San Jose, Calif. - October 8, 2002 - El Paso Community College (EPCC) and Cisco Systems today announce the rollout of the Cisco ONS 15454, offering EPCC employees, students and faculty access to high-speed network resources for continuing education, administration and registration. The industry-leading Cisco ONS 15454 Multiservice Provisioning Platform is an optical transport platform carrying data, voice and video traffic across the network. The Cisco ONS 15454 is part of the Cisco Complete Optical Multiservice Edge and Transport (COMET) portfolio.

In the mid-1990s, Time Warner (previously Paragon Cable) donated two strands of fiber optic cable to the El Paso community. As a leader in technology adoption, EPCC took advantage of this generous donation and offered to manage the network to support educational initiatives. In 2001, Time Warner determined that EPCC could continue to manage the fiber asset as a "sole landlord." In early 2002 EPCC purchased new equipment that could take full advantage of the fiber network, dubbed Orion.

"The Orion project integrates nearly every key economic asset in our region with high-speed, broadband capacity," said Senator Eliot Shapleigh of Texas. "In addition, the Orion network positions El Paso and Juarez on the cutting edge of technology in what will be the digital gateway to future U.S.-Mexico economic integration. We are very excited about what this network will do for our region."

"We knew we needed to update our technology resources in order to reap the full benefits of the fiber network," said Fabiola Rubio, vice president of resource management at EPCC. "Our existing equipment was outdated and we wanted to standardize on a leading optical platform. Choosing Cisco was a simple decision, and the company made it extremely easy for us."

During campus break, the Cisco ONS 15454 was installed and the network was working at speeds 100 times faster than before. "Students and faculty never even knew a transition was in place until they returned to find their access to the network was dramatically faster and more reliable," added Rubio.

With the new network in place, EPCC offers its students more efficient online registration; all administrative applications currently run through the network, including payroll. In addition, EPCC recently networked video cameras throughout the main campus as part of the college's campus-wide crime prevention and security effort. Additionally, EPCC's "Mission Impossible" campus, which houses its Law Enforcement Center, is using video streaming technology to train its students.

"We understand that EPCC's goal is to increase economic development in the El Paso region," said Ron Martin, vice president and general manager of the Cisco Optical Transport Business Unit. "With Cisco optical solutions, EPCC hopes to share its network resources with local community organizations."

Community Network for Economic Development

EPCC is leading an effort to partner with local community organizations to share the network and the costs associated with its future development. If the program moves forward, many local organizations will benefit: the City of El Paso, the University of Texas at El Paso, the El Paso City Libraries, the El Paso County, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, the El Paso Independent School Districts, which includes 96 schools, and Region 19 Education Service Center, which manages educational delivery services for the community.

"We have big plans for this network," added Rubio. "Currently, we have more bandwidth than we need, and we want to share it with the community so we can all achieve one common goal-economic and social development for El Paso."