BTOP recipient NFBA opts for Calix B6

Calix, Inc. (NYSE:CALX) says that North Florida Broadband Authority (NFBA) will use part of the $39.3 million in broadband stimulus funds, including a $30.1 million grant and in-kind matches of $9.2 million, it received from the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP) to buy Calix B6 Ethernet Service Access Nodes (ESANs) for a network that will serve 14 rural Florida counties and several cities in the region.

The open 10-Gigabit Ethernet network, implemented and managed by network integrator and systems engineer Rapid Systems, will aggregate wireless traffic from approximately 102 wireless sites and interconnect more than 300 community anchor institutions in the region. An estimated 150,000 households and 28,400 businesses and public institutions will have access to the network.

“We are extremely excited about this initiative, which will bring a powerful broadband network infrastructure to the citizens, businesses, and anchor institutions of northern Florida,” said Dustin Jurman, CEO of Rapid Systems. “This build-out has the potential to be the cornerstone of the region’s future, driving both economic development and the quality of life of local residents.”

“The NFBA is a public agency building a carrier class network that will be the foundation for the future of our region,” said Chris Thurow, chairman of the NFBA Operations Committee and Bradford County director of information technology. “We needed partners that we could count on to deliver the price, reliability, and performance that would be key to successful implementation. Rapid Systems and Calix have delivered, providing us with the advanced technology and expertise we need bring this ambitious project to reality.”

The Calix B6 ESANs that will be deployed throughout this network are the most recent additions to the Calix Unified Access portfolio. The B6 ESANs will be used to aggregate wireless traffic generated using microwave ring technology. Each B6 node will offer wireline network reliability enabled through self-healing Ethernet rings with sub-50-msec recovery.

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