Telecom prepares for aggressive broadband future
For more information contact:
DeAnne Boegli, TDS Telecommunications Corp.
deanne.boegli@tdstelecom.com
608-664-4428/ 608-225-2472
TDS Telecommunications Corp.(TDS®) has completed construction of the first phase of a 10-Gigabit (10G) transport network; eclipsing its previous network and positioning the company for continuous broadband growth.
“Evolving our reputation as ‘a local phone company’ has been our mission for the past five years,” says TDS President and CEO, Dave Wittwer. “We strive to be the preferred broadband provider in our markets. With more than 93 percent of our market areas connected to broadband you could say we have arrived as a broadband company, but this 10G network expansion really epitomizes our transformation.”
In development and deployment since 2008, implementation for the 10G project has kept TDS plant and network engineers, technicians, and vendors at full-throttle. The fully IP-based network pairs regional hub sites using multiple carriers and has geographical route diversity. For example, should one hub site suffer a catastrophic failure or acute outage, the other hub site or pair can take over raising the level of reliability at TDS’ core network exponentially. Take an in-depth look at the TDS 10G Network, including a map.
“The 10G architecture replaces our traditional communications infrastructure of more than 100 network clusters and creates a streamlined regional hub structure,” states Ken Paker, vice president of Network Services for TDS. “The network has expansion opportunity and is designed to evolve with the needs of our customers for years to come.”
Carrier grade Alcatel-Lucent and Cisco routers principally interface with the network connections, utilizing national transport vendors, such as Level 3, along with other regional carriers to complete connection points. The 10G structure simplifies monitoring and maintenance while improving network reliability, all measures aimed at controlling operational expenses and delivering greater reliability for TDS customers throughout the 30 states where the company operates.
For customers and economic development advocates alike, TDS’ 10G network promises to enhance data and voice quality, improve service reliability, and establish the generally rural areas served by TDS as connected communities with more access to urban-comparable communications services.
# # #
TDS Telecommunications Corp. markets communication services to business and residential customers in 30 states through its brands TDS Telecom® and TDS Metrocom®. With 1.1 million access line equivalents in service, TDS Telecommunications Corp. connects customers to phone, broadband, and digital television service in hundreds of rural, suburban, and metropolitan communities. TDS Telecommunications Corp. is the eighth-largest wire line company in the nation; employing approximately 2,600 people. The company is headquartered in Madison, Wis. Visit www.tdstelecom.com and www.tdsbusiness.com for more information. Connect on Twitter @tdstelecom and Facebook.
TDS Telecommunications Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telephone and Data Systems, Inc. Telephone and Data Systems, Inc., a Fortune 500® company, provides wireless, local and long-distance telephone and broadband services to nearly 7.4 million customers in 36 states through TDS Telecommunications Corp. and U.S. Cellular®, its 82-percent owned wireless subsidiary. Founded in 1969 and headquartered in Chicago, Telephone and Data Systems employed 11,800 people as of Sept. 30, 2009. Visit www.teldta.com for more information.