Zhone Technologies Secures Another FTTx Project in the Midwest as Pulaski-White Rural Telephone Cooperative Aims to Expand Broadband Services

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE), a global pioneer in FTTx network access solutions, is working with Pulaski-White Rural Telephone Cooperative to build a new fiber network that will support delivery of more affordable and more reliable high speed Internet access, VoIP and video services to subscribers.

“Our 2,000 lines to residents and businesses require increasing bandwidth as user needs exceed our current capacity. Fortunately, the increased density, scale and performance provided by the Zhone MXK, zNID™ ONTs and Zhone EZ Touch Provisioning™ solution address our network complexity and challenges”

Throughout 2011, hospitals, schools, banks and small businesses will begin to see faster speeds and greater bandwidth capacity in their services in part because of Zhone’s market-leading MXK™ multi-service access node (MSAN) solution that Pulaski-White Telephone will integrate into its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) and fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) network. The impressive flexibility of the Zhone MXK MSAN and its ability to provide intelligent Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) and Active Ethernet (AE) connectivity in facilitating network and service upgrades to FTTH has been repeatedly demonstrated in similar broadband projects throughout the United States, including the most recent Midwest deployment with Alhambra-Grantfork Telephone in Alhambra, Ill.

Now, with the extreme bandwidth demands being remotely managed by the MXK platform, Pulaski-White Telephone residential customers will benefit from things such as multiple high-definition television (HDTV) channels, high-definition digital video recorder (HD-DVR) content and video streaming within the home.

“Our 2,000 lines to residents and businesses require increasing bandwidth as user needs exceed our current capacity. Fortunately, the increased density, scale and performance provided by the Zhone MXK, zNID™ ONTs and Zhone EZ Touch Provisioning™ solution address our network complexity and challenges,” said Mark Dickerson, plant manager, Pulaski-White Telephone. “We are excited to offer more advanced communications and connectivity to our customers. We initially plan to provide our business customers, including banks, hospitals and schools with AE connectivity and consumers with GPON connectivity using the same MXK system without worrying about bandwidth constraints or expansive cost requirements. The ability to provide multiple services off the same system was imperative for us to curtail operational costs.”

Zhone has extensive experience managing the complexity of multi-service access and, as a result, has built the telecom industry's most comprehensive portfolio of scalable FTTx solutions. The MXK’s feature set aligns well with Pulaski-White Telephone’s specific field requirements, enabling Zhone to provide optimum cost efficiency and maximum service differentiation in the operator’s network in combination with the zNID GPON Optical Network Terminals (ONTs) that will be installed at the residence and business sites to support individual subscriber service needs.

“Like some of our other North American deployments, we recognized Pulaski-White Telephone needed a fiber access solution with superior scale; that was our primary goal,” explained Brian Caskey, chief marketing officer for Zhone. “The ease of use and flexibility are two core attributes of our fiber access solutions that resonate with service providers, and we will continue to customize solutions to fit the individual needs of our customers and those they serve.”

The use of the Zhone Management System (ZMS™) in the Pulaski-White Telephone deployment enables seamless network management support for Zhone’s multi-service network solution. The robust platform of the ZMS automates complex, tedious and error-prone tasks, thereby raising network productivity, improving efficiency and reducing operating costs for Pulaski-White Telephone. And, as an extension of the ZMS, the Zhone EZ Touch Provisioning solution provides next-generation carrier-class network management and automated service provisioning, ultimately reducing recurring operational expenditures (OPEX) by minimizing truck rolls and the need for field technicians to manually turn on subscriber-specific features at each residence or business.

Zhone has deployed over 1,350 of its fully redundant, carrier-grade all-IP MXK platforms with more than 100 service providers in more than 40 countries globally. Featuring industry-leading density, scalability and switching capacity, the MXK is the industry's first terabit access concentrator and provides non-blocking capacity of up to 3,600 100 Mbps GPON subscribers or 360 1G Active Ethernet subscribers.

For more information about Zhone’s MXK solution or to learn more about the other solutions offered in the new Zhone FiberHome™ portfolio, please visit http://zhone.com/products/MXK/ or http://www.zhone.com/solutions/fttn/.

About Zhone Technologies

Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE) is a global leader in all IP multi-service access solutions, serving more than 750 of the world's most innovative network operators. The IP Zhone is the only solution that enables service providers to build the network of the future…today, supporting end-to-end Voice, Data, Entertainment Social Media, Business, Mobile Backhaul and Mobility service. Zhone is committed to building the fastest and highest quality All IP Multi-Service solution for its customers. Zhone is headquartered in California and its products are manufactured in the USA in a facility that is emission, waste-water and CFC free.

Zhone, the Zhone logo, and all Zhone product names are trademarks of Zhone Technologies, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective holders. Specifications, products, and/or product names are all subject to change without notice.

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