Two More Broadband Stimulus Award Winners Select Calix FTTH Equipment

PETALUMA, CA — The most recent of many broadband stimulus award winners to deploy fiber to the home using Calix equipment are Southeast Nebraska Communications (SNC) in Nebraska and Peoples Telecommunications in Kansas.

Both companies will deploy GPON technology using Calix access systems and its 700GE family of optical network terminals to deliver broadband speeds of up to 1 Gbps to underserved rural areas. SNC selected the Calix B6 Ethernet Service Access Node to complement B6s already deployed widely in its network. Peoples, a new Calix customer, selected the Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform. These two awards amount to more than $19 million, only a portion of which is for FTTH electronics.

SNC is using its $7.9 million grant and $3.4 million loan to offer advanced broadband services to about 3,000 rural customers outside Falls City, Neb. "Access to robust broadband services has become a necessity, and we're excited to have the opportunity to bring fiber to the rural communities we serve," says Ray Joy, vice president and general manager at SNC. "With this award, we are implementing one of the nation's most advanced communications infrastructures with nearly unlimited capacity. This network will not only allow for remarkable expanded phone and Internet services to our subscribers now, but also for new applications that our subscribers will desire in the future."

Peoples will use its $3.9 million grant and $3.9 million loan to provide high-speed broadband services to the rural areas outside LaCygne, Kan. "Our broadband stimulus award will allow us to extend our fiber access network into the most rural areas of our LaCygne exchange, providing advanced broadband services to areas that otherwise would have been cost-prohibitive to serve," says Kathy Billinger, CEO and general manager of Peoples. "We expect this network expansion will deliver significant new opportunities for the deserving citizens of these rural areas. In Calix, we've found an experienced partner who can help us bring these critical advanced services to our region."