Rural Utility Adds Telecommunications to Service Mix

The Empire District Electric Company is an electric utility servicing 160,000 customers in parts of Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Following the 1996 Telecommunications Act, Empire expanded its service offering to include telecommunications, and began to offer high-speed TDM and IP services over its extensive fiber infrastructure. For Empire, becoming a “utelco,” or utility that also provides telecommunications services, provided a new revenue stream and increased utilization of their expensive fiber network. Empire’s customers also benefited, as the company’s fiber network covers regions that are not reached by the local telephone company. Even in areas where the incumbent telephone company does have coverage, transmission is typically over interference-prone copper lines, thus making Empire’s fiber a better option for stable connectivity.

One of Empire’s fastest growing services has been T1 extension to cell-sites in the region. Cellular providers deploying 3G services have an increased need for TDM backhaul capacity, and have been turning to Empire at a rapid rate for T1 services. With restrictive tower costs making it necessary for several cellular operators to operate on the same tower, there is also a need to provide multiple T1 circuits to each location.

Empire had built out its own SONET rings, but providing first mile access to cellsite customers was a challenge. The company had been using unmanaged T1 extenders that were highly complex to set up and manage. For example, unit failure could only be determined and fixed by a technician standing in front of the unit. This unmanaged solution became extremely costly as Empire’s cellular customer base grew and any cellular network failure required a site visit by a technician to determine whether the fault was with Empire’s equipment.

Communications Engineer Payton White set out to find a managed solution that would save on technician rollouts. Familiar with RAD Data Communications’ reputation as a ‘more value for your money’ equipment manufacturer, he found RAD’s LRS-24 managed chassis with Optimux-4T1 fiber multiplexers as the perfect solution for Empire. White tested the solution, liked what he saw, and purchased the equipment. “RAD’s solution is a true plug-and-play device,” says White. “My engineers can easily install and manage these units.” To White, the management capabilities of the RAD solution were the biggest selling point. “Now, when a technician gets a midnight call from a customer, he can simply log on to a computer and see whether or not our unit is functioning properly. This has saved us enormous amounts of money on unnecessary truck roll-outs.”

With just a couple of chassis extending T1 lines from the SONET ADM to various customers, Empire saves on prime POP space. The company is pleased with the RAD solution and continues to purchase additional RAD fiber multiplexers as its T1 circuit orders increase. This ‘grow as you go’ approach keeps costs in line with revenues and results in a payback period of less than five months. Most importantly, Empire consistently maintains a profitable TDM services business.