August 30, 2005 Linthicum, MD -- Adelphia Communications has deployed Ciena's optical Ethernet platforms across western New York to interconnect 106 school districts with Gigabit Ethernet services supporting a range of applications for distance learning, including video conferencing and broadband data networking.
Ciena platforms in the deployment include the company's CN 4300 Managed Optical Services Switch, its CN 2200 Managed Optical Ethernet Multiplexer, and its CN 2101 WaveSplicer, a passive CWDM optical add/drop multiplexer hardened for outside plant locations, according to the company.
"WNYRIC came to us with a problem - how to provide the same educational opportunities to every student across a very large geographic region," explains Jeanne Coleman, Adelphia's regional general manager. "Working with Ciena, we delivered a creative, cost-effective network solution using optical Ethernet, that enables the WNYRIC to connect students and teachers into classes that span multiple counties and hundreds of miles, so every student has virtually unlimited access to online resources for a full, rich curriculum."
According to a press release, the applications are an initiative of the Western New York Regional Information Center (WNYRIC), a regional public education organization that delivers a variety of computer and networking services to support instructional and administrative functions of five Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) regions. The five regions served by the WNYRIC include: Cattaraugus-Allegany-Erie-Wyoming, Erie 1 BOCES, Erie 2-Chautaugua-Cattaraugus, Orleans-Niagara and Steuben-Allegany. These BOCES regions in turn provide shared educational programs and services to 189,000 students in seven counties, including career training for high school students, adult education, and teacher training.
"Whether for entertainment, business, or personal communications, video is becoming a crucial application for our customers, and distance learning and video conferencing are natural extensions of our expertise in transporting video as part of the triple play to cable subscribers," concludes Steve Alexander, Ciena's CTO and senior vice president and general manager of transport and switching and data networking groups.