The Huntsville based Adtran Inc. announced last week that the Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperative Corporation selected the Adtran 10G fiber access platform to bring fiber broadband connections with 10G speed across the rural Tennessee area. Adtran is a leading provider of next-generation multi-gigabit fiber access and fiber extension solutions.

Twin Lakes Telephone Cooperation’s advanced fiber network will now better connect its communities, transform how local businesses operate and attract new industries and economic development to the region. Twin Lakes is the largest telecom co-op in Tennessee, providing multi-gigabit services to residents, businesses, schools, hospitals and wireless carriers over a 100% fiber optic network.

According to officials from Twin Lakes, a steady increase in broadband demand required the company to upgrade its existing 1G infrastructure to support a higher-capacity speed tier and Adtran 10G PON (passive optical network) solutions were the best fit. Adtran Combo PON capability enables Twin Lakes to upgrade network infrastructure with cards that seamlessly support new multi-gigabit XGS-PON services without disrupting existing GPON customers.

“In 2021, we celebrated 70 years in service, connected our 30,000th customer and completed our 100% fiber network, positioning us to meet our customers’ needs for generations to come. Adtran has been a big part of that success. It has been a reliable partner that we can trust to help us build the right network at the right time,” said Jonathan West, General Manager and CEO at Twin Lakes. “We deployed GPON first, but it has limited upstream speeds which are critical to supporting streaming services, cloud computing and more. Adtran eliminated those limitations with its XGS-PON solutions.”

Both businesses and residents are already benefiting from Twin Lakes’ multi-gigabit fiber network. While some employment numbers are down in areas located in Twin Lakes’ service footprint, the fiber network supports a digital infrastructure that is attracting new business to the area while also enabling residents to expand their job searches as remote employees. Additionally, the high-speed network is enabling veterans to remotely connect to healthcare instead of driving long distances to a VA hospital.

“It is rewarding to see the positive community impact our customers are making with their multi-gigabit networks. Twin Lakes has been using Adtran broadband solutions since 2007, when it first started building its fiber network. Today the network is literally changing the way local businesses operate,” said Craig Stein, Vice President, Americas & Head of Global Business Development for Adtran. “Adtran Combo PON provides a no-compromise migration path to 10G PON, affording any type of service provider to easily provide competitive broadband services and connect their communities to new opportunities.”

This announcement caps off a busy week for the Huntsville based company as Adtran also launched its new Broadband Partner Program. Adtran executives said the program will help tap into recent federal investments into broadband services via the new $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The bill allocates up to $65 billion for broadband expansion.

“The timing of the Broadband Partner Program could not be better because our program’s benefits encompass every type of provider working to deliver broadband across the U.S. and ensure broadband equity across the country,” said Stein. Reseller partners, through this program, will target customers in the utilities, ISP and public sector markets.

“Traditionally, we have supported business customers through our channel partners, so enabling broadband-focused partners to bring Adtran solutions to their customers demonstrates our commitment to investing in broadband enablement across the U.S,” Stein said. “We’re excited to provide the opportunity for our partners to grow their businesses and capture new revenue streams by leveraging our expertise in both broadband access and supportive channel programs.”

Images provided by Adtran Inc.