Oct 20 2008
Marquette Adams Telephone Cooperative and Kratz Communications have selected Clearfield, Inc. for a three-year fiber to the home (FTTH) deployment to approximately 4,000 subscribers in central Wisconsin.
According to company officials, the FTTH deployment was launched in April 2008 and will span the Brooks, Endeavor, Oxford and Packwaukee exchanges located in Adams and Marquette Counties. The total copper-to-fiber overbuild is slated to be completed in 2011.
Marquette Adams Plant Manager Arnie McDonald explained they were looking for fiber management system that would serve the voice, broadband and cable television needs of their service area. "With more and more customers converting to hi-def TV, our bandwidth requirements are increasing. We're also looking at on-demand video which requires more bandwidth. Copper just can't handle it. So we've decided to go with the fiber," he said.
Mike Sanders is president of Kratz Communications, a trusted telecommunications partner of Marquette Adams for 32 years. He said Clearfield's FieldsmartTM Fiber Distribution System and Fiber Scalability Center were clear choices for the project. "We looked at all the usual suspects for the FTTH indoor plant relay racks and outdoor cabinets, but in terms of the design, cost and efficiency of their fiber management product, Clearfield really fits in everyone's budget and needs."
Harsh elements also played a role in the decision. "With fiber, we're anticipating a lot less trouble with lightning than we've had with copper," McDonald said. "We've never had a unit go out because fiber was hit by lightening. We're hoping that stops a lot of troubles for customers." And because Wisconsin snow has a tendency to mount up, Marquette Adams asked if Clearfield could increase the 12-inch riser of the outdoor cabinets by yet another foot. Now, with the modified 24-inch base, they are ready for the snow and other harsh elements associated with Wisconsin winters.
Accounting Manager Patty Sengbusch said, "We appreciated the fact that Clearfield was very willing to make any changes we have requested along the way." Sanders agreed, "I'd characterize Clearfield as completely user-friendly. They did their homework; they found solutions; and they even had an engineer on-site free of charge to help set everything up."
In fact, Sanders said that Kratz views the Marquette-Adams FTTH deployment as a showcase project, of sorts. "We've brought several of our customers to look at the project, and every one of them has been very impressed with the deployment and Clearfield."