Wholesale: Products & Services

Resale - Private Line Transport (PLT) - GeoMax™ - V20.0

Product Description

CenturyLink's retail telecommunication service, GeoMax™ is available for resale by Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs) to their end-users. Additional information about resale of CenturyLink's retail services can be found in Resale-General.

GeoMax™ service is a high speed, multi-protocol, fiber optic data transport service. It utilizes Dense Wave Division Multiplexing (DWDM) technology to enable two or more optical signals having different wavelengths to be simultaneously transmitted in the same direction over one strand of fiber. GeoMax™ service has the ability to support multiple protocols and applications on a single platform. Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) levels are fully supported and include Optical Carrier Level 3, (OC3), OC12 OC48 and OC192.

The components that make up GeoMax™ are:

• Premise Node - is equipped with one shelf and common equipment. A minimum of two nodes is required per customer application (any mix of Premise or CO Nodes). Each system is capable of supporting up to 32 fully protected or 44 unprotected interfaces. Premise Nodes are CenturyLink provided equipment and are located at customer's location(s).
• Central Office (CO) Node - same as Premise Node, but located in a CenturyLink central office.
• Network Access Channel (NAC) - used to connect CPE at customer premise to a CO Node.
• Additional Wavelengths - May be added to either the premise node or CO node to support up to an additional 44 wavelengths. Optional 40Gbps handoffs available.
• Amplifier Node - Optical amplification provided strengthening of the optical signals to support greater distances that reach beyond normal DWDM optical signals.
• Interoffice Transport Mileage - IOF calculated (per air miles) between serving wire centers for each Node (e.g., A to B, B to C, C to A).
• Ports - can be protected or unprotected

GeoMax™ supports linear and ring configurations.

• There are two linear configurations available:
  • Point-to-Point - This configuration is a two-node system that can support up to 8 shelves at each terminal site (32 protected or 64 non-protected customer interfaces).
  • Linear Optical Add/Drop Multiplexer (OADM) - This configuration has more than two nodes. It can add or drop a customer signal at any of the sites within the same DWDM Band. Linear OAD supports only unprotected connections.

GeoMax™ service can connect to the following CenturyLink provided services, and must be made at the CO Node:

• Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
• Synchronous Service Transport (SST)
• Self Healing Network Service (SHNS)

SST over Geomax™ is a service option that is available to the customer for the purpose of DS1 and DS3 ports on a customer's Geomax™ Network. The customer will order both Geomax and SST, and cross connect the SST nodes to the Geomax nodes at the OC-N level. Please refer to CenturyLink Technical Publications 77407 and 77346, for further information and design specifications.

Availability

GeoMax™ is available throughout CenturyLink QC. Technical characteristics, including Network Channel and Network Channel Interface (NC/NCI™) codes, are described in: Technical Publication, GeoMax™, 77407.

Terms and Conditions

General resale terms and conditions information is located in Resale - General.

GeoMax™ is initially only available under a 36 or 60-Month fixed period service rate plan. New shelves cannot be added to the service within 12 months prior to the termination date of the fixed period service rate plan.

Technical Publications

Technical characteristics, including Network Channel and Network Channel Interface (NC/NCI™) codes, are described in:

Technical Publication, GeoMax™, 77407.

Telcordia Generic Requirements (GRs)/Technical References (TRs)/Special Reports (SRs)

American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard Publications.

Pricing

Rate Structure

Recurring charges are comprised of the following rate elements:

• Customer Interface, per port
• Premise Node (includes one shelf)
• CO Node (includes one shelf)
• Network Access Channel (NAC)
• Additional Wavelengths
• Interoffice Transport Mileage, per airline Mile
• Amplification

Nonrecurring charges are comprised of the following rate elements:

• Customer Interface, per port
• Network Access Channel (NAC)

At the end of the initial service period, GeoMax™ will automatically revert to the month-to-month plan. Service provided under the month to month plan can not be added to or changed, only upgraded to a term plan of 36 or 60 months or disconnected. Service cannot be obtained on month to month basis.

GeoMax™ customers with Pricing Plans will not receive CenturyLink initiated rate increases during the fixed period.

Rates

Rates are available in CenturyLink™ Rates and Services Schedule No.1 (QC RSS No.1).

Tariffs, Regulations and Policy

Tariffs, regulations and policies are located in QC RSS No.1. Contact your CenturyLink Sales Executive for additional information. For Arizona and Minnesota, you may also refer to the state specific Tariffs/Catalogs/Price Lists.

Optional Features

Read-Only Monitoring is a read-only network monitoring using Nortel's System Manager residing on Nortel equipment. It allows customer to view ALL alarms and service performance parameters that is available to the CenturyLink Network Management Service (NMS). Uses customer provided/maintained dedicated workstation.

Features/Benefits

Features	Benefits
Uses protocol transparent wavelengths	Supports multiple protocols in a single platform, including non-traditional optical interfaces (SONET, Ethernet, FICON, Fiber Channel, etc.).
Can support up to 88 wavelengths	High capacity system, with up to 880 Gbps total bandwidth (at 10Gbps per wavelength). Excellent for fiber saver applications.
Can combine protected and unprotected on same system	Provides flexibility for multiple customer applications. Offers high Service Level Agreements (SLA) for either option. Regardless of protection option, have 24x7 dedicated, proactive monitoring.
Available in point to point or ring architecture	Can provide service through many sites. Combined with features above, GeoMax™ is a powerful and flexible solution.

Applications

See Features/Benefits

Implementation

Product Prerequisites

If you are a new CLEC and are ready to do business with CenturyLink, view Getting Started as a Facility-Based CLEC or Getting Started for Resellers. If you are an existing CLEC wishing to amend your Interconnection Agreement or New Customer Questionnaire, additional information is located in the Interconnection Agreement.

Pre-Ordering

An AQCB form must be submitted to the CenturyLink System Design Engineer or the Custom Solutions Engineer for a facilities check by your Account Team / Sales Executives and Service Managers. In the event a facility build is required, additional information regarding the equipment and space requirements at the customer premise are found in the Customer Premise Site Visit Requirements for Fiber Based Services.

Ordering

Once the AQCB process is completed and approved, the GeoMax™ service requests are submitted using the following Access Service Ordering Guidelines (ASOG) forms:

• Access Service Request
• Transport Request
• Service Address Location Information

Optional ASOG forms could include:

• Additional Circuit Information
• Ring
• Additional Ring Information Field entry requirements are described in the Access Service Request (ASR) Forms. Service requests should be placed using Electronic Administration and Service Order Exchange (EASE) Virtual Front Office (VFO) or one of the other methods described in CenturyLink ASR Ordering Systems.

If an AQCB ID number has been provided to you, that information must be populated into the VTA field after the contract term period: i.e. "36 AQCBID#".

For circuits that cross state boundaries, i.e., WA and OR, the Receiver Code (aka Interexchange Carrier Service Codes (ICSC)) used on the request must coincide with the SECLOC if CenturyLink-owned. All billing will take place within that state.

Provisioning and Installation

General provisioning and installation activities are described in the Provisioning and Installation Overview.

Maintenance and Repair

General maintenance and repair activities are described in the Maintenance and Repair Overview.

Billing

Carrier Access Billing System (CABS) billing is described in Billing Information - Carrier Access Billing System (CABS).

Training

View CenturyLink courses in the Course Catalog.

Contacts

CenturyLink contact information is located in Wholesale Customer Contacts.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of DWDM technology?
Key advantages of DWDM technology include transparency (i.e., bit rate and protocol independent) making it an ideal optical solution for supporting a customer's multi-protocol applications. It offers scalable bandwidth and quick service provisioning, enabling the offering of bandwidth virtually on demand. Its transparency allows customers to support multiple protocols and applications with a single platform. Customers have the flexibility to pick and choose the protection that fits their specific needs, down to interface or port level.

2. What is included in GeoMax™ service?
The service includes all the necessary electronics equipment, including the DWDM, fiber facilities, SLAs, and 24/7 monitoring/management service by CenturyLink.

3. What is the SLA for GeoMax™?
SLA (Service Level Agreements) consists of the following four parameters. Service Availability, Customer notification, Mean Time to Repair (MTTR) and Installation Guarantee. Please see SLA document for more details.

4. Are there specific distance limitations?
Protocols, including SONET, GigE, etc. can go up to 50km (31 miles) before requiring amplification. If supported by the customer's specific application, optical amplification or regeneration can be deployed to extend the distance.

5. Where is the DWDM equipment physically located?
GeoMax™ DWDM equipment is generally located at customer premises. This allows GeoMax™ to interface directly with customer equipment, avoiding possible distance limitations. However, in some ring configurations GeoMax™ DWDM equipment is located at the customer serving Central Offices (CO).

6. How is the service being managed and monitored?
GeoMax™ service is being managed and monitored remotely by the CenturyLink™ NMS located in Minneapolis, MN. The NMS performs 24/7 proactive network monitoring and management.

7. What are the key customer applications currently supported by GeoMax™ service?
GeoMax? service can support a number of customer applications from data center mainframe connectivity to LAN/WAN internetworking applications. Data center applications can include applications such as data replication, load sharing and Storage Area Networks (SAN). LAN networking such as Gigabit Ethernet and SONET are the other common applications.

8. What is the physical appearance of the "Node"?
Each node consists of a "system" or multiple systems of DWDM boxes. A system is four cabinets, each approximately 7' tall, with a 2.5' square footprint. The box is black metal with smoked glass front.

Last Update: June 9, 2017

GeoMax™ is a Trademark of CenturyLink™
NC/NCI™ is a Trademark of Telcordia Technologies, Inc.