Wave7 Optics granted RUS acceptance status by US government

9 June 2003 Alpharetta, GA Lightwave -- Wave7 Optics today announced that its Last Mile Link (LML) fiber-to-the-home network system has gained "Acceptance" from the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. All network elements of the LML product family now appear on the RUS List of Materials Acceptable for Use on Telecommunications Systems of RUS Borrowers under "Access equipment."

Products accepted by RUS must demonstrate compliance to federal regulatory requirements as well as industry standards, such as ISO 9001-2000 quality assurance and reliability criteria. Rural telecommunications services providers (including Internet service providers) and utility companies may use RUS loan funds to purchase network equipment appearing on this List.

"We are very pleased to achieve another key milestone for the LML," contends Michael Wearsch, vice president of Sales, Wave7 Optics. "We look forward to working with other rural telephone and utility companies who now have further incentive to consider our unique solution when they are going out to bid for residential and business broadband networks."

Rural network operators in Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, and other states are already installing the LML. The LML is an Internet Protocol (IP) and Ethernet standards-based optical access system that provides all traditional "carrier-grade" telephone services (including fax), high-speed data (e.g., Internet service) and both analog and digital video (including IP streaming video). Featuring privacy and security encryption techniques and "quality of service" mechanisms designed for business applications, the LML overcomes the high-fiber counts, limited distance range, and high central office equipment costs that have stymied the growth of FTTx systems, say Wave7 representatives.