ADC, a leading supplier of infrastructure solutions for fiber-to-the-x (FTTX) networks, announced that Consolidated Telecommunications Company (CTC) of Northern Minnesota is deploying ADC's OmniReach ^TM FTTX solutions as the foundation for providing their customers with all-fiber Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) and high-speed data services as part of a competitive build-out scheduled to begin this summer.

CTC is a cooperative with 10,000 access lines surrounding the Brainerd, Minn., area. The cooperative's ILEC customers currently enjoy advanced calling features, high-speed Internet access, and newly launched digital video. Last summer, after constructing a publicly financed fiber backbone to serve Brainerd-area schools, CTC was given irrevocable rights to use part of the trunk's capacity for its own competitive service offering. The CLEC deployment starts this summer with the cities of Brainerd and Baxter. The goal is to have its entire 100 square-mile overbuild completed by 2008.

CTC's FTTX deployment includes both ADC OmniReach Fiber Access Terminals and ADC OmniReach Fiber Distribution Terminals. The provider will benefit from a variety of features as it deploys OmniReach products, including a user-friendly, and cost-effective platform for delivering fiber optic service drops in FTTX deployments. OmniReach is designed to deliver fiber to both single-family homes, as well as multiple dwelling units and the fiber access terminals provide physical protection, long-life reliability, and superior fiber management in an aesthetically appealing enclosure.

For the passive optical network, CTC will deploy ADC OmniReach Fiber Distribution Terminals for centralization of splitters in the field. These outside plant terminals are designed specifically for FTTX applications with features that directly impact the reliability, functionality and operational cost of the network. These features include robust 1x32 splitters with strain relief for the output pigtails and connectorization and splicing options of the input fiber.

It is estimated that $1.5-3.5 billion will be spent annually by telecommunications service providers during the next five years as FTTX networks are deployed in the United States. New FTTX projects initiated by carriers and municipalities have increased by more than 100 percent since 2000.