NETWORKS

Cyan announced that Com Net has selected its Cyan Z-Series of packet-optical transport platforms and its Cyan CyMS multi-layer management system for its GigE Plus Availability Coalition (GigEPAC) high-capacity fiber network. Com Net's GigEPAC project was previously awarded $30 million in Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) funding as part of the Broadband Stimulus Program. This award provides Com Net the resources to add nearly 700 miles of fiber to its high-capacity network in order to expand existing broadband services to rural and underserved communities in 28 western Ohio counties.

Through the GigEPAC project, Com Net will leverage Cyan's revolutionary packet-optical transport systems capabilities to connect up to as many 880 anchor institutions such as schools, libraries, medical/healthcare providers, public safety organizations, universities and community colleges. In addition, this network will connect to the region's 33 last-mile service providers at middle-mile network speeds of up to 100 Gbps, thus increasing service choices and competition for the benefit of the entire region.

"We're thrilled to be partnering with Com Net and its GigEPAC project to enable the delivery of high-speed broadband services to the western Ohio community," said Eric Clelland, vice president of North American sales, Cyan. "Like the others that have received broadband stimulus awards, Com Net is making decisions based on what its communities need to bridge the broadband divide. With the explosion in bandwidth growth, Cyan provides flexible scalability for packet-based services for years to come."

"The disparity in broadband connectivity between rural and urban areas of western Ohio up until now meant that our communities' anchor institutions could not obtain broadband services. Comprehensive broadband services for the state are vital to enhancing education, retraining our displaced workforce and preparing our future workforce to drive Ohio's economic development," said Randy Plaisier, CTO, Com Net, Inc. "We selected Cyan because the company's solutions offered the greatest combination of service flexibility, scalability and operational simplicity, which enables us to improve operational efficiency with an Ethernet-centric, multi-layer network. This combination enables us to meet our objectives to better service the western Ohio community and to ultimately bridge the broadband divide."

Com Net's GigEPAC project will benefit a wide array of users throughout western Ohio:

• It will spur affordable broadband access for local consumers and businesses, including 737,000 households and 165,000 businesses.
• Local Internet service providers will be able to connect up to 880 community anchor institutions to the project's open network.
• The project will enable 322 public safety agencies to upgrade their radio towers and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) from T-1 to Ethernet, so they can deploy next-generation devices and enhanced 911 capabilities.
• GigEPAC will encourage investment in the economically distressed counties it will serve, 20 of which have unemployment rates higher than the state average.

Com Net will deploy Cyan's Z-Series packet-optical optical transport platforms to scale capacity and increase operational efficiency throughout their network. This includes the Cyan Z33 platform for high-performance applications at the access edge and the Cyan Z77 platform for high-capacity aggregation, metro/inter-office and hub deployments. Com Net will also utilize Cyan's CyMS multi-layer management system to accelerate their introduction of new services and lower costs.