Bahamas Telecommunications Company Limited (BTC) Selects Calix for Next-Generation Access Network

Calix Access Solutions Portfolio to Replace Legacy Infrastructure, Paving Way for Dramatically Expanded IP-Based Broadband and Advanced Services

PETALUMA, CA—Calix today announced that Bahamas Telecommunications Company, Ltd. (BTC), the telecommunications service provider for The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, has selected the Calix access solutions portfolio to replace its existing access infrastructure. This paves the way for higher-speed, more widely available broadband and advanced new information, communication, and entertainment services to be deployed throughout the islands. The Calix solution will be provided through a resale and integration agreement with Sonus Networks (NASDAQ: SONS). BTC is focusing initially on pushing fiber deeper into the access network, making multi-megabit DSL services universally available, and enabling H.248 VOIP on all subscriber lines. The Calix platforms will also allow BTC to begin selective deployment of higher-speed GPON-based FTTP as well as new services such as IPTV.

According to I. Kirk Griffin, executive vice president at BTC, “This is a massive step forward in enabling the business and residential communities of The Bahamas to be globally competitive and connected. The Calix solution provides us with an access infrastructure on which we can grow—both in terms of bandwidth and services—for years to come while significantly reducing operating costs.”

The project to rebuild BTC’s access network is part of a larger effort to replace the entire circuit-switched voice network with an advanced VOIP network from Sonus Networks. Sonus’ IMS-based platform provides a foundation for the potential integration of wired and wireless networks. The deployment of a Sonus-based network is a critical step in BTC’s efforts to build a more robust communications network to deliver to its customers superior information, communication, and entertainment services.

John Colvin, Calix vice president of field operations, said, “Calix is proud of its role in helping BTC bring a world-class communication infrastructure to the region. BTC’s decision to base its access network on solutions from Calix follows a string of similar moves by other large service providers throughout the Caribbean looking to enhance their global competitiveness and services infrastructure. In each case, the drivers are similar – a need for a dramatic increase in network capacity, a move toward an IP-based infrastructure, an interest in increasing service diversity, and a need to minimize operating costs. The Calix portfolio of access solutions is ideally suited to address these challenges.”

The Calix portfolio enables BTC’s network transformation and advanced services initiatives. Capable of simultaneously supporting the most advanced Ethernet and IP services, as well as the full range of legacy service requirements over both copper and fiber, Calix systems give service providers the flexibility and capacity to optimally address network challenges. BTC will primarily use the Calix C7 multiservice access platform (MSAP), North America’s most widely deployed MSAP according to Infonetics Group, to support the full range of legacy and advanced Ethernet and IP services. In addition to POTS, DS1, DS3, and SONET services, the C7 easily supports Gigabit Ethernet, advanced DSL, and 2.5 Gbps GPON-based FTTP.

Complementing the Calix C7 in targeted fiber deployments will be Calix 700G optical network terminals (ONTs), the industry’s most widely deployed and flexible residential and business-focused GPON ONTs, and the Calix Management System (CMS), which provides a unified network view across all Calix infrastructure. Armed with the Calix access portfolio, BTC and its customers in the Bahamas will take a significant leap forward in their communications infrastructure. BTC is now ready to deploy the most advanced IP-based services and migrate its networks toward a future comprised of greater bandwidth, more fiber, and Ethernet-based transport.