|
This article, written by Jim Barthold, originally appeared in Broadband Daily, Nov 29, 2006. © 2006, IOMA, Inc., Published by Pike & Fischer. Reproduced with permission.
Ohio CLEC Embraces In-building BPL for Voice and Data
First Communications, a competitive local exchange carrier based in Akron, Ohio, has taken the dual step of moving off its conventional time division multiplex (TDM) switched equipment to IP and, more radically, using in-building broadband power line (BPL) technology as a delivery mechanism for that IP traffic.
The new service is known as FirstSpeeed BPL and is provided through medium voltage electrical circuits. If all goes well with the first BPL customer - Columbia College, in Chicago - the CLEC hopes to expand both its in-building and its network BPL commitment, said Tim Hutchinson, First Communications' marketing manager, who said the company is trialing a few homes passed with network technology and is "fully developing our in-building product."
The first deployment is in a 115-year-old dormitory at the college, which essentially wrings out the BPL technology by putting it into a stressful situation that newer wiring would not, Hutchinson admitted.
"There are a lot of issues with the throughput and the existing infrastructure and the electrical grid in the building," he said. "It just took a little bit of engineering from our folks, but it really wasn't anything that we couldn't overcome. That was one of the most difficult buildings that could be out there in the field and we were able to successfully deploy the voice and data and now we're getting ready to launch other places and more buildings with newer infrastructure."
Data is delivered over a leased DS-3 line from an incumbent provider to the building's electrical panel. It's then handed off onto the in-building electrical wiring as part of an Internet backbone delivering 20 megabits of shared throughput to up to 30 users who can access it from any electrical outlet, he said.
First Communications uses modems from Corinex and voice equipment from MetaSwitch to retrieve the IP data from the electrical conduits.
The BPL deployment and plans for future networks that don't use incumbent phone company facilities are part of a trend that's occurring with a number of CLECs, said Andy Randall, vice president of marketing at MetaSwitch, which is also providing the softswitch technology for the carrier's IP traffic.
"We're seeing people moving away from me-too offerings and starting to look at new services," said Randall. "We're also seeing CLECs really trying to find alternative access, whether that's WiMAX or BPL or building their own fiber. One of the things I like about this particular deployment is that it encapsulates these key trends I'm seeing in the CLEC industry in one substantial deployment."
Randall said delivering the IP traffic to the electrical power lines is routine.
"If there's an IP pipe then voice-over-IP comes in just the same, whether that's going over BPL access or Ethernet or whatever it is," he said.
It was, however, a bit of a challenge to migrate "a couple of very large existing TDM switches to MetaSwitch's softswitch configuration in a matter of months," he added.
This transition has helped First Communications drive down the costs of delivering data to end users while still using incumbent's networks, since IP is more cost-effective than conventional switched data transport. Costs can go even lower as the CLEC begins to deploy a BPL network, although outside plant is still in technological development, Hutchinson said.
"Another issue with access is you need access to the power line, the utility. We have relationships with different utilities," he said.
That, though, should come with time. Right now the CLEC is working to add more customers to its in-building BPL networks.
"We have a lot of customers that we're planning on converting very soon and also more buildings within that college - many more buildings, actually," Hutchinson said. "We're planning a very large deployment in the next year (and) that's really where we're going to spend our focus in terms of getting new revenue."