KYLE MURPHYStaff Writer

TUA LightTube customers are going to be seeing a change in their fiber broadband services as the Tullahoma Utilities Authority (TUA) Board gave the thumbs up for an upgrade.

Prior to its meeting on Sept. 30, the TUA Board held a work session where Network Operations Supervisor Christopher Reddekopp gave a presentation to the board about the Calix AXOS upgrade. He first went over TUA LightTube’s current technology, starting with it’s gigabit passive optical network, or GPON, has a limit of about 2.5 GB down and 1.2 GB up per PON (passive optical network), which Reddekopp explained that is what allows LightTube to provide customers with internet speeds of up to 1 GB for both uploads and downloads. Also a part of the service from TUA LightTube includes digital and analog TV, as well as residential and business phones.

“While these speeds are excellent for our market, we can deliver even more,” Reddekopp said.

Reddekopp continued and said with the upgrade to the Calix AXOS system, it will provide a future longevity platform that will allow upgradability and new services. He added during the deployment of the new technology, it will allow TUA with the flexibility to leave its current system in place while migrating over time.

  “This eliminates the need to change the equipment at each premise location all at once,” he said. “Also, it reduces the need to install additional fiber in areas that already have the proper infrastructure in place. Instead, TUA would change equipment as needed based on the demand for the new service offerings and new signups for LightTube and brand-new development areas.”

Due to this design, Reddekopp said the architecture will also allow future growth, offer new services that will provide control of localized managed Wi-Fi to consumers and new technology that will notify staff of potential issues before they occur, leading to a reduction in overall service calls. Reddekopp went into further detail about some of the new service opportunities. He said the upgrade will give TUA LightTube the ability to offer various multi-gig internet services offerings, which will make TUA the first offer this kind of service in Tullahoma. The upgrade will also have improved backend tools that will help LightTube Support with customers. As for the Wi-Fi, TUA will have a branded app that will provide customers the ability to manage features like parental controls, security suite and usage analytics. The last feature in his presentation to the board was Smart Town, which is a community-wide Wi-Fi that would provide current subscribers with Wi-Fi connectivity while out in Tullahoma for no extra cost.

“In today’s world, we recognize the importance of keeping our children safe while promoting safe learning environments,” Reddekopp said.

Following the presentation, the board members had the chance to ask a few questions and clarifications about the Calix AXOS upgrade before rolling into the scheduled meeting. When the board got to and made the motions to approve the Calix AXOS upgrade, TUA President Allen Potter said thanked Reddekopp for explaining the reasonings for the upgrade, and expressed his excitement about the potential the upgrade would create. He added that the board had approved to purchase of the necessary Calix equipment in the fiber budget at $700,000, and credited Brian Langham, TUA Vice President in Electric/Fiber, for negotiating with Calix to get the quote to $537,614.79.

When opened for discussion, TUA Vice Chair Patty Deen gave praise for the staff for putting the potential upgrade in the budget, and making sure that TUA was not only keeping up but surpassing what their competitors are doing.

“I think it’s a positive real for Tullahoma so thanks to everyone at TUA for putting this together,” Deen said.

Board member Dr. Jimmy Blanks said he knew the board was proactive in looking into the future, so he asked Potter if he thought they would need to do an upgrade again in the next five or so years. Potter said he suspected it will be longer than five to 10 years before another upgrade was needed. Board member Busch Thoma said hopefully not all the equipment needed to be replaced and both Langham and Potter clarified that the original equipment was first replaced in 2008, followed up by an upgrade to TUA LightTube’s Fiber-to-the-Home access platform in 2017. Potter continued and said the 2017 upgrade replaced all the ONTs (optical network terminal) while this upgrade will not be the case.

With no further discussion, the board unanimously approved the purchase of the Calix AXOS upgrade at the quote of $537,614.79.