NextLight a customer of Smartoptics
About the customer

NextLight has been delivering fiber internet to Longmont Colorado’s residents since 2014, earning a 68% market share and serving over 27,500 customers. The municipal fiber provider has been recognized as one of the fastest ISPs in the US by PC Magazine multiple times and 85% of its customers served have gigabit connectivity.

Industry: CSP
Location: Colorado, US
Solution: ROADMs, muxponders, network management software
Products:

The challenge

Network upgraded to continue accelerating innovation

NextLight’s connectivity achievements have been made with innovation and a commitment to high-quality service in the communities it serves. As bandwidth needs continued to rise, aging DWDM infrastructure needed to be upgraded to continue on this journey and support growth. Compatibility with the Calix optical line terminals used in NextLight’s network, ease of use and cost efficiency were key decision factors.

“A best-of-breed approach is key for us as we seek to avoid vendor lock-in and build a disaggregated network. We’re a rural engineering-focused group, and we like to do be able to do everything ourselves, which means ease of use is important. Given our strong reputation for providing gigabit connectivity at affordable rates, it was also decisive to ensure that we can continue to increase network capacity in a cost-efficient manner,” says Juan.

Picture collage NextLight
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From plug-and-play hardware to intuitive software and responsive support, everything about Smartoptics makes my life easier. Their solutions are cost-efficient and without any extra fees for alien wavelengths, enabling us to continue serving our communities with high-speed connectivity at affordable rates.

Juan Garcia, Manager, Network Operations and Engineering, City of Longmont, Colorado

The Solution

The easiest solution NextLight ever tried 

To enable seamless 100G and 400G connectivity between Colorado data centers in Longmont, Denver and Fort Collins, NextLight turned to Smartoptics. DCP muxponders and ROADMs were selected for their cost efficiency, ease of use, and verified compatibility with Calix. 

“With Smartoptics, everything is fully open without extra fees for alien wavelengths and with plenty of room to grow. The overall solution is cost-efficient and the easiest we have ever set up. We got everything up and running by ourselves in no time without training – it only took one day for the entire solution. The use of open standards, strong interoperability and high flexibility of Smartoptics are well aligned with our disaggregated strategy,” says Juan.

Intuitive software and responsive support 

The SoSmart software suite of open management and planning tools has also been deployed by NextLight to manage the ROADMs easily and efficiently. SoSmart Planner allows NextLight’s engineering team to model circuits, input fiber types, and map fiber routes with ease. All of this significantly reduces the complexity of network operations. 

“Smartoptics network elements are plug-and-play, but ease of use doesn’t stop there. The SoSmart software is also very intuitive and helpful, giving us an easy way to stay on top of everything over time. Last but not least, Smartoptics as a company is responsive to our feedback, approachable, and easy to get support from – we can speak directly with a technical expert when needed. Their flexibility and openness ensure we have everything we need to keep our network running smoothly,” says Juan.

The Result

Looking ahead to future innovations

NextLight now has a flexible and scalable DWDM architecture with Smartoptics products. Looking ahead, coherent QSFP 100G DWDM transceivers for running IP over DWDM are planned as a next step. 

“I’m a big fan of the upcoming coherent 100G optics from Smartoptics. These will allow us to save money on intersite connectivity, bypassing the need for certain transponders and muxponders,” says Juan.  

NextLight is already starting to think about a future of 800G together with Smartoptics, too. 

“Our vision for the future is to be able to add/drop anything from 100G to 800G with simple provisioning through SoSmart across Longmont, Denver and Fort Collins. We’re looking forward to upcoming Smartoptics innovations to continue serving our communities with world-class connectivity,” says Juan.

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