JANUARY 4, 2011 -- Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE) says it has expanded its relationship with Hardy Telecommunications, Inc. to include a new broadband-stimulus funded project that, in cooperation with Zhone’s partner Goldfield Telecom, will provide both GPON fiber and copper connectivity to the underserved rural mountain communities of Hardy County, WV.

Starting in early 2011, the community-owned telecommunications cooperative will use Zhone’s MXK intelligent Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) capabilities and Zhone network interface device (zNID) optical network terminals (ONTs) to deliver ultrahigh speed Internet access, VoIP and video services as part of the Hardy OneNet Fiber to the Home (FTTH) project. The entire project will be funded by the $34.8 million in broadband stimulus grants secured during the first and second rounds of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) disbursements.

“Given the significant business growth we’ve experienced since first partnering with Zhone in 2009, they were a natural fit to consider for the access needs of our new broadband stimulus project,” noted Scott Sherman, general manager of Hardy Telecommunications. “After extensive evaluation, we realized that Zhone’s MXK platform best met our requirements for a high capacity backplane and delivered the switching capacity necessary to meet the high bandwidth capabilities and service quality we have set for the Hardy FTTH network.”

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