Plano-based DZS is bringing its high-speed fiber optic solutions to Europe through a new partnership with French telecom company Orange.

DZS, a global provider of access, optical, and AI-driven cloud software solutions, deployed its networking equipment in a pilot project on Orange’s fiber internet network, which serves over 13 million consumers across Europe. The DZS innovations aim to cost-effectively upgrade infrastructure to meet growing consumer demand for faster internet speeds.

In a news release, DZS said it’s now completed the first phases of a live pilot solution within the Orange Polska production network in Poland to the flagship Velocity fiber-access portfolio.

Paris, France-based Orange is the largest fiber-to-the-home service provider in Europe with more than 13 million residential, business, and campus subscribers. As part of its multi-vendor strategy, Orange said that it finds top partners to meet and exceed the ever-changing needs of its growing residential, business, and mobile customer base.

DZS Velocity Optical Line terminals [Photo: DZS]

Pilot deployment

Orange’s Gilles Bourdon said the company sees DZS as a strategic part of its European technology ecosystem. “DZS was given the opportunity to become part of our ecosystem, and we are working closely with them,” Bourdon said in a statement.

Bourdon, the vice president of Wireline Networks and Infrastructure at Orange, explained the company needs partners that can support both current networking standards like 2.5 Gigabit GPON and emerging upgrades such as 10G, while also addressing “heterogenous situations coming from the diversity of countries where we operate.”

DZS says its Velocity hardware is designed to be deployed across diverse environments and network configurations.

Its equipment also uses innovative “system-on-a-card” technology to support both current and next-generation connection standards, according to DZS. This allows companies like Orange to leverage Velocity systems in any configuration—from small-scale deployments to high-capacity upgrades—while minimizing operational complexity.

DZS Chief Customer Officer Gunter Reiss touted the company’s strengthened collaboration with Orange as a strategic advancement. “DZS is providing Orange with another valuable set of options as they continue building their leading-edge fiber infrastructure and expanding network automation capabilities,” Reiss said in a news release.

He explained that as more providers globally invest in fiber, DZS’s solutions can help innovative companies like Orange achieve flexibility across multiple vendors. This allows them to “minimize operational spend and maximize service quality, new service delivery and user experience,” Reiss added.

DZS said it offers “a game-changing portfolio of access edge, subscriber edge, optical edge, and AI-driven cloud-based solutions that deliver a next-level subscriber experience while rewriting the rules on ease of deployment and operating costs.”

DZS technology allows operators of both existing network transformations and new deployments to provide gigabit and/or multi-gigabit services, while establishing a future-ready foundation for upgrades to low-latency 50/100-gigabit capacity when needed, the company said.

Competitive edge

DZS’ software and hardware solutions for telecommunications companies help build and manage broadband networks. Under the leadership of CEO Charlie Vogt since 2020, the company has introduced several new products aimed at efficiently and affordably connecting unserved and underserved communities. 

Earlier this month, the Plano-based tech firm was recognized as a finalist in the 2023 Dallas Innovates Innovation Awards for “Innovation in AI and Machine Learning.”

The last twelve months have been busy for DZS, including an extended deal with TalkTalk, the UK’s leading value telecom provider. By implementing DZS’s AI-driven platforms, TalkTalk “significantly reduced handling times, improved response times and higher customer retention rates,” according to information provided to Dallas Innovates. DZS was recognized this month for its work with TalkTalk in the 2023 Leading Lights Awards.

One of DZS’s most notable recent innovations is its AI-enabled “Experience Cloud” service, launched earlier this year. The company says that DZS Cloud uses artificial intelligence to give visibility into both the network infrastructure and subscriber/customer activity for regional service providers. DZS cloud-based solutions are used globally by more than 400 service providers in over 70 countries, managing connectivity for over 70 million homes served by firms like Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and Telefonica. 

DZS also aims to bring manufacturing jobs back to America through a partnership with California-based Fabrinet, according to the company. The partnership could position the company to support President Biden’s $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program using U.S.-made equipment.

Filing delay

In August, DZS announced it would delay filing its second-quarter 2023 earnings report beyond the SEC deadline. In a news release, the company stated the delay was “in connection with the restatement of the Company’s previously issued unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.”

According to the release, an internal review of revenue recognition matters was underway at the time. DZS said it was working to complete the review and restate any impacted financial statements as soon as practicable. The company also noted that the full scope and impact of the review remained under examination, and it was unknown when DZS would complete the filings.

Capital infusion supports continued growth

DZS recently announced new financing totaling $29.7 million in September, citing the capital infusion as a vote of confidence in the company’s strategic direction and future growth prospects. The funding includes a $24.5 million 3-year term loan from major shareholder DASAN Networks.

“As a major shareholder of DZS since 2016, we are inspired by the progress the company has made since the Board of Directors appointed Charlie Vogt as President and CEO of DZS in August 2020,” said DASAN Networks CEO Min Woo Nam in a news release at the time. “DNI is encouraged with the company’s future prospects and remains committed to support DZS.”

DASAN is one of the largest network equipment makers in South Korea. DNI stands for Daewoo Network InfraService, which was DASAN Networks’ previous name before rebranding in 2013.

“DNI expects DZS to convert many of the active trials across North America and EMEA to new customer logo wins in 2023 and 2024 as well as implementing a disciplined focus on net operating income and free cashflow,” The DASAN Networks CEO said.

In a statement, DZS President and CEO Charlie Vogt added: “The new financing from DNI will ease our financial covenants, lower our interest cost basis and, together with the additional short-term loans secured or in final process, will fully pay off our existing loans.”

Vogt said the improved debt terms will optimize operations and free up resources to continue disrupting established markets with differentiated innovation. The capital comes as DZS aims to convert robust customer trials and engagement into expanded deployments.

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