Network will provide secure, high-speed and reliable internet service
to Roanoke Valley businesses and consumers
The Roanoke
Valley Broadband Authority (RVBA) recently deployed a new municipal
network leveraging converged
packet optical and packet
network solutions from Ciena®
(NYSE: CIEN). Scalable to 200 Gb/s speeds, the network improves internet
accessibility, affordability, and capacity to help advance long-term
economic prospects. While primarily focused on supporting economic
development through enterprise level service, the network will also
provide high-speed broadband connectivity to schools, libraries and
government facilities. The network will also provide mobile backhaul for
wireless carriers in the region.
Key Facts:
-
The RVBA is made up of the Cities of Roanoke and Salem, and the
Counties of Botetourt and Roanoke. The new 47 mile network will serve
more than 200 business parks, large institutions, government
facilities and businesses. The network will begin serving customers on
May 1st.
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The open-access, high-speed network will provide transport speeds
faster than typical service available in the region today. The network
is supported by Ciena’s 6500
Packet-Optical Platform equipped with eMOTR high speed packet
switching modules and WaveLogic
Coherent Optics for high capacity 200G connectivity. RVBA will
also be able to seamlessly add new customers to the network with
Ciena’s 3904
and 3942
Service Delivery Switches.
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Additionally, Ciena’s Joint
Interoperability Test Command (JITC) certified portfolio gives
RVBA’s customers the confidence that the network meets the federal
government’s standard for assured network services.
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Ciena is also providing RVBA with Remote
NOC Management Services to quickly provision new offerings for its
customers. Walker
and Associates, a Ciena BizConnect partner, provided a variety of
consultation, engineering and design services for this deployment.
Executive Comments:
-
“The Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority was established to help
provide our citizens and businesses with greater access to high-speed
connectivity – a critical component to making sure we are not left out
of the ongoing digital revolution. By working with Ciena we are able
to provide our community with new communications capabilities to
support high-bandwidth applications and services.”
- Frank
M. Smith II, President and CEO, Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
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“Broadband access is important to the success of any region, as
today’s digital communications include richer content, more video and
many features that demand high-speed connectivity. This project is a
great testament of what can happen when private and public entities
come together to create opportunities for economic development and
improve the way people live and work.”
- Jeff
Verrant, Vice President and General Manager, Ciena Government
Solutions Inc.
Press Conference and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony:
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April 26th at 10:00 am ET - RVBA, Blue Ridge PBS, Ciena and
Walker and Associates will host a joint press conference event for
local, regional, and national media. Following the press conference
more than 150 local business leaders, community officials, and
regional technology and regional economic visionaries will gather at
noon for a formal ribbon cutting event to celebrate Roanoke Valley’s
new Open-Access Fiber Optic Broadband Network. Interested press is
welcome at both events. Please RSVP at www.rvba.online/press
to reserve your seat.
History of the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
In 2011, at the urging of several concerned citizens and local business
owners, four regional municipalities (The City of Salem, The City of
Roanoke, Roanoke County and The County of Botetourt) joined forces to
finance a study on fiber-optic Internet access across the region.
When it was discovered that the Roanoke Valley lagged behind the rest of
the country with only 8% of the metro population having access to fiber
networks (compared to the national average of 24%), a task force was
formed to develop specific recommendations that would make the Roanoke
Valley a better place to live and work.
In January of 2014, the four municipalities officially took action on
these recommendations by forming the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority
to expand the regional broadband infrastructure and make it easier for
both new and existing providers to deploy their technology across the
Roanoke Valley.
The RVBA was charged with a number of specific initiatives to implement,
including:
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Developing a master plan for construction and operation of a
high-speed, redundant regional network "ring" to reach schools,
industrial parks, large employers and other economic centers
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Developing cooperative agreements for localities with technical
specifications and commercial terms for operating the network and
exchanging data across municipal boundaries
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Developing dig once requirements for construction projects, including
the placement of open-access conduit for optical fiber cable
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Communicating broadband related activity to the public
Taken together, the RVBA was tasked with driving measurable improvements
to fiber-optic Internet accessibility, affordability, reliability, and
Internet speeds for the purposes of advancing the long-term economic
prospects of the region.
About Walker:
Walker and Associates is a national distributor of network products for
broadband providers, including wireline, wireless, cable TV, government
and enterprise network operators. Walker’s extensive range of products
from over 250 suppliers provides a host of physical plant products such
as fiber and copper connectivity, power systems, indoor and outdoor
enclosures and outside plant products facilitating carriers’ delivery of
broadband services to residential, business, and mobile users. Walker
supports communications technologies such as Switching, Routing, Wi-Fi,
Microwave, NFV, Carrier Ethernet, VoIP, WDM, ROADM, Packet Optical
Networking, SDN, Access Technologies, Active Ethernet, Fixed Wireless,
DSL, and more.
About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is the network specialist. We collaborate with
customers worldwide to unlock the strategic potential of their networks
and fundamentally change the way they perform and compete. Ciena
leverages its deep expertise in packet and optical networking and
distributed software automation to deliver solutions in alignment with
its OPn architecture for next-generation networks. We enable
a high-scale, programmable infrastructure that can be controlled and
adapted by network-level applications, and provide open interfaces to
coordinate computing, storage and network resources in a unified,
virtualized environment. For updates on Ciena news, follow us on Twitter @Ciena
or on LinkedIn.
Investors are encouraged to review the Investors section of our website
at www.ciena.com/investors,
where we routinely post press releases, SEC filings, recent news,
financial results, and other announcements. From time to time we
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disclosure channels that we use.
Note to Ciena Investors
Forward-looking statements. This press release contains certain
forward-looking statements based on current expectations, forecasts and
assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are
based on information available to the Company as of the date hereof; and
Ciena's actual results could differ materially from those stated or
implied, due to risks and uncertainties associated with its business,
which include the risk factors disclosed in its Report on Form 10-Q,
which Ciena filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March
9, 2016. Forward-looking statements include statements regarding Ciena's
expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future and
can be identified by forward-looking words such as "anticipate,"
"believe," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "should,"
"will," and "would" or similar words. Ciena assumes no obligation to
update the information included in this press release, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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