Savannah-based service provider Seimitsu is rolling out residential broadband in the neighborhoods of Isle of Hope, Dutch Island, and Sandfly utilizing Ciena’s XGS-PON solution.

Located a short drive from the historic city of Savannah, the waterfront communities are renowned for their scenic beauty and laid-back lifestyle, offering inhabitants a unique haven for those seeking a balance of tranquility and activity.

Despite their idyllic setting, however, the locales were lacking in one area—reliable high-speed fiber internet service. And it’s something community leaders sought to rectify.

“We worked with the HOA and community leaders of Isle of Hope, Dutch Island, and Sandfly to bring fiber internet service to their neighborhoods, which had been underserved from a connectivity perspective. They were familiar with Seimitsu from our 40-plus years as a leading service provider for the Savannah business community—and heard about our expansion into the residential market with TrueConnX Home, our fiber-to-the-home offering,” said Mark Cribbs, Director of TrueConnX Home at Seimitsu.

“TrueConnX Home makes it possible for Savannah’s coastal enclaves to enjoy broadband service up to 10Gb/s delivered over fiber—meaning no more slow connections, buffering, or lag, especially for the region’s remote workers, gamers, and binge-watchers.”

Seimitsu’s residential broadband network is powered by Ciena’s 5164 Routers, XGS-PON uOLTs (micro optical line terminals), and 3802 ONUs (optical network units). Ciena’s pluggable PON technology is flexible and incrementally scalable, allowing Seimitsu to simply plug additional uOLTs into the 5164 to expand the network. This is more cost-effective and sustainable than traditional power-hungry, large footprint, chassis-based OLTs.

The residential broadband traffic will transit Seimitsu’s all-underground fiber network across Chatham County and up to Atlanta. “In Ciena, we found an ideal solution provider. We were already using Ciena’s WaveLogic 5 and 6500 in our transport network between Savannah, Jacksonville, and metro Atlanta, and we felt very comfortable turning to them for an XGS-PON solution,” said Sam Cook, Co-Founder and President of Seimitsu. “The whole process was easier than we imagined because of the great collaboration and support.”

Of the technology, Cook remarked: “Ciena’s XGS-PON is field-proven, scalable, and sustainable, allowing Seimitsu to efficiently meet the connectivity needs of Chatham County for many years to come.”

TrueConnX Home service to the three communities will be live in late summer 2024 and will pass around 2,300 homes. Seimitsu isn’t stopping there, though. The company plans to pass 24,000 homes in Chatham County as it expands throughout the Low Country.

“We look forward to serving the residential market with the same velocity and reliability that we’ve provided to business customers since our inception,” said Cook.

Ciena's partner, Netceed, is playing a key role in the planning and execution of Seimitsu's residential broadband project. Netceed is a global telecom specialist and one-stop shop distribution partner providing products and value-added solutions from network core to service delivery edge.

For more information about Seimitsu, visit https://www.seimitsu.com/