Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) today announced that Broadband Stimulus awardee Vermont Telephone Company (VTel) will deploy the Calix 700GE family of optical network terminals (ONTs) to deliver advanced broadband services to more than 15,000 customers throughout its service area in southern Vermont. Last year, VTel was awarded federal American Reinvestment and Recovery Act funding for its Wireless Open World (WOW) netw ork to extend fiber to every home and business in the VTel service area and roll out 4G/LTE high speed, wireless broadband services throughout Vermont.
The VTel WOW fiber-to-the-home network will leverage point-to-point gigabit Ethernet technologies to deliver voice over IP (VOIP) and ultra-high-speed residential and business data services. Powered by the 700GE family of ONTs, VTel will provide broadband services capable of up to one gigabit per second (Gbps) to each customer premise, making VTEL’s network among the most advanced in the world.
“Calix is a leading company enabling broadband access, and we are excited to have them helping us deliver broadband, voice, and television services to rural Vermonters with technology that is far superior to that available in most urban environments,” said Justin Robinson, president of VTel.
VTel is delivering on the promise of bringing broadband, over both fiber and wireless technologies, to many of Vermont’s unserved and underserved community anchor institutions, homes, and businesses. Construction on the three-year WOW project began in late September and is set to be completed in 2013. In addition to delivering broadband access, VTel is also delivering digital literacy training through thousands of Rural Broadband Farm Forums, patterned on the Rural Radio Farm Forum used successfully in rural America in the 1940s to help create jobs and share community ideas. These sessions use broadband access to improve the quality of life in Vermont communities.
“As new advanced applications are introduced into the market, it is clear that bandwidth needs are rapidly increasing,” said John Colvin, senior vice president of North American field sales and marketing at Calix. “VTel is a great example of a communications service provider who is not only addressing the bandwidth challenges of today, but looking into the future to ensure customer needs are met for years to come. It is a privilege to work with innovative companies like VTel that are leveraging the Stimulus program to bring advanced broadband services to areas of our country that were previously underserved, or not served at all.”
With today’s announcement, aggregate Calix vendor selections by Broadband Stimulus winners for “last mile” and “middle mile” awards have now reached 74 different projects representing nearly $1.5 billion in Stimulus-related grants, loans, and private investment for plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access equipment.
