• Clearfield has appointed WAV to distribute its fibre, cabinet and managed-power products across the US and Canada
  • WAV will also help wireless providers select and configure equipment for individual deployments

The fact

Clearfield announced a distribution agreement with WAV on 2 September, giving wireless and broadband providers in the US and Canada another way to buy its network infrastructure products.

WAV will distribute Clearfield’s fibre systems, active cabinets and managed-power equipment, with a particular focus on wireless deployments. The products covered include the FieldSmart FiberFlex 1700 active cabinet, TetherSmart Multi-Fiber Terminal and Fault Managed Power systems. WAV already works with wireless service providers and WISPs, and will also help customers choose and configure equipment for individual projects.

The deal broadens Clearfield’s sales and support network, but it is still a distribution agreement rather than a deployment announcement. Neither company named a customer, disclosed order volumes or set sales targets.

The ssessment

A WISP rarely buys a radio in isolation. A new site also needs fibre termination, cabinets and power, and those pieces have to be specified to work together. WAV’s role is to bring more of that sourcing under one distributor, with support on how Clearfield’s products should be configured for the job.

The announcement does not show that this will make sites cheaper or quicker to build. Operators still have to design the site, secure power and handle the field engineering, and neither company has published deployment results showing a measurable improvement.

For BTW readers, the agreement becomes more meaningful once operators start using WAV to source several Clearfield components for the same build. Named WISP projects and repeat orders would show whether the channel is becoming part of normal deployment practice.

What to watch

Watch for the first operators to buy Clearfield equipment through WAV and whether they use several parts of the portfolio in the same deployment. Customer references, order volumes and repeat purchases would give clearer evidence of whether the new distribution channel is producing network projects rather than simply adding another place to buy the equipment.