FTTH NASHVILLE COVERAGE AT A GLANCE - Broadband Properties

Nashville conference
tions company has expertise in design, construction, operations
and communication services. The company, founded in
2001, is based in Dana Point, California, and provides highspeed
Internet, telephone, television and community Intranet
services to over 6,000 residential customers in 10 active projects
throughout Southern and Northern California as well as
Arizona. Greenfield also has 35 more projects under contract
representing more than 250,000 lots. Greenfield is a licensed
CLEC and has contractors’ licenses in general engineering,
electrical and low-voltage disciplines.
Greenfield is a certified PON designer and is a leader in
PON design and installation. Years of design experience and
listening to the feedback of developers and home builders
have led to a design that includes no above-grade pedestals,
and smaller and fewer conduit and pull boxes. The design is
also geared toward efficient cable pulling and splicing (which
Greenfield performs itself) and has resulted in consistent reductions
in outside plant construction costs. OSP costs including
all fiber cable pulling, closures, splicing and optoelectronic
equipment are now below $600 per home served.
This improvement in efficiency and subsequent reduction
in costs has allowed Greenfield to take on projects of less than
500 units. This design has also led to an extremely reliable infrastructure.
This reliability is vital since it is the cornerstone of
providing exceptional customer service, and since Greenfield
owns the infrastructure and is also the service provider it results
in fewer maintenance calls and thus lower operating costs.
Greenfield employs a dedicated field representative to each
project, resulting in customer satisfaction levels on each project
of over 98 percent. This outstanding customer support is
also evident in Greenfield’s local 24/7 call center and office
personnel. Greenfield was awarded the NXTcomm award for
best Network Infrastructure in 2007 and this year at the NX-
Tcomm convention was awarded the NPRG Most Innovative
Access Solutions award.
New Micro Fiber Cable Blowing Machine from
GMP Combines Compact Size, Maneuverability
and Flexibility
Designed to meet the growing need for FTTx micro cable installation,
the new Breeze Microfiber Cable Blowing Machine
by General Machine Products Company, Inc. (GMP), Trevose,
PA, moves micro fiber cable of 0.1 inch to 0.315 inch (2.5 to 8.0
mm) diameter into pre-installed duct at speeds up to 164 feet
per minute. It is compatible with microduct outside diameters
of 0.197 inch to 0.472 inch (5.0 to 12.0 mm).
Its compact size makes the Breeze ideally suited for external
or internal use. The pushing force, up to 35 pounds (16
kg) maximum, can be adjusted to suit the cable stiffness. Its
electrically powered two-roller drive system controls the cable
as it is propelled by compressed air into the duct. A monitoring
system reads speed and distance, auto-stops if cable hits
an obstruction, and includes an emergency stop facility. More
information is available online at www.gmptools.com.
Hitachi Announces Universal RFOG
Solution for Cable TV Operators
Hitachi Telecom (USA)
Inc. (www.hitachitelecom.com)
has added
new capability to the
company’s AMN1220
GPON product solution,
aimed at helping
cable TV operators future-proof their networks – and their
revenue positions. The Hitachi solution, compatible with the
emerging RFOG (RF Over Glass) initiative, provides a fiber
optic connection from the headend to the subscriber. The
Node+Zero solution leverages existing headend equipment,
minimizes active components in the outside plant and supports
targeted bandwidth increases and provides opportunities for
immediate revenue from subscribers in the target locations.
It delivers the well-understood advantages of passive optical
networks, including the minimizing of amplifiers in the field.
Node+Zero modules can be deployed as standalone network
interface devices at the subscribers’ premises, or in combination
with a GPON ONT to provide full GPON bandwidth
and a bidirectional RF path between the headend and subscribers’
premises. Initial models include:
Node+Zero H-103: Designed for deployment with a GPON
ONT. Passes RF services (DOCSIS, RF Forward and Return)
to the GPON ONT, which supports enhanced bandwidth for
higher data rates and IP video services and voice services.
Node+Zero H-112: A stand-alone subscriber premises device
that passes RF services (DOCSIS, RF Forward and Return) bidirectionally
and transparently between the headend and the
subscriber. Subsequent connection to GPON ONT is optional.
The Hitachi Node+Zero RFOG module supports standard
GPON wavelengths, allowing a seamless connection to the
Hitachi GPON ONT. An upstream RF return path, using a
1590nm wavelength, carries return data between any manufacturer’s
RF Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) and the headend.
The 1590nm wavelength is multiplexed with the 1310nm
GPON channel in the upstream direction when deployed with
a GPON ONT. The 1590nm return path terminates at receiver
equipment at the video headend.
According to Rick Schiavinato, Hitachi Telecom vice president,
sales and marketing, “The Hitachi Node+Zero solution
allows cable TV operators to enjoy immediate opex benefits
by bringing fiber from the headend to the premises without
intervening active electronics. An advantage of the Node+Zero
solution is that the infrastructure is transparent to existing
DOCSIS and CMTS protocols and management systems, accommodating
RF headend and CPE combinations from virtually
any manufacturer.”
HUBER+SUHNER Field Termination
Revolution Continues
HUBER+SUHNER (www.hu
bersuhner.com) announces the
54 | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | www.broadbandproperties.com | August/September 2008