Broadband access equipment vendor Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE) says it has supplied its MXK optical line terminal (OLT) and zNID optical network terminal (ONT) to NineStar Connect for the utility cooperative’s recent GPON deployment.

Ninestar also plans to deploy the systems vendor’s Zhone Unified Provisioning system to enable network management and configuration, support scalability, lower fixed costs, and reduce zNID management traffic, Zhone adds.

"Expertise in NIDs and the higher HPNA network speeds made Zhone an excellent choice for NineStar's GPON network," said Earl Shaw, network operations manager at NineStar Connect. "Zhone's products gave NineStar the ability to expand service offerings and increase speed for its business and residential customers."

NineStar formed in 2011 with the merger of Hancock Telecom with Central Indiana Power. In addition to deploying fiber to the home (FTTH) for communications services provision, NineStar also is deploying smart meter reading capabilities.

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