Public-Private partnership model brings advanced broadband services to southeastern Minnesota cities
PETALUMA, CA—September 14, 2011—Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX, news, filings) today announced that Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC) has selected the Calix Unified Access portfolio to move Fiber Forward and bring advanced broadband services to six additional communities in southeastern Minnesota. HBC will deploy gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and point-to-point gigabit Ethernet (GE) technologies across primarily the Ethernet eXtensible Architecture (EXA) Powered Calix E7 Ethernet Service Access Platform (ESAP) and the Calix 700GE family of optical network terminals (ONTs) to deliver video, voice, and ultra-fast broadband speeds to residents and businesses in the region. HBC’s fiber access network extension plans cover a wide swath of the area, including the communities of Red Wing, Lake City, Plainview, Elgin, Eyota, and Dover. With this expansion, HBC has now deployed Calix fiber access infrastructure across five Minnesota counties and 14 communities, and manages network operations and acts as network operations consultants to a variety of other cities across the country where Calix fiber access systems are deployed.
“We are extremely excited for these six new deployments, not only because they significantly expand our footprint, but because the communities have been working diligently with us in public-private partnerships to make this happen,” said Gary Evans, president and CEO of HBC. “Calix has been a key partner in our success over the years, working closely with us virtually every step of the way. Partnerships like the one we have with Calix are the way business should be done, where the goals of the vendor, the service provider, and the community are totally aligned and in sync, resulting in a happy and growing subscriber base.”
HBC has been a major catalyst for change in southeastern Minnesota over the last decade, bringing advanced broadband to the region when others would not. Its initial broadband services deployment in Winona was a model that many cities in the region and around the country wanted to emulate — often proactively reaching out to HBC to extend its model into their communities. After its broadband stimulus application for a number of communities in the region was turned down in January of 2010, HBC and its Board decided to move forward, leveraging many of the engineering plans originally drafted for the stimulus plan to pull fiber throughout six targeted communities and dedicating $20 million in funding to the project, of which only a portion is for access equipment. As HBC’s footprint has grown, it has continued to expand its service offerings, from basic voice, video, and data services to advanced VOIP offerings, increasingly high Internet speeds, robust internet protocol television (IPTV) services, and now a new over-the-top (OTT) video service with content licensed from Vivicast and aioTV as the application software to bring premium entertainment to portable devices like tablets, smartphones, computers, and increasingly smart televisions.
“HBC has emerged as a powerful beacon for the success that can be achieved through fiber access deployment and close partnering between the vendor, the service provider, and the community,” said John Colvin, senior vice president of North American field sales and marketing at Calix. “This alignment is essential for rapid progress. We congratulate HBC on its expansion in southeastern Minnesota, and the citizens and businesses of the region for taking such an active role in partnering with HBC to bring the potential for powerful quality of life improvements and economic stimulus to their communities.”
About Calix
Calix (NYSE: CALX) is a global leader in access innovation. Its Unified Access portfolio of broadband communications access systems and software enable communications service providers worldwide to be the broadband provider of choice to their subscribers. For more information, visit the Calix website at www.calix.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release, and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release, except as required by law. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations based on risks and uncertainties affecting the Company’s business. The reader is cautioned not to unduly rely on the forward-looking statements contained in this press release. Additional information on potential factors that could affect Calix’s results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed in its report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended June 25, 2011, filed with the SEC on July 22, 2011, available at http://www.sec.gov.
Press Inquiries:
Neila Matheny
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Neila.matheny@calix.com
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