NETWORKS

FiberLight is partnering with Clearwire Communications to provide core fiber network infrastructure in support of Clearwire’s wireless deployment in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Texas and Florida.

Clearwire partnered with FiberLight to extend its high performance CLEAR 4G mobile WiMAX service across multiple markets as part of its multi-year build out plan to cover 80 markets with broadband access by the end of 2010. With its dense and robust metro network infrastructure, FiberLight was able to provide more than 900 route miles of high capacity optical transport. The FiberLight network connected Clearwire’s key aggregation points, existing MTSOs, hundreds of cellular towers and will serve as backbone for millions of future customers in the District of Columbia, Texas, Florida and Maryland markets.

By partnering with FiberLight, a leader in optical network engineering, Clearwire has been able to build future expansion capacity into the network while offering continuous connectivity and high bandwidth performance to its mobile broadband customer base across different markets. FiberLight’s rapid deployment of a state-of-the-art combined network solution incorporating dark fiber infrastructure and 10 Gig backhaul provides seamless continuity and low latency for customers while offering Clearwire an integrated and cost-effective end-to-end solution.

FiberLight provides wireless tower site connections, aggregation connectivity and core market backbone across the FiberLight metro network rings. FiberLight has become expert at fiber to the tower builds in response to the demand for mobile backhaul to support increased users of 3G and 4G smart phones and other wireless devices. The growth trend is expected to continue, especially with increased interest in wireless access to IP Video and IPTV, which is driving the amount of bandwidth needed per subscriber exponentially higher.

FiberLight is positioned well for the growth trend. With its 500,000 fiber mile footprint, it offers one of the most extensive private metropolitan networks in the southern half of the United States and supplies connections to many of the key MTSOs, MSCs, data centers, carrier hotels and carrier POP facilities in its vast footprint.

“What sets FiberLight apart from other carriers is our ability to move quickly from the initial order to final turn-up. In Miami, we were able to build a brand new Clearwire connection to the NAP of the Americas within 30 days and provided a 90-day turnaround for a 32-mile optical network build from Miami to Kendall, Florida,” said Ben Edmond, FiberLight EVP of Sales and Marketing. “FiberLight has been in the business of building backhaul capacity to cellular towers for many years. In this instance, we were able to deploy a combination of customized solutions across our deep footprint, which provided Clearwire with the resiliency, sub 2ms redundancy and 99.999% reliability required for mission-critical applications.”