Sunnyvale, CA – Mar. 22, 2011 – North Georgia Network Cooperative (NGN) has selected Infinera (Nasdaq: INFN) for a federally-funded broadband stimulus network that will extend from Atlanta to North Carolina delivering the benefits of broadband with the speed, flexibility, and cost-effective scalable bandwidth of an Infinera DTN network to thousands of community anchor institutions, businesses and homes in rural North Georgia.
Last week, at the 2011 Economic Development and Technology Summit, co-hosted by NGN and North Georgia College & State University on the University’s Dahlonega campus, Bruce Abraham, CEO and President of NGN, announced plans to break ground on construction this week.
NGN won a $33 million grant in the first round of the federal broadband stimulus program to deploy a 260-mile regional fiber-optic ring with associated middle mile and last mile segments. This network will deliver affordable gigabit broadband speeds to an eight-county area of more than 334,000 people, laying the foundation for a new, technology-based economy in the North Georgia region just outside of metro Atlanta. NGN’s open access network model will enable independent service providers to interconnect and build out their own fiber-optic services to end users.
NGN chose an Infinera Digital Optical Network because Infinera’s speed, scalability, and ease of operation support the middle-mile open access business model. With an Infinera DTN network, NGN can deliver a wide range of services quickly, react quickly to customer demands, and offer more than a Terabit/second of capacity, while keeping operating costs low.
“We are excited to bring an unprecedented level of broadband services to North Georgia, and we have selected the best vendors,” said Abraham. “With an Infinera network, NGN will be able to deliver world-class high-speed Internet services that will be the equal of those available anywhere in the world. This will be a vitally important asset to help us attract new industries, create jobs, and deliver 21st century services like telemedicine and distance learning to our region.”
“We are pleased to support the NGN network and help the people of North Georgia participate fully in today’s Internet economy,” said Infinera CEO Tom Fallon. “The Infinera Digital Optical Networks architecture supports broadband stimulus networks with a solution that is simple, fast, and flexible.”
The Infinera DTN is the first, and still the only, optical networking system powered by photonic integrated circuits. The Infinera DTN combines high-capacity DWDM transport, integrated digital bandwidth management, and GMPLS-powered service intelligence in a single platform.
