Smartoptics DCP-404 chosen by US telco

Serving rural Nebraska, Consolidated has one of the least populated operating areas in the contiguous United States. The telco aims to provide equitable access to quality phone and Internet services regardless of how remote customer properties are located. Consolidated needed to increase capacity in its 400-mile ring network to meet increased mobile backhaul demand. The Smartoptics DCP-404 muxponder was chosen as the most effective and cost-efficient way to deploy 100G DWDM (dense wavelength-division multiplexing) in the upgraded ring.

Says Mike Jones, Central Office Manager at Consolidated: “Cost efficiency is essential for small carriers like us, and avoiding vendor lock-in helps us to choose and combine the networking solutions with the best return on investment and value for money. Smartoptics plays nice with network elements from other vendors, which makes my life easier in managing a disaggregated network.

"I love the flexibility that the Smartoptics muxponder gives me: I get up to 400G in capacity but I can just run 100G now to bring the cost down. I’m confident that this solution will serve us well for a long time to come, preparing us well for whatever new demands the future may hold.”

In addition to cost efficiency, the DCP-404 muxponder was also chosen for its ease of deployment and operation. As Kent Lidström, CTO Smartoptics explains: “The DCP-404's zero-touch configuration and broad interoperability make it simple to configure, turn up and to use. The layer 1 muxponder with support for OpenZR+ also increases fiber utilization, providing more capacity per wavelength at a lower latency than a traditional muxponder.

"The DCP-404 is unique in offering QSFP-DD line support, and when combined with industry-leading low power consumption, it offers unmatched cost efficiency. Overall, it’s a perfect match for service providers with disaggregated networks like Consolidated seeking high performance at a comparatively low cost.”