HolstonConnect, FiberRise Partner with ADTRAN to Enable Utility-Grade Gigabit Network

ADTRAN®, Inc., a provider of next-generation open networking solutions, is partnering with Holston Electric Cooperative (HEC) and solutions provider FiberRise to create a utility-grade Gigabit broadband network across the entire HEC cooperative membership in the Tennessee Valley.

Together these companies will establish a broadband infrastructure that will connect the entire community to the world while attracting industry and improving educational opportunities, healthcare and overall quality of life.

The Rural Electrification Act of 1936 promised citizens of rural communities “a fair chance” in the pursuit of opportunity by bringing electricity to these remote areas. Visionary leaders of electric cooperatives view broadband as equally compelling in delivering the same fair chance to their communities. Today, HEC is among those electric cooperatives leading the charge to deliver broadband, a resource of immeasurable value in today’s always-on, cloud-centric world.

Leaders like Holston Electric Cooperative General Manager James Sandlin, P.E., see many benefits to establishing an advanced broadband infrastructure. According to Sandlin, “the electric business has become fairly challenging over the past decade. Members are using less electricity each year because the appliances and devices that coop members buy today are more energy-efficient than those they replace. By investing in state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure with ADTRAN access solutions, Holston can diversify our member offerings with triple-play services of voice, video and broadband as well as benefit from newly enabled applications, such as smart grid management of our electrical network and smart home solutions.”

HEC partnered with FiberRise to build its broadband network. FiberRise provided a comprehensive implementation plan to support the deployment, ensuring reach and advanced service delivery to customers throughout a service area encompassing 25,000 residential and 5,500 commercial and industrial members. Using ADTRAN’s Total Access 5000 Gigabit services platform with Ethernet Transport Optical Switch (ETOS-10) and GPON, the HolstonConnect network is establishing a long-term, multi-gigabit fiber access solution built on an open, scalable architecture that provides the reliability and flexibility demanded of a modern telecommunications network.

“HEC and other electric cooperatives continue to be at the forefront of delivering much needed broadband service to rural communities,” ADTRAN Vice President of Regional Service Provider Sales Brian Efimetz said. “As our partnerships within the electric coop market continue to expand significantly, we are proud to work with an ever-growing number of coops to serve their members’ needs by delivering dependable solutions and services.”