KINBER and OFS Announce the Deployment of TrueWave® REACH Optical Fiber in Support of the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN)

NORCROSS, Ga., Sept. 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- OFS, a leading designer, manufacturer and supplier of innovative fiber optic network products, and KINBER (Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research) announce that OFS TrueWave® REACH optical fiber has been selected for the  construction of the Pennsylvania Research and Education Network (PennREN).  

KINBER is the recipient of a Federal NTIA BTOP grant of $99.7 million to implement PennREN. The project involves the deployment of almost 1600 miles of fiber optic cable through thirty-nine Pennsylvania counties with a direct connection to over sixty critical community anchor institutions.  Once complete, the network will serve as an artery of healthcare information across the Commonwealth; enable the expansion of university distance learning programs; and facilitate collaboration between research institutions.

"PennREN is unique in that it serves a wide range of institutions with a relatively small number of fibers," said Jeff Reel, Executive Director of KINBER.  "So, we needed a single fiber type that would be cost-effective for the widest possible variety of technologies and applications.  After a great deal of research, we settled on an ITU-G.656 medium-dispersion solution.  OFS' TrueWave® REACH fiber had the most proven track record in that category and it was offered at a fair price.  We are glad to have OFS onboard."

"OFS is proud to support the bandwidth needs of Pennsylvania's education systems, health care networks, and other public institutions," said Patrice Dubois, Senior Vice-President for OFS.  "The G.656 standard was a great fit for the distances and technologies that PennREN needs to support.  TrueWave® REACH fiber can cost-effectively accommodate all available wavelengths using conventional DWDM while providing a clear migration path to next-generation 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s transmission technologies."

The PennREN deployment will use a 48-fiber OFS' Fortex™ DT all-dry cable with TrueWave REACH fiber.

About KINBER:

KINBER (the Keystone Initiative for Network Based Education and Research) is an independent, non-profit corporation created to facilitate the wide-area networking needs of  its members and affiliates are addressed.  Its mission is to serve as coordinator for the construction and management of a statewide fiber optic network accessible to a host of educational, research, health care and economic development partners seeking to aggregate services for their members and subscribers at affordable cost.  KINBER's founding members include: the Association for Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania; Bucknell University; Carnegie Mellon University; Drexel University;; the Hospital & Health System Association of Pennsylvania; Lehigh University the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges; the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education; Pennsylvania State University; the University of Pennsylvania; and the University of Pittsburgh. www.kinber.org

About OFS

OFS is a world-leading designer, manufacturer and provider of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, FTTX, optical connectivity and specialty photonics products.  Our manufacturing and research divisions work together to provide innovative products and solutions that traverse many different applications as they link people and machines worldwide. Between continents, between cities, around neighborhoods, and into homes and businesses of digital consumers we provide the right optical fiber, optical cable and components for efficient, cost-effective transmission.

OFS' corporate lineage dates back to 1876 and includes technology powerhouses such as AT&T and Lucent Technologies (now Alcatel-Lucent). Today, OFS is owned by Furukawa Electric, a multi-billion dollar global leader in optical communications.

Headquartered in Norcross (near Atlanta) Georgia, U.S., OFS is a global provider with facilities in Avon, Connecticut; Carrollton, Georgia; Somerset, New Jersey; and Sturbridge, Massachusetts, as well as in Denmark, Germany and Russia.

For more information, please visit www.ofsoptics.com.

SOURCE OFS