Zhone Technologies Sees Strong Customer Demand for Benchmark-Setting MXK Platform

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE), a global leader in multi-service access solutions, today announced initial customer wins for its new MXK™ intelligent terabit access concentrator. Zhone’s MXK line reflects a clean-sheet approach to truly scalable, carrier-class multi-service architecture, designed to meet the rapidly evolving demands on access networks. MXK platforms offer unrivaled bandwidth — with non-blocking capacity of up to 3,600 100Mbps GPON subscribers or 360 1G Active Ethernet subscribers per chassis — while leveraging Zhone’s well-proven SLMS™ access operating system for sophisticated service intelligence and ease of management. [Note to Editors: See today’s release, Zhone Announces MXK Terabit-Scale MSAP for Next Class of FTTx Services]

Zhone’s initial MXK customers by major market include:

• Latin America: Copaco in Paraguay, Telefonica del Sur in Chile, and a large service provider in Mexico
• Europe: Edge in the UK, LOS Bynett and another utility service provider in Norway
• Middle East: A nationwide-scale deployment of GPON and Active Ethernet with a leading regional operator
• United States: Hickory Telephone in Pennsylvania, Ketchikan Public Utilities in Alaska, Stratford Mutual Telephone Company in Iowa, Yadkin Valley Telephone Membership in North Carolina

Edge Telecom is a competitive provider of broadband business services over copper and fiber in the UK. Edge has been using MXK platforms for high-bandwidth Ethernet aggregation for several months. Edge's CEO, Don McQueen, commented, "We've been very impressed by the rock-solid performance of this new platform from Zhone, and we expect its scalable capacity for non-blocking service to support us well as its role in our network and our business both expand."

LOS Bynett is a subsidiary of Agder Energi, a regional energy company in Norway is launching triple-play services throughout its coverage area. They were among the first to trial the MXK platform for services over Active Ethernet. Per Inge Setane, VP Strategic Alliances for LOS, led their vendor selection work and noted, “As an alternative carrier, we see real value not just in the capabilities of the MXK but more so in the way Zhone has been willing and able to tailor the solution to our specific needs. We think they are a great company fit with our company.”

Stratford Mutual Telephone Company is one of the 125 IOCs serving rural markets in Iowa. Their use of the MXK for GPON service in the Stratford community is demonstrating the value of the MXK platform’s scalability and cost efficiency in smaller applications and is an excellent case study in the benefits of bringing real broadband speeds to rural communities. As Randy Baker, Stratford’s GM says, “The cost effectiveness of Zhone’s new platform is key to our success with this project. We’re seeing a hockey-stick curve on our take rates for high-speed broadband and digital TV.” [Note to Editors: See today’s release, Zhone Announces MXK Terabit-Scale MSAP for Next Class of FTTx Services]

Hickory Telephone is another IOC and prior Zhone customer who recently chose the MXK platform for GPON deployment in their rural community in southwestern Pennsylvania. Hickory’s CEO Grier Adamson emphasized that “...anybody can sell you a good-sounding story about their products. The real test of a vendor is how they support you once deployment begins and issues come up, as they do for everyone. Zhone has earned our trust and respect with their responsiveness and support in the past, and we’re very confident we’ve placed our GPON project in the right hands.”

“Zhone didn’t just graft a bigger uplink on the same old architecture, as many have done — they built a new hardware design that is certain to endure in the face of the tidal wave of bandwidth demands placed on the network,” said Erik M. Keith, Principal Analyst of Broadband Infrastructure for Current Analysis. “Incorporating Zhone’s time-tested SLMS software gives operators the optimal platform solution to rapidly deliver a new class of services with tighter network control right out of the gate.”

About Zhone Technologies — Access for a Converging World

Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE) is a global leader in multi-service access solutions, serving more than 700 of the world's most innovative network operators. The company offers the industry's only fully-integrated portfolio of MSAP, FTTx, EFM and Wi-Fi access technologies, improving network agility and reducing the costs of delivering the full spectrum of access services, including residential and business broadband, VoIP, and High-Definition IPTV — over copper, fiber, and wireless. Zhone is headquartered in California, and its MSAP products are all manufactured in the USA, in a facility that is emission, waste-water, and CFC free.

Zhone, the Zhone logo, and all Zhone product names are trademarks of Zhone Technologies, Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective holders.

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