SEPTEMBER 25, 2009 -- Telco Systems' T5C-XG 10-Gigabit Ethernet (10GbE) aggregation switch and EdgeGate 483 FTTH gateway have been accepted for use in telecommunication projects funded by the United States Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service (RUS). The approvals enable service providers to single-source a managed access Active Ethernet fiber-based system using Telco Systems' family of carrier-class IP/Ethernet aggregation switch platforms and customer gateways for community broadband networks utilizing RUS loans and grants.
"This represents a significant step in easing the design of a total access solution for RUS-funded broadband networks," claims Irit Gillath, vice president of VoIP product line management for Telco Systems. "Being able to quickly build a high-speed fiber access network will be especially important if being awarded funding from the current broadband stimulus program, which has a very tight schedule."
The T5C 10GbE switch offers the capacity of physically larger backbone switches at price points associated with enterprise switching, which the company says makes it cost-effective and suitable for space-restricted wiring closets and racks. It is appropriate for applications like video and voice services that require reliability features such as extended temperature hardening and standards-based, sub-50-ms switch recovery time for link or switch failure.
The EdgeGate 483 is an enhancement to the previously accepted EdgeGate 482. The EdgeGate 483 offers outdoor dual-GbE and Fast Ethernet fiber uplinks to support ring and chain topologies of multiple units as well as eight Ethernet ports to support data and video services for computers and TVs, and two analog voice ports that can connect to two separate telephone lines.
USDA's Rural Development Telecommunications program offers many programs for financing rural America's telecommunications infrastructure and is dedicated to increasing economic opportunity and improving the quality of life in rural communities. The department has received $2.5 billion from the broadband stimulus package for broadband deployment in rural areas in the United States.
Telco Systems will be exhibiting at the FTTH Conference and Expo in Houston, TX, Sept. 27-Oct. 1, 2009.