Lafayette Utilities System Weaves Fiber Web with MetaSwitch

2009 FTTH Conference and Expo, HOUSTON, September 29, 2009 — MetaSwitch today announced that LUS Fiber will leverage MetaSwitch’s Consumer Voice over IP (VoIP) solution to deliver to Lafayette, Louisiana, the state’s first and only Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) network designed to serve an entire city. Powered by MetaSwitch, LUS Fiber will be able to deliver voice communications services to more than 57,000 homes and businesses. This announcement underscores the ability of MetaSwitch to provide reliable, high-quality carrier IP communications solutions for advanced, next-generation networks.

MetaSwitch makes it possible for municipal service providers to deliver fiber optics in a passive optical network and provide carrier-class reliability, new services, and cost savings to its customers. By leveraging the industry-leading VoIP architecture from MetaSwitch, LUS Fiber has access to the open protocols and interfaces that will accommodate advanced services and meet the demands of its customers now and in future.

"Thanks to LUS Fiber and MetaSwitch, Lafayette is the first place in Louisiana to have municipal VoIP over FTTH available to the entire community," said Terry Huval, director of Lafayette Utilities System. "The combination of ultra-fast broadband and cutting-edge telephony services provides the means to an improved quality of life and will create greater opportunities for economic development. In the future, MetaSwitch will allow us to increase flexibility and leverage our fiber assets to accelerate innovation and improve return on investment for our customers."

As a greenfield deployment, LUS Fiber will rely on MetaSwitch as its VoIP core to deliver voice services across the fiber network expected to span more than 83,500 glass miles. When the system is established in the coming months, LUS Fiber will feature interactive applications based on the MetaSphere application suite. MetaSphere will help LUS Fiber maximize network resources and anticipate new services and feature enhancements while delivering the high demand applications LUS Fiber customers require.

"We see no let-up in the trend for communities to take their economic development into their own hands, by deploying the latest broadband and telephony services," said Bob Harvey, vice president of sales at MetaSwitch. "The provision of 21st century telecommunications helps define successful communities just as good water, power and transportation have defined quality of life for decades. MetaSwitch is providing the backbone for many communities like Lafayette to build the network of the future that is not only faster and more economical but also simpler and smarter."

About MetaSwitch

MetaSwitch is a leading provider of carrier systems and software solutions that are powering the migration of communications networks to open, packet-based architectures. Hundreds of network operators worldwide depend on its Carrier Systems Division for reliable, scalable session control, media gateway and application/feature server solutions to enable compelling revenue-generating services. Its Network Protocols Division, marketed under the Data Connection brand (www.dataconnection.com), develops high performance, portable software components that are integrated into the products of the world's leading communications equipment manufacturers. For more information, please visit www.metaswitch.com.