eCommunity™ Holdings is at the forefront of expanding open-access fiber infrastructure in the nation

eCommunity™ Holdings ("eCommunity™" or "eCommunity™ Fiber"), an innovative venture of A2D, Inc. and Antarctica Capital, is at the forefront of expanding open-access fiber infrastructure in the nation. After successfully activating its eCommunity™ Fiber network to serve five cities within Clayton County (Georgia’s fifth-largest county), eCommunity™ is geared up for its second Georgia County deployment, with a broader multi-state rollout planned for 2024.

To advance this significant initiative, eCommunity™ is utilizing innovations from Ciena (NYSE: CIEN), a global leader in networking systems, services, and software, to optimize the Carrier Interconnect Gateway and furnish Terabit+ Transport/Metro-E Connectivity to a range of last-mile fiber networks. This collaboration will transform and enhance the connectivity and service delivery levels that eCommunity™ offers.

As a result, eCommunity™ gains numerous benefits, including a quadrupling of the line rate—from 100Gb/s to 400Gb/s—with the potential for even higher capacities in the future. It also empowers eCommunity™ with the adaptability to swiftly allocate capacity where it is most needed, utilizing a singular, streamlined, and cost-effective architecture, thereby enhancing the operational performance and reliability of network management.

On the technical front, central to achieving these enhancements are Ciena’s 3922 Platform, 5164 Router, 8114 Coherent Aggregation Router, and 8190 Coherent Aggregation Router. The network is managed via Ciena’s Manage, Control, and Plan (MCP) domain controller.

Ciena Services fortified confidence in the overall success of the project, ensuring meticulous end-to-end network design, deployment, migration, configuration, and testing.

“To offer future-proof transport, middle mile, and last mile connectivity, we needed a new platform that was scalable and intuitive,” said Antwon Alsobrook, CEO of eCommunity™. “Working together with Ciena, we grew and future-proofed our open access network capacity to support fiber-to-the-x in all markets.”

eCommunity™ is not just reshaping the technological landscape but it is also a herald of societal advancement, working assiduously to bridge the digital divide and ensuring equitable access to digital resources, eliminating monopolies, and providing consistent connectivity to essential digital services.

“With its open-access network, eCommunity is leveraging Ciena’s innovative technologies to extend fiber broadband to Georgians who have long been underserved,” said Kevin Sheehan, CTO of the Americas, Ciena. “Now, homes and businesses in eCommunity’s territories will have access to high-quality, reliable connectivity for virtual learning, remote working, telehealth, and countless other digital resources.”

About Ciena
Ciena (NYSE: CIEN) is a global leader in networking systems, services, and software. We build the most adaptive networks in the industry, enabling customers to anticipate and meet ever-increasing digital demands. For three-plus decades, Ciena has brought our humanity to our relentless pursuit of innovation. Prioritizing collaborative relationships with our customers, partners, and communities, we create flexible, open, and sustainable networks that better serve all users—today and into the future. For updates on Ciena, follow us on LinkedInTwitter, the Ciena Insights blog, or visit www.ciena.com.

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