managed services and technology staffing. The company’s fiber-based services, branded as Fioptics, include advanced high-speed data, digital television and telephone services and are available to 70 percent of its operating territory. In 2014, the company made gigabit internet speed available to Fioptics customers. It also sold its wireless spectrum licenses for $194 million so it could focus its efforts on the efficient deployment of fiber. Last year, the company passed an additional 38,800 addresses with Fioptics. Earlier this year, Cincinnati Bell partnered with Fairborn, Ohio, to provide a public Wi-Fi network downtown as part of the city’s economic development efforts and commitment to supporting small businesses. Cincinnati Bell’s revenue in 2017 was $1.28 billion.

“We believe world-class broadband service requires fiber-to-the-home networks. Based on our many and varied experiences, we further believe it is possible to build fiber-to-the-home networks to every home and business in rural America. While we think world-class infrastructure should be a national priority, we understand that the indispensable ingredient is local initiative.”
– Jonathan Chambers, Partner, Conexon

Clearfield

www.SeeClearfield.com
+1 (763) 476-6866

Key Products: Fiber distribution and protection systems for inside plant, outside plant and access networks
Summary: Headquartered in Minneapolis, Clearfield designs and manufactures fiber distribution and protection systems. Product lines include FieldSmart high-density fiber distribution systems for the inside plant, FieldSmart fiber scalability centers for the outside plant, a fiber delivery point series for access networks, and FieldShield, an optical fiber delivery and protection platform made of microduct and preconnectorized pushable fiber. All product lines integrate with the Clearview Cassette 12-fiber management system to deliver scalable deployment and craft-friendly operation. In the last year, Clearfield acquired a portfolio of Telcordiacertified outdoor powered cabinet products from Calix, providing customers with a single point of contact for cabinet solutions, both passive and powered. The acquisition allows Clearfield to reach service providers in the Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets. Clearfield also introduced the FieldSmart Fiber Distribution Hub, a 144-port cabinet that allows network planners to incrementally expand PON deployments, the YOURx-Aerial Terminal, and the FieldSmart Flex Box, which eases installation by interconnecting different types of media. Clearfield, which has more than 200 employees, posted $74 million in revenue for the year ending September 2017.

CommScope

www.commscope.com
+1 (828) 324-2200 / +1 (800) 982-1708

Key Products: Cable and connectivity products 
Summary: CommScope’s solutions constitute an end-to-end FTTH portfolio, offering multiple fiber architectures. With a suite of data center, headend/central office, outside-plant and end-user solutions, CommScope provides carriers, electric coops and other operators with the technology and architecture to meet the needs of residential, MDU, commercial and cellular backhaul applications. Founded in Hickory, North Carolina, CommScope has been involved in the broadband and cable TV industry since 1976 and has played a role in nearly all the world’s most advanced telecommunications networks. It is the largest supplier of subscriber-premises connectivity products and rugged conduit products. The acquisition of the Broadband Network Solutions business from TE Connectivity in 2015, following earlier acquisitions of Andrew Corporation and SYSTIMAX, made CommScope a leading communications infrastructure provider that offers end-to-end passive network equipment to meet the growing demand for network bandwidth. CommScope’s Connectivity Solutions segment, which includes the company’s fiber and copper cable connectivity offerings, reported $2.81 billion of the company’s overall $4.56 billion in revenue for 2017.

Comsof / FiberPlanIT

www.comsof.com / fiberplanit.com
+1 (416) 594-9777

Key Products: Software for FTTx network planning and design 
Summary: Comsof was founded in 1998 as a spinoff of the Department of Information Technology of Ghent University in Belgium and has offices in Belgium and Toronto, Canada. Its flagship product, FiberPlanIT, is a software solution for FTTx network planning. FiberPlanIT’s automated and optimized design capabilities, based on GIS data, help network operators reduce planning and design time, avoid design errors and lower construction costs. Comsof provides the software on a license basis and offers consultancy services. FiberPlanIT has been used in more than 70 countries in 300 projects to plan networks serving more than 65 million homes.

Conexon

www.conexon.com
+1 (202) 798-3884

Key Products: Consulting services, fiber design, construction management, fundraising, operations for rural electric cooperatives deploying fiber to the home
Summary: As the urban-rural digital divide continues to widen, rural residents throughout the United States have begun to look to electric cooperatives as potential internet service providers. Conexon was founded in 2015 to help electric cooperatives leverage their fiber infrastructures to provide broadband services to their members. Its services include performing feasibility studies, securing financing, managing construction, optimizing business performance, advocating for rural broadband and managing ISP operations for co-ops that prefer to outsource operations. Conexon has worked with nearly 100 electric co-ops and other utilities in more than 20 states on projects that have the potential to deliver fiber broadband services to millions of homes and businesses. More than two dozen of these co-ops are now actively deploying fiber to the home. Conexon has more than 30 employees and is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri.

“The move to offer multiple last-mile solutions is generating a lot of interest – making fiber-based rural broadband projects feasible for virtually all interested parties.”
– Eric Freesmeier, President and CEO, Pulse Broadband

Corning Optical Communications

www.corning.com
+1 (828) 901-5000

Key Products: Optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTH cabinets, splitters, terminals, connectors, cable assemblies, MDU products, other telecommunications hardware and equipment, engineering services, training
Summary: Corning is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science. Nearly 50 years ago, the predecessor to British Telecom challenged Corning to develop a fiber that could transmit light with loss less than 20 db per kilometer. Corning responded in 1970 with the invention of the first commercial low-loss optical fiber. Corning also developed the first loose-tube cable design, the first plug-and-play solution for fiber to the home, and the first high-density, modular data center solution. Corning’s preconnectorized solutions introduced a new way to deploy FTTH networks, and its ultra-bendable ClearCurve product suite opened the way for cost-effective installation of fiber in MDUs and other challenging environments. Its SMF-28 Ultra Optical Fiber, designed for high performance across long-haul, metro, access and fiber-to-the-home network applications, combines low attenuation with improved macrobend performance. Corning’s new multiuse platform, a combination of multifiber and single-fiber connection points, makes it easier for operators to quickly deploy fiber-deep access networks, even in stadiums. In June 2018, Corning acquired 3M’s MDU-oriented optical, structured cabling, and international system integration business for $900 million. Corning has a leading position in key passive optical segments and is the world’s largest fiber producer. Its optical communications business increased $540 million last year to $3.5 billion and has grown at twice the industry average over the last five years. The company expects to reach $5 billion in fiber-related revenue by 2020.

COS Systems

www.cossystems.com
+1 (800) 562-1730

Key Products: Demand aggregation software, BSS/OSS for managing open-access fiber networks
Summary: COS Systems’ cloud-hosted software helps network owners plan, deploy and manage modern broadband networks that deliver services from one or more providers. COS Service Zones is a demand aggregation tool that enables network builders to identify grassroots interest in better broadband, spread awareness of their projects and presell internet connections using a “fiberhood” approach. COS Business Engine is a BSS/OSS suite for managing and operating gigabit fiber networks. It enables network operators to easily market and sell services from multiple providers in an online marketplace. COS clients include private internet service providers and operators, public-private partnerships, municipalities, and utilities and cooperatives in North and South America, Europe, Africa and Asia. In the last year, COS Systems acquired nearly 30 new customers in the United States and several in Canada. It partnered with the Foresite Group to help U.S. communities build open-access gigabit networks and with NoaNet (Northwest Open Access Network) to deliver demand aggregation projects in Washington state. Privately held COS Systems is headquartered in Umea, Sweden, and has U.S. headquarters in New York City. With 18 employees, it posted revenue of $2.5 million for 2017.

CTC Technology & Energy

www.ctcnet.us
+1 (301) 933-1488

Key Products: Fiber and wireless broadband network design, engineering, financial analysis, strategy, assessment, implementation
Summary: CTC provides independent business and engineering consulting services to public sector and nonprofit clients. Its expertise includes fiber and wireless network feasibility analysis, strategic planning, business planning, financial analysis, market assessment, design, engineering, construction oversight, QA/QC, RFP/RFI preparation, grant applications and compliance, and negotiations on behalf of clients with private-sector partners. CTC currently provides broadband engineering and network financial planning services to the cities of Baltimore; Boston; Boulder, Colorado; Madison, Wisconsin; Palo Alto, California; Portland, Oregon; San Francisco; Seattle and Washington, D.C. CTC played a key role in helping negotiate broadband public-private partnerships on behalf of the city of Westminster, Maryland; the coalition comprising the cities of Urbana and Champaign and the University of Illinois; and rural Garrett County, Maryland. CTC has also provided strategic broadband guidance to Connecticut, Delaware, Kentucky, Massachusetts and New Mexico. Founded in 1983, CTC is headquartered in the Washington, D.C., area and has satellite offices in many other states.

“Fiber to the home is no longer ‘nice to have’; it’s a must-have if we’re to satisfy the insatiable appetite consumers and businesses have for internet service.”
– Ken Paker, Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Information & Network Technologies, TDS Telecom

Ditch Witch

www.ditchwitch.com
+1 (800) 654-6481

Key Products: Construction equipment for laying fiber
Summary: The feasibility of FTTH often depends on digging efficiently through challenging terrain, congested roadways and manicured lawns. Ditch Witch, a Charles Machine Works company, is one of the companies deployers turn to in these situations. It specializes in the design and manufacture of high-quality underground construction equipment for broadband installations globally. Equipment includes trenchers, microtrenchers, vibratory plows, horizontal directional drills, mud recycling and fluid systems, drill pipe, HDD tooling, vacuum excavation systems and mini skid steers. Ditch Witch Financial Services offers a variety of financing and lease options. Ditch Witch microtrenchers are designed to improve productivity and reduce the cost per foot on fiber job sites. Last year, the Ditch Witch organization announced its partnership with Utilicor Technologies, a developer of keyhole coring and reinstatement technology, to offer the benefits of advanced keyhole technology and reinstatement to contractors, municipalities and utilities globally. The Ditch Witch factory is located in Perry, Oklahoma, and the company has more than 1,400 employees. Ditch Witch equipment is distributed through a worldwide dealer organization, which operates in more than 100 countries through more than 170 locations.

Dura-Line Corporation

www.duraline.com
+1 (800) 847-7661

Key Products: Conduit, cable-in-conduit, microducts, accessories
Summary: Dura-Line develops and manufactures highdensity polyethylene conduits for protecting fiber optic, electrical and coaxial cables. It supplies fiber optic conduit and related products to telecom, data, cable TV, power and other markets. Customers include leading U.S. and international telephone and cable providers. Dura-Line developed the first ducts for installing and protecting fiber optic cables in 1981, introduced a complete line of fiber optic microduct products in 2001, and followed up in 2003 with FuturePath, a bundled package of microducts that can be installed the same way as traditional conduit. FuturePath allows up to 24 pathways in a single conduit, and the new FuturePath Figure-8 (introduced in June 2018) allows seven microducts to be bundled into one conduit for aerial fiber. In May 2018, the company released new conduit and microducts made from a low-smoke, zero-halogen material and designed for use where smoke, toxic fumes and acidic gas pose risks to health or to electronic equipment, such as enclosed public areas and poorly ventilated tunnels, mass transit corridors, control rooms and confined spaces. Dura-Line, which is owned by Mexichem, is based in Knoxville, Tennessee, and has 1,500-plus employees worldwide.

Dycom Industries

www.dycomind.com
+1 (561) 627-7171

Key Products: Program and project management, engineering, construction, maintenance, installation services
Summary: Dycom provides specialty contracting services, including engineering, construction, program and project management, materials provisioning, installation, and maintenance services, to telecommunications, CATV and broadband providers throughout the United States. Dycom Industries subsidiaries provide services to construct, install, optimize and maintain communications facilities. The company offers a full complement of turnkey services for wireline and wireless networks, including planning, site identification and acquisition, architectural and engineering services, design, project management, materials purchasing and distribution, infrastructure construction, tower construction, equipment and antenna installation, cable placement and splicing, central office EF&I, commission, integration, residential and commercial installations, customer acquisition, locating services and maintenance. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Dycom has more than 14,000 employees. It posted $3.1 billion in revenue for FY 2017.

EPB Fiber Optics

www.epb.com
+1 (423) 648-1372

Key Products: Voice, video, data and smart-grid services provided over a fiber optic network
Summary: EPB of Chattanooga’s fiber-to-the-premises network is frequently cited as a municipal broadband success story. It delivers internet, voice and video services and serves as the backbone for Chattanooga’s smart grid. This selfhealing electric distribution system automatically reroutes power around storm damage and other disruptions to increase power reliability and reduce outage durations by more than 50 percent, which helps business and residential customers avoid $55 to $60 million in annual losses associated with spoiled goods, productivity and other outage-related damages. The smart grid also improves operational efficiency and provides detailed usage information for electricity customers in tandem with the myEPB app. Launched in 2009, EPB Fiber Optics serves more than 97,000 homes and businesses. In 2010, EPB brought 1 Gbps speeds to Chattanooga, and in 2015, it announced NextNet, a 10 Gbps internet service available anywhere in the EPB service area. In collaboration with such organizations as the Company Lab and the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, the community launched a business accelerator, called GIGTANK, aimed at spurring innovation. Now in its eighth year, the program brings students and entrepreneurs from all over the world to Chattanooga to develop next-generation apps and disruptive business ideas using EPB’s gigabit network.

ETI Software Solutions

www.etisoftware.com
+1 (770) 242-3620 / +1 (800) 332-1078

Key Products: Software for managing broadband service activation, billing, device management and analytics
Summary: ETI Software Solutions specializes in broadband billing, operational support and service assurance software. Its Vision360 software series is designed for FTTH network operators, including municipalities, utilities and electric co-ops. With Vision360, providers can opt for a turnkey billing and operational support software solution or choose to augment, rather than replace, enterprise billing and accounting platforms to support broadband services. Vision360 features seamless order entry and work order management, automated service provisioning, device inventory and device management, comprehensive network management tools and advanced visual analytics to help maximize revenue. In the last year, ETI announced its support for the MobiTV Connect Platform as well as Alianza’s VoIP and unified communications SaaS solution. Newport Utilities in Tennessee selected Vision360 to support its greenfield FTTH network. Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Norcross, Georgia, ETI Software Solutions is 100-percent employee owned.

EXFO

www.exfo.com
+1 (418) 683-0211 / +1 (800) 663-3936

Key Products: Test, monitoring and analytics solutions for the communications industry
Summary: EXFO, headquartered in Quebec, Canada, has pioneered network test, monitoring and analytics solutions for more than 30 years. EXFO solutions help communications service providers smoothly deploy, maintain and manage physical, hybrid, virtual, fixed and mobile networks. The company has deep expertise in lab and field testing and provides solutions that automate complex FTTH testing and workflows to boost efficiency and subscriber quality of experience. EXFO equipment, software and services help operators accelerate digital transformations related to fiber, 4G/LTE and 5G deployments and deliver superior network performance, service reliability and subscriber insights. In February, EXFO announced the purchase of Astellia, headquartered in Rennes, France, strengthening its offerings in the performance analysis of mobile networks and subscriber experience. EXFO’s FTTH test portfolio includes fiber inspection solutions; OLTS, OTDR and iOLM, including CWDM and DWDM models; PON power meters; Ethernet protocol testers; and end-to-end monitoring solutions for the physical and service layers. The company has more than 2,000 employees in more than 25 countries and counts 95 percent of the world’s top communications service providers as customers. In fiscal 2017 (ended August 31, 2017), EXFO reported revenue of $243.3 million.

Finley Engineering

www.finleyusa.com
+1 (417) 682-5531

Key Products: Network design and engineering services
Summary: Finley Engineering has 65 years of communications and electric power engineering experience and 30-plus years of experience with fiber communication and data projects. It works with organizations that provide fiber connections to improve quality of life and economic opportunities. Founded in 1953, Finley has more than 250 employees in 10 offices nationwide and is one of the largest communications network design companies in the United States. Specializing in end-to-end engineering consulting, Finley works with telecom providers, electric cooperatives, municipalities and counties to find the best broadband strategies to fit specific needs. Every project starts with a strategic discussion regarding broadband and includes all stakeholders to gather critical information and perspectives. Once a project is underway, Finley provides construction observation and project management. 

“There is so much happening today that stresses the need for good infrastructure planning: smart-city technology, rapid small-cell deployment, the internet of things, the reversal of net neutrality and privacy laws.”
– Diane Kruse, CEO, NEO Connect

Graybar

www.graybar.com
+1 (800) GRAYBAR (472-9227)

Key Products: PON electronics, fiber cabinets/enclosures, fiber optic cable, fiber splice closures and pedestals, DC power, fiber terminals
Summary: Graybar specializes in supply-chain management services – getting the right parts to the right places at the right time so construction moves ahead and inventory doesn’t pile up in warehouses. The company is a leading North American distributor of components, equipment and materials for telecommunications and other industries. FTTH and related solutions represent a significant portion of its broadband business. Independent telephone companies, competitive phone companies, municipalities, RUS plow contractors, wireless backhaul providers, central-office contractors and cable companies all depend on Graybar. Founded in 1869 as Gray and Barton, today Graybar sells thousands of items from leading manufacturers; its valueadded services include kitting and integrated solutions. A Fortune 500 company with gross sales of $6.6 billion in 2017, Graybar employs 8,500 people at 290 locations throughout the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It is one of North America’s largest and oldest employee-owned companies.

Henkels & McCoy Group Inc.

www.henkelsgroup.com
+1 (800) HENKELS 436-5357

Key Products: Planning, design, engineering, project management, construction, operations management and installation of outside and inside plant for wireline and wireless networks
Summary: Founded in 1923, Henkels & McCoy Group Inc. (HMG) is a utility construction firm that provides critical infrastructure for the power, oil and gas pipeline, gas distribution, and communications markets in North America. It is the parent holding company of Henkels & McCoy Inc., HMI and H&M Shared Services. HMG has been an FTTH pioneer, performing feasibility studies, project management, construction management, implementation of outside plant and inside plant, and underground and aerial construction. It has regional, area and project offices across the United States, approximately 5,300 employees and more than 8,300 pieces of modern equipment, allowing the provision of end-to-end solutions.

Hotwire Communications

www.hotwirecommunications.com
+1 (800) 409-4733

Key Products: Residential and commercial high-speed data, network management, Wi-Fi solutions, security, home automation, digital voice and HD IPTV video services delivered over FTTP networks 
Summary: Hotwire Communications is one of the largest and oldest independent providers of fiber-to-the-premises communications solutions in the United States. It provides services to private residential communities, condominiums, apartments, hotels, multitenant commercial buildings, government buildings, student housing, and senior and assisted living facilities. Hotwire Communications operates in more than a dozen states and owns its fully redundant fiber network. As a competitive local exchange carrier and franchised cable operator, Hotwire Communications designs, builds and operates its telecommunications and in-home entertainment services. Residential services include ultra-highspeed data, HD IPTV, VoIP and advanced home automation solutions. Fision Work, the company’s business division, offers, in addition to these products, symmetrical metro Ethernet, co-location, hosted PBX, PRI and DAS solutions and other business services. Headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Hotwire began delivering fiber to the home and IPTV in 2006. In 2014, it became the first residential gigabit internet provider in Florida. Recently, it provided a 10 Gbps symmetrical connection to the Fontainebleau Miami Beach – one of the fastest hotel connections in the world. It has been selected to operate the municipal network in Salisbury, North Carolina, and will supply FTTH services for part of Atlanta’s massive redevelopment of Fort McPherson as a residential and commercial hub.

“It’s exciting to see FTTH beginning to be integrated into the business plans with smart city, electric utility grid efficiency, and even wireless overlays that make for systems with hybrid technologies. To me, it’s a sign that FTTH has finally become the accepted norm for wireline telecom architecture.”
– James Salter, Chairman, Atlantic Engineering Group

KGPCo

www.kgpco.com
+1 (800) 755-1950

Key Products: Equipment for wireline and wireless networks, cloud networks, SDN/NFV/IoT, data centers, and distributed antenna systems; inventory management, logistics, site development, sourcing, supply chain management
Summary: KGPCo aims to be the go-to partner for communications providers to build, optimize and transform their networks. It provides customized, scalable supply chain and network transformation solutions for the communications industry. The company combines a comprehensive suite of technical strategy and implementation services with a national logistics network and portfolio of technology partnerships. KGPCo recently launched the KGPCo Solution Innovation Center to evaluate, design and engineer cloud and virtualization solutions developed and operationalized in the live network environment. KGPCo, founded in 1973, is headquartered in Faribault, Minnesota.

Magellan Advisors

www.magellan-advisors.com
+1 (888) 960-5299

Key Products: Broadband and telecom planning, deployment and management services
Summary: Headquartered in Denver, Magellan Advisors is a full-service consulting firm that offers services from project inception through implementation and into continuing operations. Magellan helps communities identify opportunities, value assets, and negotiate and forge publicprivate and public-public partnerships. Services offered include smart-city consulting, comprehensive community broadband planning, financial planning, funds sourcing, business modeling, design engineering, telecommunications master planning, deployment and project management services to governments, municipal utilities, electric cooperatives and private organizations. It also provides a suite of public-sector IT solutions to local, state and federal government markets. Magellan’s projects have led to more than $1 billion of investments in broadband networks that connect more than 1,000 schools, hospitals, libraries and government facilities and pass nearly 1 million homes and businesses with fiber and wireless broadband services. Magellan’s portfolio includes more than 400 engagements for city, county, state, federal and private broadband projects. Clients range from national, regional and tribal governments to new master-planned communities, large cities and small, rural communities.

“As an industry, we have to move away from the manual design processes of the past and embrace today’s technology, along with the massive amounts of data we are collecting, to remove the obstacles prohibiting our nation from fully deploying FTTx to every socioeconomic and rural group.”
– Danny Huffman, Owner, ONUG Communications

Multilink

www.gomultilink.com
+1 (800) 755-1950

Key Products: Fiber distribution and cable management solutions, connectors, splice enclosures and cabinets; MDU enclosures; raceway and pathway solutions
Summary: A manufacturer of telecommunications network components, Multilink, founded in 1983, focuses on fiber management solutions. Multilink’s customers include independent telcos, RBOCs, utilities, local area network providers and CATV MSOs. Its products are designed to meet the needs of both legacy plant and new technology applications. The company’s engineering staff works closely with customers to develop innovative designs and applicationoriented products to provide cost-effective solutions. Recent product introductions include the Surelight H-IP, a fiber drop cable solution with a field-installable application that is an OptiTap-compatible connector. Based in Elyria, Ohio, Multilink is privately owned and has 200 employees.

NBT Solutions / VETRO FiberMap

www.nbtsolutions.com / www.vetrofibermap.com
+1 (800) 755-1950

Key Products: Fiber mapping software
Summary: VETRO FiberMap, a cloud-based fiber management GIS mapping platform, is experiencing rapid adoption across the United States and globally. Launched in 2016, the platform is now used by more than 50 companies in 22 states and four countries. Designed and built to meet the needs of small and midsize fiber ISPs and community fiber networks, VETRO FiberMap helps such organizations compete successfully with larger operators by providing efficiency and network map access. The software’s open application programming interfaces allow for extensive integrations with outside applications. Network designers, builders and owner-operators leverage VETRO FiberMap as a core business platform to plan, design, build, manage, sell and operate FTTx networks. Customers include ISPs, rural ILECs and CLECs, WISPs, rural electric co-ops, design/engineering consultants and cable companies. VETRO FiberMap was launched by NBT Solutions, a privately owned software development firm based in Portland, Maine.

“Fiber to the premises is not considered a luxury anymore; it is becoming necessary for homes, businesses and communities to operate. It’s important that service providers are able to rely on a network’s ability to scale and increase bandwidth as the population demands. Our goal as an industry is not only to provide high-speed broadband services but also to provide a service that enriches the lives of our population.”
– Michael Fischer, Senior Vice President of Sales, Americas, DASAN Zhone Solutions

Nokia / Nokia Networks

www.nokia.com
+1 (908) 582-3000

Key Products: Wireline and wireless network equipment, software for network management, IoT technology, cloud solutions
Summary: Nokia, headquartered in Espoo, Finland, is a market leader in wireless and wireline networks. It has a global presence with operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, North America, Asia-Pacific and Latin America. A third of fixed-broadband subscribers worldwide are served by access networks that use Nokia technology, including EPON, GPON, xDSL, cable and G.fast. Many companies, including EPB Fiber Optics, China Mobile, SKB and Frontier Communications, have deployed Nokia’s NG-PON technology to deliver 10 Gbps services. Nokia Bell Labs (descendant of the original Bell Laboratories) showed that Nokia’s XGS-PON technology, part of the company’s NG-PON offering, could support ultra-low-latency fronthaul for 5G mobile traffic, thus paving the way for true integration of wireline and wireless networks. Nokia recently launched internet routing platforms, powered by its FP4 chips, that allow multi-terabit throughput. Nokia closed 2017 with net revenue of approximately $27 billion on sales generated in about 130 countries. It had about 103,000 employees at the end of 2017, with an annual R&D budget of almost $6 billion and R&D facilities in Europe, North America and Asia.

OFS

www.ofsoptics.com
+1 (770) 798-5555 / www.ofsoptics.com
+1 (888) 342-3743

Key Products: Optical fiber; optical fiber cable; fusion splicers; fiber management and connectivity products for homes, businesses, data centers and MDUs; network design services
Summary: OFS’s heritage, which goes back to the original Bell Labs, includes pioneering research and development in fiber optics. Wholly owned by Furukawa Electric of Japan, OFS designs, manufactures and supplies optical fiber, fiber optic cable, specialty photonics and optical connectivity solutions, providing end-to-end fiber optic solutions for outside-plant and inside-plant networks. Products include EZ-Bend ultra-bend-insensitive optical cables and InvisiLight solutions for nearly invisible in-MDU and in-home fiber deployments; AllWave+ ZWP full-spectrum, zero-water-peak, bend-optimized fiber; gel-free Fortex loose tube, AccuRibbon ribbon and PowerGuide ADSS fiber cables; end-to-end fiber connectivity, optical splitter and fiber management solutions; fusion splicers and several MDU deployment solutions. The professional services group designs and builds FTTX networks for MDU and SFU applications. Recent product launches include Rollable Ribbon cables, assemblies and new connectivity solutions for MDU and SFU applications. Headquartered near Atlanta, OFS is a global provider with facilities in North America, Europe and Africa and sales offices around the world. Furukawa Electric reported revenue of about $1.7 billion for its telecommunications group for the fiscal year ending March 2018.

On Trac

www.ontracinc.net
+1 (423) 755-1950

Key Products: FTTH splicing and installation, mainline fiber splicing, MDU network design and installation, structured cabling, consulting, project management, warehousing, back-office structure
Summary: Based in East Tennessee, On Trac provides telecommunications services and special projects to network operators nationwide. Its core services are FTTH splicing and installation. Additional services include consulting; project management; training, service and repair; materials management and warehousing; scheduling processes; and backoffice structure. Clients include municipal network operators, cooperatives and privately owned operators, including Bristol Tennessee Essential Services, Dalton Utilities, GVTC, LUS Fiber, Google Fiber, C Spire and Longmont Power & Communications. To date, On Trac has connected more than 250,000 FTTH installations and performed outside-plant work that includes aerial drops, underground drops, mainline fiber splicing and bidirectional testing.

Power & Tel

www.ptsupply.com
+1 (800) 238-7514

Key Products: Fiber optic and cable products, optical networking electronics, test gear, IPTV, home networking solutions
Summary: The distributor Power & Tel specializes in the procurement, sales and logistics of communications products. By cost-effectively and efficiently managing the supply chain, Power & Tel lets its customers – service providers, contractors and other entities large enough to maintain their own communications networks – focus on building and maintaining fiber networks. The company also provides materials-management services that use state-of-the art distribution technology to accommodate the industry’s rapidly changing supply needs. Last year, Power & Tel and Geneva-based ADB, a provider of end-to-end TV solutions, signed a master distribution agreement for the Americas. Founded in 1963 and privately owned, Power & Tel is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, and has locations in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. 

Preformed Line Products

www.preformed.com
+1 (440) 461-5200

Key Products: Fiber optic and copper splice closures, highspeed cross-connect devices, cable anchoring, control hardware systems
Summary: Founded in 1947, Preformed Line Products (PLP) is an international designer and manufacturer of products and systems used to construct and maintain overhead and underground networks. Its communications segment serves telecommunications network operators, cable television and broadband service providers, corporations and enterprise networks, government departments and agencies and educational institutions. The company recently updated its flagship product line of COYOTE fiber optic closures to make the devices more durable, more versatile and easier to install. PLP serves telecommunications network operators, cable television and broadband service providers, power utilities, enterprise networks, government agencies and educational institutions. Headquartered in Cleveland, PLP has two domestic manufacturing facilities, 18 foreign subsidiaries and a global network of more than 3,000 employees. Net sales for 2017 were $378 million.

Prysmian Group

www.prysmiangroup.com
+1 (803) 951-4800 / +1 (800) 713-5312

Key Products: Optical fiber and telecommunications cables
Summary: Created through the union of Prysmian and Draka, Prysmian Group is the world’s largest cable solutions provider with 21,000 employees, 82 plants and 17 R&D centers in 50 countries. With 140 years of history, Prysmian offers a wide range of products, services and technologies in hightech markets, including optical fiber cable, composite fiber/ power cable for wireless sites, FTTx solutions and premises/ data cables. The company’s two compact solutions for FTTH are Mini FlexTube cables, optimized for mid-span access with SuperFlexible 1.3 mm tubes that can be removed without tools, and LT2.0 cables, which offer small, flexible, conventional buffer tubes with bend-insensitive fiber as a standard feature. Prysmian also offers ADSS and OPGW cables for FTTH and middle-mile builders that have access to electrical utility poles or transmission infrastructure. In North America, the company has deployed 100 million miles of Prysmian Group fiber and opened two fiber optic manufacturing facilities in the United States, including the only co-located fiber and cable facility in the region. Last year, Prysmian Group North America announced a three-year, $300 million agreement with Verizon to facilitate the deployment of its 5G and broadband networks and improve 4G LTE and other broadband capacity. In June 2018, Prysmian completed its acquisition of General Cable, a Kentucky-based manufacturer of aluminum, copper, and fiber optic wire and cable products. Prysmian’s sales for 2017 reached more than $7 billion. 

Rocket Fiber

www.rocketfiber.com
+1 (844) 847-6253

Key Products: Gigabit internet, managed services, voice, IPTV
Summary: Rocket Fiber was founded in 2014 and began rolling out FTTH services to residents and businesses in Detroit’s central business district in late 2015. It currently has more than 40 miles of fiber optic cable in Detroit and has begun expanding east and west of the downtown area along the Detroit River and into midtown. One of the few U.S. providers to offer 10 Gbps residential service, its standard 1 Gbps service allows zero-buffering IPTV video and premium gaming performance. Rocket Fiber is unusual among private, for-profit ISPs in that it was formed with the explicit goal of contributing to local economic development. Its mission is to develop and implement critical technology infrastructure that will contribute to transforming Detroit into an attractive city for technology and other businesses. The company is at the forefront of Detroit’s smart-city movement, leading the development of high-tech assets. It is a part of Detroit businessman Dan Gilbert’s portfolio of companies, the bestknown of which is the financial giant Quicken Loans.

“Consumers want giga-fast broadband and beyond, from the access side all the way down to every device in their smart homes, without any bandwidth bottlenecks. So combining advancements in fiber access technologies, such as PON, XGS-PON and NG-PON2, with innovations in home Wi-Fi, such as intelligent mesh and 802.11ax, into an integrated solution is essential to help service providers exceed their subscriber expectations.”
– Brian Feng, Senior Vice President, Zyxel North America

Smithville Communications / Smithville Telecom / Smithville Fiber

www.smithville.com
+1 (812) 876-2211 / +1 (800) 742-4084

Key Products: High-speed internet, IPTV, voice, managed services, cellular, home automation and security services, internet of things/big data support, videoconferencing, consulting services 
Summary: Privately owned Smithville Communications, with 204 employees, is Indiana’s largest independent telecom company. Smithville expanded its fiber network in 2018, building a new network for enterprise-level capacity and partnering with Purdue University to bring high-capacity fiber to a rural area that is home to the Purdue Research Park, a $2 billion federal research lab. Smithville’s GigaCity project continues to advance in the city of Jasper, and the company expanded its fiber operations in the tourist mecca of Nashville, Indiana, and the rural town of Ellettsville. These expansions are not grant funded; they are either self-funded or funded through public-private partnerships. Smithville recently standardized its residential service options to the best speed available in any location with no data caps, and it actively promotes streaming TV as its main television service offering. It continues to upgrade all its legacy copper areas with fiber to the cabinet to upgrade speeds and capacity in rural areas.

Sonic

www.sonic.com
+1 (855) 757-6111

Key Products: Gigabit fiber-to-the-premises, fiber-to-the-node and DSL internet access; voice service; co-location; business networking
Summary: Based in Santa Rosa, California, Sonic is the largest independent internet service provider in Northern California and has delivered internet and phone service to homes and businesses for more than 24 years. Founded on the belief that access to fast, reliable, affordable internet should be available to all, Sonic is committed to building out a wholly owned gigabit fiber network while supporting the local communities it serves. In December 2017, Sonic launched the biggest expansion of its gigabit fiber service in its history, bringing its offerings to the Bay Area cities of Berkeley, Albany, and parts of Oakland, El Cerrito and Kensington. Businesses such as Russian River Brewing, Awayco and Digilock depend on Sonic for fast, affordable internet and award-winning customer service. The company adheres to policies that benefit its customers and has been awarded a perfect score for its privacy policy from the Electronic Frontier Foundation year after year.

TDS Telecom

www.tdstelecom.com
+1 (866) 571-6662

Key Products: Internet access, phone, TV services
Summary: TDS Telecom is the seventh-largest local exchange telephone company in the United States with 1.2 million connections to high-speed internet, phone and TV services in nearly 900 rural, suburban and metropolitan communities. TDS also operates TDS Broadband Service LLC, a cable company that includes BendBroadband. For residential customers, TDS deploys up to 1 gigabit internet access, IPTV service, cable TV options and traditional wireline services. For businesses, TDS offers advanced communications solutions, including hosted VoIP, high-speed internet, fiber optics, data networking and hosted managed services. TDS Telecom began building FTTH in greenfield developments more than a decade ago, and today it offers FTTH in 75 communities. In 2017, it acquired the municipal fiber network in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, and has upgraded and expanded it over the last year. It is also partnering with other Wisconsin municipalities to build fiber optic networks. In February 2018, the company announced it had earmarked $60 million to fund new fiber expansions inside and outside its wireline footprint throughout the rest of the year. TDS Telecom, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, employs more than 2,800 people and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems Inc. Its operating revenues for 2017 were $1.14 billion.

Ting

www.ting.com
+1 (855) 846-4389

Key Products: Gigabit internet access
Summary: Ting, a subsidiary of Tucows – a domainmanagement service company that ventured into the MVNO business in 2012 – launched its FTTH business with a bang in December 2014 when it acquired Blue Ridge InternetWorks, a competitive fiber provider in Charlottesville, Virginia. Ting expanded its network across Charlottesville and continues to expand to small markets in new areas, often by partnering with municipalities. Ting currently provides fiber services in Charlottesville, Virginia; Westminster, Maryland; Holly Springs, North Carolina; and the Greater Sandpoint area of Idaho. The company is building new networks in Centennial, Colorado (where it is accepting sign-ups), and Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina. Recently, Ting announced Ting TV, its upcoming HD TV offering that comes with DVR and an app for viewing on tablets and smartphones. Tucows is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. With 400 employees, it reported $330 million in revenue in 2017.

“The broadband industry in 2018 is at a critical pivot point, and the traditional modes of building networks are clearly not delivering reliably. The explosion in consumer demand and the unquestionable economic benefits of globally competitive internet access for all communities are now as undeniable as the sun rising. The challenge is for the industry to innovate and evolve to meet that demand efficiently.”
– Paul Sulisz, Senior Vice President, Americas, Biarri Networks

Verizon Communications / Verizon Enhanced Communities

www.verizon.com / communities.verizon.com

Key Products: Internet, video and digital voice services
Summary: Verizon delivers broadband and other communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, and the largest FTTH provider in the United States, it provides converged communications, information and entertainment services in the United States and integrated business solutions in more than 150 countries. In 2017, revenue for Fios, Verizon’s FTTH network, grew to $11.7 billion; at the end of 2017, Fios had 5.9 million internet subscribers and 4.6 million video subscribers. Verizon continues to add new Fios customers in its existing footprint, including in Boston, where it launched Fios in 2016. Fios Gigabit Connection, the company’s flagship broadband service, offers download speeds up to 940 Mbps and upload speeds up to 880 Mbps, and Fios Multi-Room DVR (formerly Quantum TV) offers the ability to record up to 12 shows at the same time and up to 200 hours of HD recording capacity. It includes the Fios TV app and a hands-free, voice control option with an Alexaenabled device. Verizon Enhanced Communities works with property owners, property managers and businesses to serve multifamily residential, multitenant commercial and mixed-use communities with high-bandwidth internet, TV and phone services. A Dow 30 company with almost $126 billion in 2016 revenues, Verizon employs 155,000 people worldwide.

Walker and Associates

www.walkerfirst.com
+1 (800) 925-5371

Key Products: Products and services for deploying communications networks
Summary: Walker and Associates is a national distributor of networking products for broadband providers, including wireline, wireless, and CATV, and has supported government and enterprise network operators for nearly 50 years. The company sources products from more than 300 suppliers, facilitating carriers’ delivery of high-speed internet, video, data and voice services to residential, business and mobile users. Walker supports technology solutions such as switching, routing, Wi-Fi, microwave, NFV, Carrier Ethernet, VoIP, WDM, ROADM, packet optical networking, SDN, GPON, active Ethernet, fixed wireless, DSL and more. Walker’s certified product engineering, kitting, testing, installation, systems integration and managed services simplify network deployment, and the company helps network designers make product selection decisions for optimum network performance, scale and operating cost. Products include fiber and copper connectivity, power systems, indoor and outdoor enclosures, and outside-plant products. Walker also offers marketing, sales, logistical and technical support services for manufacturers, reaching 10 telecommunications submarkets and more than 1,200 domestic customers. In the past year, keeping pace with the markets it serves, Walker invested in additional technical resources and tripled its NFV lab capacity. To meet customer requirements for bulk fiber, the company increased its fiber cable supply yard and its capacity for custom-cut cable requests. Based in Welcome, North Carolina, with 155 employees, Walker is ISO 9001/2015 quality certified and is a certified women-owned corporation.

“With next-generation PON technologies such as NG-PON2 delivering 10 gigabit speeds and beyond to each customer premises, service providers will focus on optimizing their network performance and efficiency while monetizing their FTTH network investments through the exploding smart-home opportunity.”
– Carl Meyerhoefer, Senior Director of Solutions Marketing, Calix