Idaho expands broadband

Zardon · Nov 8, 2002, 05:42 PM

Eighty percent of the population in southern Idaho will have Internet broadband connectivity by year's end, according to a representative from Syringa Networks, a consortium of a dozen independent telecommunications companies that is spearheading the initiative.

The prospect of providing affordable high-speed Internet access for residents and businesses will greatly boost economic development, said Rick Gerrard, Syringa's sales and marketing manager.

Although there are pockets of Digital Subscriber Line service in the region, the development of the $36 million network ñ an interconnected series of fiber-optic cable rings totaling 1,400 miles ñ will provide much better and faster connections, he said.

It will benefit populations from Boise to McCall, 90 miles to the north, and out to the eastern border toward St. Anthony. When completed, it could serve up to 150,000 people.

Early last year, the state legislature passed a 3-percent tax credit for companies investing in broadband technology to help provide additional equity for the project. The consortium also is getting financial assistance from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides loans and loan guarantees for rural broadband deployment.

Nortel Networks has provided three multiservice switches ñ its Passport 15000-VSS product ñ said Errol Binda, a senior Nortel manager for product marketing. The advantage is these switches support multiple data applications and services and can be deployed on Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay, IP, and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS).

"It's not only providing connectivity, but the key thing is the preservation of the qualities of service," he said, referring to a network's performance. "What ATM as an infrastructure gives you Ö [is that it] ensures high quality connections for things like video and voice. Without that ATM layer, you don't have the ability to efficiently use that."

Performance is important in a rural area, he said, especially as the potential and need for telemedicine and distance education applications increases.

Binda said Nortel, which is helping Syringa deploy the technology, will provide additional multiservice switches as the network is developed further. Dibya Sarkar

Nov 8, 2002, 05:42 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 177	Idaho expands broadband Eighty percent of the population in southern Idaho will have Internet broadband connectivity by year's end, according to a representative from Syringa Networks, a consortium of a dozen independent telecommunications companies that is spearheading the initiative. The prospect of providing affordable high-speed Internet access for residents and businesses will greatly boost economic development, said Rick Gerrard, Syringa's sales and marketing manager. Although there are pockets of Digital Subscriber Line service in the region, the development of the $36 million network ñ an interconnected series of fiber-optic cable rings totaling 1,400 miles ñ will provide much better and faster connections, he said. It will benefit populations from Boise to McCall, 90 miles to the north, and out to the eastern border toward St. Anthony. When completed, it could serve up to 150,000 people. Early last year, the state legislature passed a 3-percent tax credit for companies investing in broadband technology to help provide additional equity for the project. The consortium also is getting financial assistance from a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that provides loans and loan guarantees for rural broadband deployment. Nortel Networks has provided three multiservice switches ñ its Passport 15000-VSS product ñ said Errol Binda, a senior Nortel manager for product marketing. The advantage is these switches support multiple data applications and services and can be deployed on Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay, IP, and Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS). "It's not only providing connectivity, but the key thing is the preservation of the qualities of service," he said, referring to a network's performance. "What ATM as an infrastructure gives you Ö [is that it] ensures high quality connections for things like video and voice. Without that ATM layer, you don't have the ability to efficiently use that." Performance is important in a rural area, he said, especially as the potential and need for telemedicine and distance education applications increases. Binda said Nortel, which is helping Syringa deploy the technology, will provide additional multiservice switches as the network is developed further. Dibya Sarkar