Nokia and NCTC partnership brings tailored fiber solutions to 700 cable and broadband operators
- Nokia to provide tailored fiber solutions which help NCTC members be more competitive and bring new services to their market of 15 million Americans
- Nokia fiber broadband solutions provide NCTC members with a simple, flexible evolution path to 25Gb/s and cloud-native Software-Defined Networking (SDN)
- Nokia broadband solutions help NCTC members better monetize their networks with support for a number of use cases ranging from fiber to the home, to large-scale enterprise applications, to 5G transport
15 April 2021
Espoo, Finland – Nokia today announced an agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) to aid and expedite its member companies’ broadband service rollouts and expansions. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will provide NCTC members with tailored fiber solutions and access to premier service programs. Unique in the industry, the Nokia solution also enables a simple upgrade path to 25Gb/s.
NCTC represents more than 700 cable and broadband operators in all 50 United States and its territories. Its members serve approximately 15 million consumers with broadband service across 3,000+ communities, many of which are smaller and located in rural areas. Several NCTC members had winning bids in the Phase I Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) auction, receiving awards to bring high speed fixed broadband service to rural homes and small businesses that lack it. In addition to the urgency to provide better connectivity to rural communities, COVID-19-related societal and behavioral shifts are forcing operators to greatly accelerate network upgrades.
Nokia’s fiber solution will enable NCTC members to efficiently boost network capacity from 2.5Gb/s to 10Gb/s and beyond as needed. With more capacity on the same fiber, operators can better monetize their networks and address multiple customer segments including residential, enterprises, and wireless operators, along with service wholesalers, in urban, suburban and rural areas. Nokia’s solution also helps NCTC members’ seamless transition towards network automation and management with cloud-native Software-Defined Networking solutions which provide the flexibility to scale networks while reducing cost and effort.
Nokia is a recognized leader in fiber broadband with approximately seven out of every 10 fiber homes in the U.S. served by Nokia solutions. The company recently announced reaching the significant milestone of 100 million shipped PON fiber broadband lines globally.
“This marks the beginning of a partnership that will greatly benefit NCTC members and their customers as demand for higher performing broadband is growing faster than ever before,” said Sandy Motley, President, Nokia Fixed Networks division. “In addition to our family of PON products built on our in-house designed chipset, we expect our agreement will expand to include a full range of fixed and wireless network solutions. NCTC members now have ready access to Nokia’s extensive team of experienced professionals, capable of supporting any type of network expansion and upgrade challenges.”
“On behalf of our members, we are very excited to establish a partnership with a technology leader like Nokia,” said Rob Smith, Senior Director of Procurement, NCTC. “Nokia is the only NCTC partner that currently offers a 25G symmetrical PON solution, and its complete wired and wireless service portfolio is cutting edge. Nokia is clearly committed to our membership and to enabling their success. We look forward to a productive and beneficial partnership for decades to come.”
Resources
Webpage: Next-generation PON
About Nokia
We create technology that helps the world act together.
As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.
Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.
About the National Cable Television Cooperative
The National Cable Television Cooperative, Inc. (NCTC) is a Kansas-based, not-for-profit corporation that operates as a programming, broadband solutions and hardware purchasing organization for its member companies who own and operate cable systems throughout the U.S. and its territories. NCTC seeks to maximize current and future opportunities to ensure the profitability, competitive stature and long-term sustainability of its member companies. NCTC represents more than 700 small and mid-sized independent cable and broadband operators across the U.S., in programming and technology acquisition. NCTC is actively engaged in helping network providers and suppliers evolve their business models to deploy new video/data solutions to match the changes in the media landscape.
Media Inquiries:
Nokia Communications
Phone: +358 10 448 4900
Email: press.services@nokia.com
National Cable Television Coorperative
Pam Gillies, VP of Marketing & Communications
Email: pgillies@nctconline.org
Phone: (720) 594-8085
