Atlantic Telephone picks Ciena for broadband expansion

Ciena said today that Atlantic Telephone, the largest member-owned telco cooperative in North Carolina, has deployed its CN 1000 access platform.

Atlantic, which serves about 43,000 access lines along the North Carolina coast is using the CN 1000 initially to provide voice and DSL service. Currently customers are being served off of a Siemens switch and Ciena’s broadband loop carrier will replace existing Siemens remotes. One of the appeals of the platform is the ability to have voice and/or broadband on every line card, said Gary Bolton, vice president of product marketing for Ciena’s broadband group.

"They’re rolling out the four POTs [lines] plus DSL capabilities," he said. "We have broadband available in every port and we can turn up it anywhere."

Atlantic is keeping its CO switch in place and will connect the BLCs to that switch via a GR-303 interface.

Atlantic also operates cable franchises that overlap with their telephone service territory. And while Ciena hasn’t talked about sending video through its platform, the capability exists and could be used to expand those services, Bolton said.

"The CN 1000 gives them the ability to grow beyond their existing cable network," he said.