United Telephone Calls On Clearfield For FTTH Deployment

Minneapolis, MN - Clearfield, Inc. (formerly APA Cables & Networks) has been selected by United Telephone Mutual Aid Cooperative to assist in a 12,000 square mile fiber to the home (FTTH) deployment to 12,000 subscribers in the Langdon, N.D. area.

United will utilize Clearfield's FieldSmart Fiber Distribution System (FDS), including its fiber main frames and fiber optic jumpers in an active FTTH network. The project began in Langdon, a town just south of the Canadian border and approximately 120 northwest of Grand Forks, N.D. It will ultimately serve 15 exchanges – ranging from 50 miles west of the Minnesota border to about 50 miles east of Minot – about 170 miles long by 70 miles wide.

According to United's Plant Manager Dennis Hansel, an active fiber solution was selected because "the last major upgrade to this system was in 1970. It doesn't make sense to put more copper in the ground. We have to anticipate the area's telecommunications needs, so we've got 100 MG of fiber going to every house."

Those needs go well beyond the typical "triple play" of telephone, Internet and television, he says. "Whatever application we put in our fiber mainframe has to be adaptable for emerging technology. We're going to be able to offer all types of services and applications through this solution. For example, this area has a large population of seniors, so telemedicine will become more and more important."

Clearfield was selected for the affordability, aesthetics and capability of its products. "The economics were very good, which is important," Hansel said. "Beyond that, Clearfield has a nice clean solution that looks good and is operational in a way that's easy for our customer service representatives to use. It doesn't pay to have a solution that's so convoluted that you need a high dollar technician to maintain it."

The Clearfield Fiber Distribution System (FDS) provides superior cable management with easy fiber access, reduced installation times, guaranteed bend radius protection and improved traceability. Each platform accommodates a wide range of panel configurations, densities, connectors and adapter options.

SOURCE: Clearfield, Inc.