Palmetto Rural Telephone Selects Occam Broadband Loop Carrier

Palmetto Rural Telephone Cooperative, an independent local exchange carrier (ILEC) in South Carolina, selected Occam Networks' BLC 6000 System to upgrade its existing access network and to build the network for its new CLEC division. Palmetto is using the BLC 6000 System to build redundant Gigabit Ethernet rings that will provide more than 16,000 new ports providing POTS and ADSL services to its subscribers. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The ILEC will replace its existing SONET network, which had run out of capacity, with a self-healing Gigabit Ethernet ring that will provide an additional 8,000 ports. Palmetto will upgrade 15 to 20 sites in Colleton County with the Occam BLC 6000 System to add redundant Gigabit Ethernet capabilities to these remote locations. All traffic from the company's older digital loop carriers (DLCs) will be transported over the new Gigabit Ethernet ring, which uses the BLC platform's Ethernet Protection Switching (EPS) for failover protection.

Additionally, the company is installing an identical self-healing Gigabit Ethernet ring in the CLEC that will provide a capacity of up to 8,000 new POTS and DSL ports. Palmetto will deploy approximately 10 BLC 6000 Broadband Loop Carriers in the CLEC network. The new CLEC will expand Palmetto's service area to provide high-speed data and POTS service to Walterboro, S.C., and surrounding areas. The CLEC network is currently under construction, and the company expects to begin delivering services from the BLC 6000 in mid-winter 2005. http://www.occamnetworks.com