Calix Powers Armenia’s Growth in Fiber Services Delivered by Ucom
Calix Innovation Award winner exceeds 75,000 residential subscribers leveraging South Caucasus region’s most advanced FTTH network
YEREVAN, Armenia – February 10, 2015 – The citizens of the Republic of Armenia are enjoying what is believed be the most advanced Fiber to the Home (FTTH) broadband services in the South Caucasus region thanks to a fiber network built by Ucom LLC that leverages solutions from Calix (NYSE: CALX). Ucom, a 2014 Calix Innovation Award winner and fast-growing fiber overbuilder in Armenia, continues to expand its extensive gigabit passive optical network (GPON)-based network throughout the country. It recently surpassed the 75,000 residential broadband subscriber milestone in Armenia – making it the country’s largest provider of FTTH residential wireline broadband services by revenue, and a key infrastructure provider for the country’s public services, including education, libraries, government offices, and other services.
Ucom, established in 2009, provides advanced wireline FTTH and wireless broadband services that leverage its fiber access network to connect homes and businesses in most of the country’s major cities. Recognizing an enormous opportunity to bring a world-class fiber access infrastructure to a country previously underserved by an aging copper infrastructure, the company decided to go directly to GPON technology, and put in place a gigabit-capable fiber network.
Ucom initially built the network using the Ericsson BLM 1500 and T-Series ONTs. However, after Calix purchased Ericsson’s fiber access assets, and subsequent platform integration work, the company has now switched to the Calix E7-2 and E7-20 Ethernet Service Access Platforms (ESAPs) for future services, to keep up with the ever-increasing broadband services demand.
Today, Ucom believes it operates the largest fiber network in Armenia and, by far, the most advanced. The company now passes over 50 percent of the homes in Armenia and is targeting continued growth of 33 percent in 2015.
“Using the power and flexibility of the Calix technologies, Ucom has been able to build what we believe to be the most extensive and advanced fiber optic network in Armenia,” said Aleksandr Yesayan, executive director, Ucom. “Our steadfast focus on creating a unique and powerful broadband experience over wireline and wireless for Armenians that provides the best quality service at an affordable price has allowed us, in a few short years, to become the nation’s largest FTTH broadband services provider. Calix has played a key role in our success to date, and we will continue to leverage this fiber network as we launch new Wi-Fi and LTE services – making us the first quad-play operator in Armenia.”
With the help of Calix, Ucom’s next generation network has already benefited schools, libraries, and other public services offices in the region by increasing their bandwidth tenfold, facilitating activities like teleconferencing and global learning.
Andy Lockhart, senior vice president, international sales at Calix, said: “The broadband infrastructure in Armenia has leapt forward with Ucom’s high quality fiber-based networks. Our E7 solutions are ideal to provide the operational efficiencies needed without sacrificing deployment flexibility or service functionality. This leaves service providers like Ucom to concentrate on revenue-generating, game-changing service delivery options. The company is already offering a wide range of opportunities for government, education, and library services in Armenia, creating powerful new services that now pass over half of the homes and business in the country and changing the lives and opportunities for the a growing proportion of Armenians.”
Ucom’s 2014 Calix Innovation Award for its leadership in Armenia will be highlighted at the Calix booth at the FTTH Council Europe Conference, 10-12 February 2015 at EXPO XXI in Warsaw, Poland.
About Calix
Calix (NYSE: CALX) is a global leader in access innovation. Its Unified Access portfolio of broadband communications access software, systems, and services enables communications service providers worldwide to transform their networks and become the broadband provider of choice to their subscribers. For more information, visit the Calix website at www.calix.com. For more information about Calix enabled gigabit networks, visit www.calix.com/gigabit/.
