Knoxville Utilities Board (KUB) has chosen LightSpeed Technologies, Inc. to deliver IP core network technology from Nokia (NYSE: NOK) to support core and middle mile infrastructure for a planned XGS-PON fiber to the home (FTTH) deployment. Lightspeed is a Nokia partner and systems integrator.
KUB announced plans in December 2021 for a multi-million-dollar FTTH deployment to bring multi-gigabit broadband to its more than 478,000 municipal customers. The project comprises a pair of phases. Phase one includes the construction of the fiber network backbone, which will run along KUB’s current electrical lines. Phase two will expand the network to additional areas and will continue until fiber is deployed across KUB’s entire electric service territory, which includes Knoxville and seven adjacent counties.
For the IP core network, Lightspeed is supplying Nokia 7750 Service Routers.
“KUB believes broadband services should be available regardless of where you live. Partnering with LightSpeed helps us to bridge the digital divide throughout the communities we serve,” adds Andrew Hmielewski, KUB Director of Fiber Operations. “We are grateful to be Knoxville’s hometown utility, and we look forward to enhancing our service capabilities and continuing to help our community grow in the years to come.”
“We were thrilled to be selected by KUB to help expand their utility services with state-of-the-art fiber broadband capabilities, further enabling KUB to provide municipality customers with affordable Internet, voice and TV services,” comments John Brannon, CEO of LightSpeed Technologies. “Our award-winning leadership, engineering, and operations team brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of XGS-PON deployments to this project. We look forward to partnering with other utilities and co-ops to add services and enhance capabilities for their customers.”
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