Owensboro Municipal Utilities headlines mushrooming interest in community broadband
SAN DIEGO, CA – September 8, 2015 – Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX, news, filings), the world leader in gigabit fiber deployments, today announced 10 new municipal broadband providers have partnered with Calix to support their network rollouts. Fiber plays a critical role in fostering community competitiveness and improving the quality of life. Across the North America, municipalities and municipally-owned utilities are recognizing the importance of fiber based gigabit services for economic viability and using concepts like economic gardening to help home-grown businesses grow and thrive.
One such example is Owensboro Municipal Utilities (OMU) in Kentucky. The largest municipal electric system in the state, OMU has delivered water and electric services to Owensboro for 115 years. OMU has also offered commercial broadband services for more than 20 years throughout the community. Branded as OMUfibernet, OMU’s commercial service packages were so successful that it is now embarking on a new fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) pilot project for more than 500 homes, which includes a gigabit broadband service option enabled by the Calix E7-2 Ethernet Services Access Platform (ESAP) and 844G GigaCenters.
“By delivering broadband services to residents via a fiber infrastructure, OMU will be able to provide Internet speeds never seen in our community,” said Christopher Poynter, telecommunications superintendent at OMU. “Leveraging our robust fiber network, partnering with Calix, and utilizing the Carrier Class Wi-Fi of the GigaCenters, we will be able to deliver the best possible user experience for our subscribers. We hope this project will find a great reception and become the launching point for OMU to expand residential fiber services across Owensboro.”
The transformation in Owensboro is representative of what is taking place across the U.S. in underserved communities. Calix is proud to be a key partner in 40 community-owned networks in the U.S. alone, including these 10 new communities spanning seven different states. Some of these communities have chosen to focus on businesses and anchor institutions, while others, like Owensboro, are now expanding into residential services:
- Concord Municipal Light Plant (CMLP) – After starting with a fiber fed smart grid deployment, the Concord, Massachusetts community owned utility has expanded into business and residential services.
- Erwin Utilities – With an initial residential pilot on track to surpass its take rate goals, the city-owned utility of Erwin, Tennessee will double its FTTH footprint in the coming months with plans to expand gigabit broadband and voice services throughout its electrical serving area within five years.
- Holyoke Gas & Electric (HG&E) – This Massachusetts community has a long history of broadband services and is now using the Calix E7-2 for providing business services. HG&E also manages the residential deployment in nearby Leverett, MA as that community continues to roll out gigabit broadband service over Calix systems as well.
- Hudson, Ohio – Dubbed Velocity Broadband, the City of Hudson has announced an initial pilot project for commercial customers in the Executive Parkway area, which included gigabit services, with plans to expand into other business areas in 2016.
- Salisbury, North Carolina – The city’s municipally-owned utility named Fibrant is offering both 10 gigabit and 1 gigabit broadband speeds, as well as voice and video services throughout their community.
- Shrewsbury Electric and Cable Operations (SELCO) – With a strong history delivering triple-play services over a cable infrastructure, Massachusetts’ SELCO will expand into fiber broadband services in new residential areas.
- Sun Prairie Utilities – After serving the schools and businesses since 1999 and multi-dwelling units since 2010 with broadband services, Wisconsin’s Sun Prairie Utilities is now expanding its fiber infrastructure to providing high-speed Internet services in a large subdivision of single family homes.
- Taunton Municipal Lighting Plant (TMLP Online) – Another example of the growth of municipal broadband in Massachusetts, TMLP Online is delivering symmetrical Internet speeds to residents and businesses in Taunton.
- Waverly Utilities – With construction just underway in Iowa, Waverly Utilities is planning to bring gigabit broadband services, including video and voice offerings to residents in the Waverly community.
“Whether offering business or residential services or a combination of both, we have seen how municipal fiber networks have the power to transform a community,” said John Colvin, senior vice president of North American sales at Calix. “Each of these 10 communities can make a significant impact in stimulating the economy of the town they serve and the surrounding area. These networks can be the catalyst to bring about positive community change and innovation.”
To learn more about how Calix is enabling community transformation through municipal fiber networks, visit the Calix booth at the NATOA Annual Conference this week in San Diego and in Booth 33, at the Broadband Communities/FTTH Council Economic Development Summit in Lexington, KY next week.
About Calix
Calix (NYSE: CALX) is a global leader in access innovation. Its Unified Access portfolio of broadband communications access software, systems, and services enables communications service providers worldwide to transform their networks and become 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 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 reports on Form 10-Q for the second 2015 fiscal quarter and Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year 2014, filed with the SEC and available at www.sec.gov.
Press Inquiries:
Neila Matheny
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Neila.matheny@calix.com
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