Ekinops announced that it is delivering its 1651, a 10Gb/s Ethernet Access Device, to Stratus Networks for wireless backhaul connectivity. Stratus provides network services to other carriers and entities of all sizes, building a particularly strong business model with small businesses, government and education customers. It has its own 10G/100G/200G capable fiber ring throughout the state of Illinois built using the Ekinops360 dynamic optical transport system, allowing it to reach any customer by extending its network from the nearest Point-of-Presence (PoP) to the customer facility.

Stratus is now also using the Ekinops OneOS6-based 1651 10G Ethernet Access Device (EAD) to provide wholesale, MEF-compliant, EPL (E-Access Ethernet Private Line) services to a third-party wireless network operator for mobile backhaul connectivity. Stratus chose the 1651 EAD primarily because of its support for wire-speed service activation testing (SAT) at 10Gbps (gigabit per second). Using IETF RFC-2544 and ITU-T Y.1564 testing standards, the 1651 acts as both the SAT generator & reflector, saving the cost of a second testing device while also speeding the SAT process.

With this capability, Stratus now has the tool it needs to not only validate its service level agreements with real-time data, but also to show by how much it exceeded its contracted performance. Stratus becomes one of the first service providers in North America to operate a combined Ekinops network of Layer 2 Ethernet and Layer 1 WDM platforms.