4.14.09—Clarks Telecommunications Partners with Clearfield NE Nebraska FTTH Deployment
MINNEAPOLIS (April 14, 2009) — Clarks Telecommunications has selected the FieldSmart Platform of Fiber Management from Clearfield Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD) for its Fiber to the Home (FTTH) deployment. The subsidiary of Northeast Nebraska Telephone Company serves three exchanges in central Nebraska.
According to Clarks Telecom Assistant General Manager Terry Eriksen, Clearfield’s FieldSmart Fiber Distribution System (FDS) was installed in three central offices in Clarks, Staplehurst, and Ulysses. Clearfield’s FieldSmart FDS components, including patch only panels, frames, interbay management, and cross-over troughs, were used, along with active gear troughs and fiber jumpers.
Eriksen said the sophisticated simplicity and modularity of Clearfield’s product architecture were particularly compelling. He explained that the easy-to-navigate architecture provides greater continuity in the field. “You don’t always have the same technicians visiting these sites,” he explained. “If we have some continuity at each of these sites, it makes it easier for our people to troubleshoot and route fiber jumpers.”
Area residents who will benefit from the FTTH overbuild are understandably excited for the May 2009 “turn-up.” Eriksen said, “Obviously it will improve their voice service, but it will also give us the ability to offer higher speeds of internet connectivity to them. And we’ll be able to provide IPTV for the first time.”
Efficiencies of scale will come with the deployment as well. Eriksen explained, “We can now offer ‘Triple Play’ packages on that network. Previously, with no fiber in the loop, we weren’t able to go very deep with an internet connection of any speed. Rural customers are just as savvy to the capabilities of broadband service and higher speed internet connections, and now we can give them what they want.”
For this FTTH initiative, Clarks Telecom is also working with engineering firm RVW Inc. and electronics supplier Occam Networks.
About Clearfield, Inc.
Clearfield, Inc. designs and manufactures the FieldSmart Fiber Management Platform, which includes its latest generation FieldSmart Fiber Distribution System (FDS), FieldSmart Fiber Scalability Center (FSC) and FieldSmart Fiber Delivery Point (FDP) series. The FDS, FSC and FDP product lines support a wide range of panel configurations, densities, connectors and adapter options, and are offered alongside an assortment of passive optical components. Clearfield provides a complete line of fiber and copper assemblies for inside plant, outside plant and access networks. Clearfield is a public company, traded on NASDAQ:CLFD.
More information about Clearfield, Inc., its products and its people can be found at http://www.ClearfieldConnection.com.
