Bristol Virginia Utilities (BVU) has selected the EXA Powered Calix C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP) and the 700GX/GE family of GPON ONTs for a network expansion funded with broadband stimulus dollars, Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) says. The project is designed to expand BVU’s fiber access network across an eight-county region of southwestern Virginia.

BVU received $28.4 million in overall broadband stimulus funds, including a $22.7 million grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and a matching $5.7 million provided by the Virginia Tobacco Commission (VTC), for plant engineering, materials, labor, and other costs, including access equipment. The GPON network expansion will connect approximately 122 community anchor institutions and more than 18,000 businesses and residences.

“Thanks to the generosity of the NTIA and VTC, the rural subscribers of our region will now enjoy the benefits of the same world class fiber network infrastructure that we have deployed in the City of Bristol, VA, to worldwide acclaim,” said Wes Rosenbalm, president and CEO of BVU. “This project will be a strategic investment in the future of our communities, stimulating future economic development and leading to a better quality of life for all southwest Virginia citizens. By continuing to work closely with our long-time partner Calix, we are confident that we have the right partner to deliver new opportunity to a region that will leap from economically disadvantaged with a lack of adequate broadband services to one that will reap the benefits of being among the most connected regions in the world.”

BVU will deploy the Ethernet eXtensible Architecture (EXA) Powered C7 MSAP. The C7 supports up to 5,120 GPON subscribers out of a single chassis, and well as 10-Gbps Ethernet transport. BVU also will continue to deploy the industry's broadest and most advanced optical network terminal (ONT) portfolio, the 700GX/GE family of ONTs.

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