Feb 9 2015
Indiana Fiber Network, LLC (IFN), the leading Indiana statewide Network Service Provider, announces a major multiyear network expansion plan. The plan upgrades IFN's statewide core network to support 100GE transport bandwidth and improves network reliability through the utilization of a meshed architecture.
"Our financial investment within the State of Indiana is truly noteworthy. IFN has over $75 million dollars of Capital Investment in Indiana. We expect to increase that in the next five years to over $100 million dollars in fiber plant and equipment." said Ron Galle, IFN Chief Financial Officer.
According to IFN Vice President of Sales and Marketing, August Zehner, IFN has a history of providing fiber broadband not only in the urban areas but in some of the most rural parts of Indiana and currently provides commercial services in 52 Indiana counties. "This expansion plan leverages current fiber routes with improved fiber and electronic technology. It is a significant step in our ongoing strategy to construct a statewide footprint to support the growing broadband needs of our customers," said Zehner.
Architected for network modernization; IFN's core network electronics upgrade will be implemented in two phases. The first phase covers over 1,200 fiber route miles in Northern Indiana. The fiber route goes through Lafayette, Merrillville, South Bend, Elkhart, Fort Wayne, Warsaw, Marion, Kokomo, Anderson, and Indianapolis. The second phase will address over 1,300 fiber route miles in Southern Indiana with an expected completion date by 2016. It includes routes through Terre Haute, Jeffersonville, Columbus, Shelbyville, Bloomington, Greenwood, and Indianapolis.
According to Tom Bechtel IFN Vice President of Operations, A key component to IFN's core technology upgrade is the use of Reconfigurable Optical Add-Drop Multiplexer (ROADM) technology which adds the ability to remotely switch traffic from a wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) system at the wavelength layer. "Customers will become aware of the benefits of our core optimized bandwidth utilization and network efficiency because it enables IFN to provide very cost effective solutions. This deployment coupled with the deployment of multi-terabit optical switches which will be configured to provide a meshed protection scheme, allows IFN to offer an enhanced range of high-speed Fiber Transport services including 1GE, 10GE, and 100GE to Carriers, Service Providers, and Enterprise customers," said Bechtel.
Darryl Smith, Director of Network Operations, states: "The platform upgrade enables IFN to rapidly provision network services that support our customers' critical applications in a reliable and secure way. We are committed to meeting the expanding service assurance requirements of our customers; maintaining their service quality levels is a key focus."
According to Rob Ramsey, VP of Business Development, IFN is focused on providing the fiber broadband needs of rural communities across Indiana. "IFN has always focused on being a reliable community partner. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with Indiana Economic Development organizations and developing better relationships with the Indiana Rural Electric Membership Corporations (REMCs) and Municipal Electric utilities throughout Indiana," said Ramsey. To enable the further development of these relationships; an information webinar on IFN's expansion is planned for March 10, 2015.
Commenting on the technology expansion, Kelly Dyer IFN President and CEO said, "IFN's fiber network in 2015 will feature 100GE Bandwidth options for commercial customers. Until now this option has not been available in most areas of Indiana. As the demand for bandwidth continues to grow, we are well positioned to provide lower operational cost and faster service delivery options to Carriers and Enterprise customers."
About Indiana Fiber Network, LLC
Indiana Fiber Network, LLC (IFN) was formed in March of 2002. IFN's ownership is comprised of 20 local exchange telephone companies throughout the state. IFN offers data center, Internet backbone and data transport services over state–of–the–art Ethernet, CDWM, DWDM and SONET fiber networks, with service in the state of Indiana and throughout the US via a network of national carrier partners. For more information on IFN, please visit http://www.ifncom.net or call (317) 280-4636.
This article was originally distributed on PRWeb. For the original version including any supplementary images or video, visit http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/02/prweb12501684.htm