PETALUMA, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) today announced that North Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA) has selected the Calix B6 Ethernet Service Access Nodes (ESANs) to bring broadband services to 14 rural Florida counties and several cities in the region. This project, which is being implemented and managed by NFBA network integrator and systems engineer Rapid Systems, will leverage optical fiber taps using 10 gigabits per second Ethernet (10GE) capable fiber access technology to aggregate wireless traffic from approximately 102 wireless sites and interconnect more than 300 community anchor institutions in the region – including public schools, universities, libraries, healthcare facilities, public safety organizations, and government agencies. An estimated 150,000 households and 28,400 businesses and public institutions will have access to the project’s open network, promoting expected benefits such as faster and more affordable broadband services. The NFBA Broadband Stimulus award totals $39.3 million in overall funds, including a $30.1 million grant and in-kind matches of $9.2 million, which includes plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access equipment.
“We are extremely excited about this initiative, which will bring a powerful broadband network infrastructure to the citizens, businesses, and anchor institutions of northern Florida,” said Dustin Jurman, CEO of Rapid Systems. “This build-out has the potential to be the cornerstone of the region’s future, driving both economic development and the quality of life of local residents. The NFBA’s Operations Committee has formally selected the Calix platform as their top vendor of multiservice aggregation to this project. Having worked with Calix in the Hardee County Broadband Project, we know that the company’s technology is the perfect choice to meet the needs of this initiative, as well as to put in place a flexible network infrastructure that can adapt to meet the service requirements of the future.”
“The NFBA is a public agency building a carrier class network that will be the foundation for the future of our region,” said Chris Thurow, chairman of the NFBA Operations Committee and Bradford County director of information technology. “We needed partners that we could count on to deliver the price, reliability, and performance that would be key to successful implementation. Rapid Systems and Calix have delivered, providing us with the advanced technology and expertise we need bring this ambitious project to reality.”
The Calix B6 ESANs that will be deployed throughout this network are the most recent additions to the Calix Unified Access portfolio – the most widely deployed fiber access solutions in North America as measured by both service provider deployments (Broadband Properties Magazine, October 2010) and OLT ports (Infonetics, Q4 2010). The B6 ESANs will be used to aggregate wireless traffic generated using microwave ring technology. Each B6 node will offer powerful wireline network reliability enabled through self-healing Ethernet rings with sub-50 millisecond recovery. Rapid Systems anticipates that this Fiber Forward initiative will provide a foundation for economic growth and job creation in the region for years to come by increasing access to educational resources and advanced health care services, as well as promoting rural economic development through local economic diversification.
“The selection of Rapid Systems as NFBA’s systems engineer is a great example of how government and the private sector can work together to create Broadband opportunities throughout an entire 14-county region,” said John Colvin, vice president of field operations at Calix. “We would like to congratulate both of these entities on having the foresight to invest in the promise of broadband, and in doing so lay the foundations for economic and social development for rural Floridians. Calix is honored to be playing a major role again in bringing this advanced communications infrastructure to the area, and looks forward to continuing to work closely with Rapid Systems, the Hardee County Broadband Project, and the NFBA as they bring new economic development and an improved quality of life to the region.”
With today’s announcement, aggregate Calix vendor selections by Broadband Stimulus winners for “last mile” and “middle mile” awards now total 45 projects representing approximately $788 million in Stimulus-related grants, loans, and private investment for plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access equipment.
