Broadband stimulus award winner West Kentucky and Tennessee Telecommunications Cooperative (WK&T) has selected the Calix B6 Ethernet Service Access Nodes (ESANs) and the 700GE family of optical network terminals (ONTs) from Calix Inc. (NYSE:CALX) to provide western Kentucky and Tennessee with an advanced broadband infrastructure capable of delivering speeds of up to 1 Gbps (gigabit per second).
Upon completion, this deployment will be one of the nation's largest Active Ethernet deployments, bringing advanced IPTV services, fast data services, and high-quality voice services to 21,000 homes and 99 community institutions, including schools, libraries, and public buildings across a nine-county service area.
With an aggregate value of $124 million, the award is one of the largest "last-mile" broadband stimulus awards and the largest single award focused on wireline services. WK&T's award consists of a $62 million grant and a $62 million loan to be used for plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access equipment.
"Our rural region and its subscribers will now enjoy the benefits of a world-class fiber network infrastructure," says WK&T CEO Trevor Bonnstetter. "We are looking at this project as a strategic investment in the future of our communities, stimulating economic development, and providing the residents and businesses in our service area the foundation for long-term economic growth. The combination of Calix's broad residential and business ONT portfolio, our existing investment in the B6 ESANs, and comprehensive network management via the Calix Management System (CMS) gives us confidence that we will be delivering new opportunity to the deserving subscribers of our region."
WK&T will deploy the B6 ESANs with Calix's ONT portfolio, including the Calix 716GE and 760GX families of ONTs, to deliver broadband access across its targeted service area. The project is estimated to create 160 new jobs in the region over the next three years.
"Projects like WK&T's are proving to be transformative to the regions that they serve," explains Carl Russo, president and CEO of Calix. "The Broadband Stimulus program is not only providing new economic opportunities and improving the quality of life in the 'unserved' and 'underserved' communities it targets, but it is playing a major role in the strategic imperative of improving our country's global competitiveness. Calix is honored to be a key enabler of this program, having to date been chosen as the access solutions partner to in aggregate over $1 billion in broadband stimulus project awards which will bring advanced broadband infrastructure to nearly 2.3 million homes, businesses, and community institutions."