Montana Opticom and Calix Bring Gigabit Services to Belgrade, Montana

BELGRADE, MT — Montana Opticom will deliver gigabit broadband services to residents and businesses in Belgrade, Montana via the Calix Unified Access portfolio. Powered by the Calix E7-20 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP), 844G GigaCenters, and the 700GE family of Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), the Montana Opticom fiber network will bring Internet speeds of up to 1 Gbps as well as IPTV and voice services to subscribers within the Belgrade city limits. Belgrade is located outside Bozeman, Montana in Gallatin County, one of the country's fastest-growing "micropolitan" areas, and is consistently attracting new residents and businesses, which will be able to take advantage of fiber-based broadband services for the first time.

Tech-savvy Residents Seek More Advanced Broadband Services
"The city of Belgrade has been growing over the past several years, driven by new high-tech jobs moving into our area," said Ted Barkley, Belgrade, Montana city manager. "With this growth, our tech-savvy residents are seeking more advanced broadband services. The fiber network and gigabit services provided by Montana Opticom will improve the connected lifestyle of residents of Belgrade and give our community a competitive advantage for economic development opportunities."

Montana Opticom initially brought fiber to Gallatin County through the Gallatin Gateway Broadband Project, which was partially funded through a Broadband Stimulus grant in 2010. Today, Montana Opticom is laying fiber within Belgrade and has seen strong demand through early sign-ups for fiber connections to individual homes. Once the fiber is in the ground and residential connections are delivered, Montana Opticom will bring gigabit services to businesses in the community.

Providing Digital Opportunities for Device-enabled Subscribers
"At Montana Opticom, we are committed to delivering a superior subscriber experience to our customers in rural Montana," said Jim Dolan, Montana Opticom president. "The fiber network we have built gives us the foundation to deliver this experience by future-proofing the community for next-generation services and applications. Offering gigabit services in Belgrade is the next step in this commitment, providing a number of digital opportunities for our device-enabled subscribers."

The 844G GigaCenter will allow Montana Opticom to become strategically positioned in its subscribers' home communications networks. With this advanced technology, Montana Opticom will have end-to-end visibility of the entire access network. The power of Carrier Class Wi-Fi will also bring Montana Opticom's subscribers superior in-home wireless broadband coverage, quality of service, and speed.

"All over the country, communities are growing as a result of new businesses moving into their region," said John Colvin, senior vice president of North America sales. "Within these communities, we believe that advanced broadband services, such as gigabit Internet and Carrier-Class Wi-Fi services, are essential to attracting new residents, as well as meeting the ever-changing broadband needs of existing residents. By offering gigabit services and Calix GigaCenters, Montana Opticom can transform the subscriber experience of its customers in Belgrade and keep the community competitive on a global scale."