MXK Eligible for RUS Funding to Speed Universal Broadband Service
Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZHNE), a global leader in network
access solutions, announced today that its new MXK(™)
platform has been accepted by the US Department of Agriculture’s Rural
Utilities Service (RUS) for use by RUS program participants. RUS and the
National Telecommunications and Information Agency (NTIA) are
responsible for dispersing the $7.2 billion in economic stimulus funding
allocated for broadband initiatives under the 2009 American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
RUS provides grants and low cost loans to help network operators secure
authorized equipment to bring high-speed broadband services to rural and
underserved communities. Zhone products first gained RUS acceptance in
2003, with the recently
announced MXK being the newest addition to the program.
Zhone’s MXK represents significant milestones in broadband access
networking and is expressly designed to support the new generation of HD
media and on-demand video that require enormous amounts of dedicated
bandwidth. In addition to providing a 2x bandwidth improvement over the
closest competing platform, the MXK leverages Zhone’s well-proven SLMS(™)
access operating system, giving network operators sophisticated service
intelligence and intuitive management with ten years of feature
development right out of the gate. The MXK is also the only platform to
feature Smart OMCI(™) (Optical Network Terminal
Management Control Interface) for true ONT standards-based
interoperability and ease of use.
“Zhone’s MXK is well-suited to NTIA and RUS stimulus projects,” said Ron
Westfall, Research Director, Access and Applications for Current
Analysis. “The platform is designed to substantially reduce the cost of
broadband for operators and thereby improve service availability and
speed, right in line with the Obama Administration’s goals for the
broadband stimulus programs.”
“We’re impressed with the performance, ease of installation, flexibility
and cost effective price per port provided by Zhone,” said Jeff Lee,
Plant Manager for Wisconsin based Chequamegon Communications. “The MXK
has the horsepower and the backplane to offer the mega capacity and port
counts we need to meet the ever-growing bandwidth desires of our
customers.”
“We are very proud of what we’ve accomplished with the MXK, and we’re
excited by the opportunity that RUS listing provides our customers,”
said Steven Glapa, VP of product management and marketing for Zhone. “We
believe that the MXK’s benchmark-setting performance can indeed make a
significant contribution toward the achievement of America’s broadband
objectives.”
For more information about Zhone’s MXK, or to ask about the RUS program
please visit http://www.zhone.com/products/MXK/
or call (877) Zhone-20 (946-6320).
About Zhone Technologies — Access for a Converging World
Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ZHNE) is a global leader in
multi-service access solutions, serving more than 700 of the world's
most innovative network operators. The company offers the industry's
only fully-integrated portfolio of MSAP, FTTx, EFM and Wi-Fi access
technologies, improving network agility and reducing the costs of
delivering the full spectrum of access services, including residential
and business broadband, VoIP, and High-Definition IPTV — over copper,
fiber, and wireless. Zhone is headquartered in California, and its MSAP
products are all manufactured in the USA, in a facility that is
emission, waste-water, and CFC free.
Zhone, the Zhone logo, and all Zhone product names are trademarks of
Zhone Technologies, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks of
their respective holders.
Zhone
Molly Deltoro, +1-510-777-7013 (Investor Relations)
Fax:
+1-510-777-7001
investor-relations@zhone.com
Tracy
Oliver, +1-510-665-7984 (Public Relations)
Mobile: +1-925-640-0989
tracy@skycastlemedia.com
