Consolidated and MLGC to deploy advanced GPON and Active Ethernet broadband services to a dozen rural communities
PETALUMA, Calif., Jan 26, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) today announced that Broadband Stimulus award winners Moore and Liberty, Griggs County Telephone Company (MLGC) and Consolidated Telecom (Consolidated) have each selected the Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP)
for their respective "Fiber Forward" initiatives. Capable of delivering
broadband speeds of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps), gigabit
passive optical network (GPON) and Active Ethernet technologies will be
leveraged in these projects to bring advanced digital video services,
extremely fast data services, and high-quality voice services to the
residents, businesses and community institutions of the twelve targeted
communities. The awards together represent more than $37.5 million in
grants, loans and private investments to be used for plant engineering,
materials, labor, and other costs, including access equipment, and will
bring advanced broadband services to these "unserved" and "underserved"
communities. Regional engineering, surveying, planning, and asset
development firm Kadrmas, Lee,and Jackson
(KLJ) has played a key role in bringing these two projects to fruition,
from providing assistance in the development of their Stimulus
applications to continued network implementation support. With today's
announcement, Calix has now been selected for a combined total of seven
Broadband Stimulus projects throughout the State of North Dakota that
have been awarded more than $74.7 million in grants, loans and private
investments.
Serving eastern areas of the state, MLGC will deploy the Calix E7 ESAP and Calix 720GX/GE and 760GX families of ONTs
to deliver affordable, reliable and extremely fast broadband access to
approximately 2,200 residents, businesses and community institutions in
and around Enderlin, Sharon, Glenfield, Sheldon, Finley, McHenry and the
rural areas of Cooperstown, and Binford, North Dakota. MLGC received
$22.1 million in overall funds, including a $16.6 million grant and a
$5.5 million loan for plant engineering, materials, labor, and other
costs, including access equipment.
"Our rural subscribers will now enjoy the benefits of a world class
fiber network infrastructure, greatly expanding the advanced broadband
services available to our communities today," said Tyler Kilde, general
manager of MLGC. "We are looking at this project as a strategic
investment in the future of our communities, stimulating economic
development allowing the residents and businesses of our region to keep
pace with the demands of a global economy for years to come. This
project is of critical importance to our region, and partnering with a
company with the strong track record of Calix gives us confidence that
we will deliver new opportunity to the deserving subscribers in these
communities."
Consolidated's project will benefit communities on the other side of
the state, delivering advanced broadband services to rural areas in
southwestern North Dakota. Consolidated plans to deploy the Calix E7
ESAP along with Calix's 700GX/GE family of ONTs to bring voice, video
and data services to more than 1,400 households in rural Dickinson,
Gladstone, Lefor and New Hradec that currently have extremely limited
Internet access. Consolidated was awarded more than $15.4 million in
total funding for the project, which includes a $5.8 million grant, a
matching $5.8 million loan and private investments of $3.8 million for
plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access
equipment.
"The Broadband Stimulus award is a significant win for these
communities in our region, and we're extremely proud to be able to bring
our rural customers among the best, most advanced broadband services
anywhere," said Paul Schuetzler, CEO, Consolidated. "Broadband access
has become an essential part of the infrastructure needed to support
economic development and the oil, agriculture and ranching industries
that are so vital to this region. With Calix's technology, we'll be able
to support the broadband needs of our customers today and well into the
future, which means the investments we're making now will provide
long-term benefits to our region."
"We would like to congratulate MLGC and Consolidated, and the rural
residents of their respective serving areas, for their Stimulus awards
and the enormous opportunity that these awards provide," said John
Colvin, vice president of field operations at Calix. "Projects like
these are transformative to the residents and businesses of the
communities they serve, providing the advantages that are commensurate
with having one of the most advanced communications infrastructures in
the world at their disposal. It's an honor to have been chosen to
support and enable their initiatives, and to be able to further extend
advanced broadband access throughout that State of North Dakota."
With today's announcement, aggregate Calix vendor selections by
Broadband Stimulus winners for "last mile" and "middle mile" awards has
now reached 25 different projects representing approximately $391
million in Stimulus-related grants, loans, and private investment for
plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access
equipment. A major part of the Calix Unified Access portfolio, Calix
fiber access solutions are the most widely deployed in North America as
measured by both revenue and optical line terminal ports (Infonetics, Q3
2010).
About Calix
Calix is a leading North American provider of broadband
communications access systems and software for fiber- and copper-based
network architectures that enable communications service providers to
connect to their residential and business subscribers. Calix has shipped
over seven million ports of its Unified Access Infrastructure portfolio
to more than 600 North American and international customers, whose
networks serve over 40 million subscriber lines in total.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are
based upon management's current expectations and are inherently
uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information
available to us as of the date of this release and we assume no
obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to
reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except
as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could
differ materially from current expectations, based on risks and
uncertainties affecting the Company's business. The reader is cautioned
not to unduly rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this
press release. Additional information on potential factors that could
affect Calix's results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in
its report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 25,
2010, filed with the SEC on October 22, 2010, available at http://www.sec.gov.