Windstream: Huawei equipment gone from our network
Windstream says it completed federally mandated removal of all Huawei equipment from its network in March. The service provider said it acquired the gear as part of its 2017 purchase of Earthlink and that Huawei technology composed “a small fraction of the company’s routing and transportation capability.”
The company says the process to remove the prohibited equipment began in 2019, before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruled Huawei to be a national security threat in June 2020 and subsequently mandated that the Chinese vendor’s technology must be removed from all U.S. networks (see “FCC sets opening of Huawei/ZTE equipment replacement program”). The company started early because it is a federal contractor.
Windstream says that all Huawei systems had been disconnected from its network and was no longer operative as of last fall. The last piece of Huawei equipment was removed from its network shelf last month, according to the company.
“As an industry leader in network intelligence and infrastructure expansion, Windstream was prepared to quickly and effectively remove the impacted equipment,” said Art Nichols, Windstream’s chief technology officer. “Our multi-pronged approach included using alternate routes, replacing equipment where necessary, and leveraging the company’s winning ‘Fast and Flexible’ process.”
For related articles, visit the Network Design Topic Center.
For more information on high-speed transmission systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.
To stay abreast of fiber network deployments, subscribe to Lightwave’s Service Providers and Datacom/Data Center newsletters.
Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.