Ritter Newsroom

HANOVER, Md. — 10/1/2013

Ciena® Corporation (NASDAQ: CIEN), the network specialist, today announced that Ritter Communications, an Arkansas-based communications provider, will deploy Ciena’s new packet networking solutions to support growing customer demand for 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) wholesale transport and Internet services as well as mobile backhaul requirements for Tier 1 mobile operators. With Ciena’s 5160 Service Aggregation Switch (SAS) Ritter will be able to deliver premium Ethernet and wireless backhaul services across Arkansas and Tennessee at a 50 percent reduction in aggregation cost per 10GbE port compared to similar solutions available on the market today. 

Key Facts:

• Ritter is a fifth-generation family business founded in 1886. Today, through a modern, intelligent infrastructure, Ritter owns and operates three rural local exchange carriers (RLECs) in northern Arkansas and western Tennessee; a fiber based competitive local exchange carrier (CLEC) in Jonesboro, Arkansas and a wholesale services network throughout Arkansas and western Tennessee. 
• Ritter will deploy Ciena’s 5160 SAS, which features industry-leading 10GbE density with 24 ports in a compact, single rack unit (1RU) form factor, which significantly reduces the amount of equipment Ritter would otherwise have to install and manage. The 5160 also supports a wide range of robust and field-proven packet features, including wire-speed L2 switching with 240 Gigabit per second (Gbps) fabric and MPLS OAM support service activation testing at line rate, giving Ritter the ability to offer 10GbE service delivery and aggregation and the flexibility to meet customers varied business service and backhaul requirements. 
• Ritter will also deploy Ciena’s new 5142 SAS, a flexible, compact edge platform that provides efficient 1GbE to 10GbE aggregation density in a 1RU, fixed chassis configuration. The new 5160 and 5142 also provide Ritter with 10GbE service activation testing, extended temperature range support, full synchronization support, and greatly reduced power and space footprint – all critical aspects of improving customer satisfaction and overall deployment lifecycle costs. 
• Leveraging Ciena’s OPn network architecture approach, the 5160 and 5142 leverage the same field-proven, full-featured Service-Aware Operating System (SAOS) for simplified integration across Ciena’s portfolio. Earlier this year, Ritter deployed Ciena’s 5150 SAS,3930 Service Delivery Switch and 6500 Packet-Optical Platform equipped with WaveLogic Coherent Optical Processors to support the expansion of its regional fiber optic network. 
• Ritter will also leverage Ciena’s OneControl Unified Management System to improve operational efficiency and seamlessly manage its entire portfolio of Ciena solutions – from edge to core – to quickly address new demand for Ethernet services and connectivity and provide Service Level Agreement (SLA) insights. 
• Ciena will also provide project consulting via Ciena’s Specialist Services portfolio. 

Executive Comments:

• “The 5160 specifically allows us to expand our regional core to accommodate the demand for higher bandwidth and 10G customer interfaces. We’ve been experiencing significant growth from our Ethernet Business Services as well as our Wholesale Transport and Internet Services, and this technology is a key factor in enabling us to continue to service this demand. The small form factors of the 5160 and 5142 allow us to expand quickly where needed and address the network’s hot spots in a cost-effective manner. And since we can’t sacrifice on quality of service, the OAM feature set is critical to delivering on our service level agreements to our customers.”
  - Greg Sunderwood, vice president of engineering, Ritter Communications 
• “Ritter is highly attuned to its customers’ needs, and is making strategic investments in its network to ensure that it can meet the unrelenting demand for Ethernet services from both business and mobile operators. Our new 10GbE packet networking solutions are ideal for companies like Ritter that recognize the value of the network – and its underlying infrastructure –  in ensuring the success and longevity of their business and we are pleased that they continue to seek our partnership.”
  - Chad Whalen, vice president and general manager, North America field operations, Ciena 

Technology Leadership:

• Used by more than 150 carriers, wireless service providers and cable operators worldwide, Ciena’s packet solutions improve service agility by concentrating complexities onto fewer platforms, better utilizes the right network element and technology for the job, economically supports higher densities and increases overall network capacity, and enables faster transition from declining legacy services to growing packet services. 
• OPn is Ciena’s approach for building open, programmable next-generation networks that scale and automatically adapt to handle the changes created by cloud/data center migration, mobile broadband and the growing demand for high-bandwidth applications and services. 

Supporting Resources:

• Video: 10GbE Life of the Party
• Product Overview: Packet Networking Portfolio
• Product Overview: OneControl Unified Management System
• Webinar Series: Packet Networking Webinar Series
• White Paper: Evolving Metro Packet Networks with 10GE Deployment
• White Paper: OPn Network Architecture

About Ritter Communications:

Ritter Communications, founded in Marked Tree, Arkansas and headquartered in Jonesboro, began providing local phone service in 1906. Today, Ritter serves 57 communities and more than 45,000 customers in northeast and north central Arkansas and west Tennessee with advanced voice and data services typically found only in major metropolitan areas. Ritter invests heavily in the communities it serves by deploying proven, best in class infrastructure and technology while coupling it with a world class customer focused experience.

Residential consumer services include local and long distance phone service, cable television and high speed Internet. Business services include customized communications systems and services, including, broadband Internet services, Managed Voice, data center services, Ethernet connectivity, customized networking and hosted applications. For more information, visit rittercommunications.com or facebook.com/rittercommunications.