[Eugene Water & Electric Board Signs Contract With MFS Network Technologies]
OMAHA, Neb., Feb. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- MFS Network Technologies, a subsidiary of Able Telcom Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:ABTE), announced that Eugene Water & Electric Board (EWEB) has signed a contract with MFS Network Technologies to construct the initial phase of a fiber optic communications system in Eugene, Oregon. The contract was awarded to MFS following a Request for Proposal issued by the community-owned EWEB seeking a planning, design, construction and management resource for a digital fiber optic communication network. The nearly $8 million Telecommunications Project will encompass 35 sites and approximately 62 miles of fiber optic cable. It will include a Network Operations Center (NCO) at EWEB business headquarters, 25 EWEB Substations and 3 Bonneville Power Administration Substations. The project also includes excess fiber to allow for future connection of several local agencies, including the school district, county and the University of Oregon.
When complete the network will provide SONET connectivity with multiple rings between EWEB substations and EWEB Headquarters. It will be used to transmit voice, data and control system traffic between the various sites. This new system will also provide the platform for a future build-out to service the communications needs of EWEB's customers. The utility will consider this expansion within two to three years.
"We like the flexibility of this system design," said Ken Beeson, EWEB Telecommunications Project Manager. "It will allow us to add the capability of carrying video, Local Area Network (LAN), voice, and internet traffic between the public schools, the University of Oregon, and other municipal locations for a variety of distance learning and business applications."
"The network design incorporates a flexible architecture with excess capacity which could be used to provide a wide variety of digital services to commercial and residential customers throughout the Eugene area," added Stacy Jenkins, President of MFS Network Technologies. "We command EWEB for their vision of using an internal communications need as a vehicle to position the company for future business opportunities, and look forward to helping them achieve these goals." |
