Broadband Communities

JAN-FEB 2014

BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 35 of connecting its towers, Kennedy says, his company "bought into" the idea of a fber backbone network, leased additional fber strands and helped Fatbeam plan its routes to pass as many commercial corridors as possible so it could serve businesses. Intermax uses MikroTik core routers and, for its hosted PBX ofering – which is generating a great deal of interest among small businesses – it uses Cisco VoIP equipment to prioritize voice service and ensure quality of service. However, the schools Fatbeam was connecting via E-Rate contracts were generally in residential neighborhoods, and Intermax quickly realized that those neighborhoods presented opportunities as well. It began extending fber to serve clients in residential neighborhoods, including apartment complexes. One new 70-unit apartment project, Fairway Meadows in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, expected to open in early 2014, is targeting upscale, tech- savvy residents, and the developers requested a full fber pipe home-run to each unit. Te base level of Internet services, included with the rent, will be 10 Mbps, and residents can upgrade to 100 Mbps. Te developer lists "free fber-wire Internet" frst on its list of amenities for Fairway Meadows. Kennedy says, "Tey don't want to have to worry about residents leaving for lack of bandwidth." Other MDU complexes are in the negotiation stages. "As the economy has rebounded, construction is restarting, and lending is easier," Kennedy explains. With fber backhaul, Intermax's microwave network has become increasingly powerful, benefting the economies of the areas it serves outside the towns. "People are moving there to live in rural isolation," Kennedy says, noting that rural isolation is more appealing when residents can work or run businesses from home. Being able to ofer both fber and microwave service is a plus for Intermax. A number of business clients purchase both services, using fber for primary connectivity and microwave for failover redundancy. Te two connections, though both ultimately lead to the same network, can be routed in diferent ways so customers can be certain of 100 percent uptime. Te fber network's "consistency, clarity and uptime are just fantastic," according to Kennedy, and support costs are far lower than for microwave. "It's exciting to be on the cutting edge," he adds. v Masha Zager is the editor of BroadBand C ommunities. You can reach her at masha@bbcmag.com. The new Fairway Meadows development will have fber broadband in every unit. BBC_Jan14.indd 35 1/27/14 1:44 PM

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