ECI’s Laurel buy pays off

ECI Telecom announced today that it has landed a deal with SDN Communications to provide ST200 multi-service edge routers, marking the first announced win for ECI’s router line since it bought the product line as part of its acquisition of Laurel Networks. Laurel now operates as ECI's Data Networking Division.

SDN, headquartered in Sioux Falls, SD, operates a 5,000-mile statewide fiber network in conjunction with cooperative, municipal and private telcos. The company is owned by 27 independent telcos covering 75 percent of South Dakota's geography.

The ECI equipment already has been installed as is operational, allowing SDN to offer customers a range of data services, including virtual private networks. Like other state-wide network operators, though, SDN is looking at ways to leverage its fiber to offer other services such as video. As part of its deal with ECI, SDN has selected ECI's LPS provisioning system.

"Equipment installation was completed in early June and we're already seeing incremental revenue opportunities," Mark Shlanta, CEO of SDN said in a statement. "ECI Telecom provided a solution that will enable SDN to expand its Triple Play services from our baseline offerings and grow revenue more rapidly."