APRIL 29, 2009 -- Extreme Networks Inc. (search Lightwave for Extreme Networks) says that the Vernon Telephone Cooperative, an independent local exchange carrier servicing customers in southwestern Wisconsin, has selected its Carrier Ethernet platforms, including the most recently announced BlackDiamond 20808 metro Ethernet transport switch, to deliver triple-play services to its 7,000 customers in nine rural communities. Separately, the systems house announced that its Ethernet portfolio, including its BlackDiamond Ethernet transport switches and certain Summit Series Ethernet switches, are now listed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Telecommunications Program as acceptable for deployment by companies using USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) funding to build networks.
Vernon Telephone Cooperative delivers local and long-distance telephone, Internet, and IP television services to its customers. With an increased number of customers turning to the provider for all of their communications needs, Vernon Telephone Cooperative needed to bolster its infrastructure's core and edge, according to Extreme. With demand growth anticipated, any new equipment had to be scalable and easy to manage, the company adds. Extreme provided with BlackDiamond 20808 metro Ethernet transport switches for the core and Summit X450 aggregation switches for the edge of Vernon's network.
"Since 1951, Vernon Telephone Cooperative has served our members with the latest services and technology and we are continuing to do that with the new Extreme Networks solution in place," said David Treptow, network engineer, Vernon Telephone Cooperative. "The BlackDiamond 20808 is a perfect fit and the service improvements we offer are timely since people nowadays are enjoying 'stay-cations' with family and friends as well as leaving the large cities to work from home in our picturesque rural communities. With the new BlackDiamond solution, we have enjoyed improvements in performance, reliability, and scalability. With other systems, growth is costly. With Extreme Networks, we can grow our network and services not only cost-effectively but seamlessly."
Meanwhile, RUS acceptance puts Extreme in line to potentially benefit from the more than $7 billion in stimulus funding is allocated for broadband initiatives through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. Extreme products now accepted under RUS include the BlackDiamond 20808, BlackDiamond 12800R, BlackDiamond 10808, Summit 250e, Summit 450, and ExtremeXOS Network Operating System.
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