ITHACA, NY – Fiberspark, a fiber-based Internet service provider serving Ithaca, is using COS Service Zones to deploy and manage its fiber network.

Started in 2012 under the advisement of late Dr. Alan McAdams of the Cornell University Advanced Fiber Networks Institute, Fiberspark quickly spun-out into a private company and has remained closely tied to the university with support from the eLab business accelerator.

Fiberspark turned to COS for its roll-out strategy. “If you are building a FTTH solution, you can’t afford to not aggregate demand beforehand,” founder and CEO of Fiberspark, Jeff Shaffer says. “And the best solution out there is COS Service Zones.”

With COS Service Zones Shaffer aims to bring modern connectivity to more people throughout the Ithaca, NY, area faster. Fiberspark’s mission is steeped in offering abundant speeds and connectivity. “Abundance — super fast, flat-rate, unlimited access — rather than scarcity — data caps and upload speeds that are a fraction of download — are at the core,” Shaffer said. Fiberspark expects to offer up to 100 times the speed of what incumbents are currently offering.

Aggregating Demand to Secure Financing
The greatest challenge any FTTH deployment faces is securing funding. “COS’s turn-key solution gathers such fine-grain detail about consumer demand in a specific geographic area, and we don’t have to waste time wondering the best way to aggregate demand because the tools and the process are all laid out for us.” Shaffer said. “Since COS Service Zones is purpose-built to quickly respond to new findings and edit zones or a different mix of services, it allows us to move incredibility quickly and have a high level of certainty with regards to planning and return on investment.”

“One of the most rewarding aspects of my job,” says COS CMO Isak Finér, “is enabling small enterprises to compete with incumbent providers. It says a lot to be working with Cornell University’s entrepreneurial community.”

With a core team of five, Fiberspark is able to work efficiently with the support of Service Zones, as all COS Systems products are designed to work with minimal professional staffing, which is crucial not just for startups but for modern broadband networks worldwide.

Rolling Out Fiber with Committed Customers
Beginning a fiber deployment with committed customers is far more efficient than deploying from one end of town to the other and then chasing customers. COS Service Zones allows you to:

  • Draw multiple competing zones across your city or town.

  • See demand build in real-time as customers signup using your branded website.

  • Deploy once target take rate is reached to accelerate profitability.

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