Major Carrier in Dominican Republic Deploys Calix Platform to Expand Broadband Services

Calix C7 Enables TRICOM to Migrate to an All-IP Ethernet Network, Offers Advanced Services such as VOIP and IPTV

PETALUMA, CA—Calix today announced that TRICOM, S.A., a full-service carrier in the Dominican Republic, has selected the Calix C7 multiservice access platform (MSAP) to expand and extend the broadband services it offers to subscribers, including DSL service for business and residential customers today and services such as VOIP and Ethernet in the future. A major presence in the Dominican Republic, which shares the second largest island in the Caribbean with Haiti, TRICOM serves more than 700,000 customers, and is the largest cable operator in the country.

TRICOM started offering broadband services two years ago, but found that to support their substantial growth needs it needed to deploy a more advanced type of access platform. TRICOM saw that several hundred service providers throughout North America—including many in the Caribbean—had addressed this problem and dramatically expanded deployed services by utilizing access systems from Calix. After testing the Calix C7, TRICOM started deploying the platform throughout its network in March of 2007. Along with the C7, the carrier also employs the Calix Management System (CMS) to simplify service provisioning.

“We chose the Calix C7 platform because it not only meets all of our service needs today but also exceeded our expectations of where we hope to go in the future with Ethernet broadband services and Ethernet in the first mile,” said Julio Germán, vice president of Engineering & Operations for TRICOM. “Plus, Calix’s CMS is so easy and intuitive and makes it so simple to operationalize the C7 and provision services, that we were able to quickly turn up the network without help from the Calix technical assistance center.”

TRICOM initially targeted its broadband DSL service at business customers but is now also deploying the C7 platform to serve residential customers. The service is enjoying a high take-rate in both markets. The carrier has high expectations to increase the number of their broadband subscribers, a number that will increase substantially as it rapidly expands service availability over the next six to nine months. Today, TRICOM drives IP-based applications with broadband while retaining its traditional TDM-based services. In the near-term, however, the Calix C7 will enable TRICOM to migrate gradually to a pure IP-based access network and offer VOIP.

“The Calix C7 platform is attractive to providers such as TRICOM that are seeking to expand the services they offer because of our history of continuous innovation with IP and other services,” said Manny Dasneves, Caribbean regional manager for Calix. “The Calix C7 supports IP broadband today, and is a strategic platform for TRICOM to also deliver broadband Ethernet business services. Plus, the Calix platform provides TRICOM with the ”five nines“ reliability that broadband Ethernet services require.”

About TRICOM
TRICOM, S.A., provides a full range of telecom services to subscribers in the Dominican Republic, including residential, long-distance, broadband, cable, and wireless services. The carrier operates its own local access network and a digital cellular system; it also owns its own submarine fiber-optic cables and operates switches based in the U.S., where it provides long-distance service to Dominicans calling home.

The economy of the Dominican Republic, the fasted growing in Latin America, grew by an estimated 10.9 percent in 2006 (The World Fact Book). Growth is led by the telecommunications sector, which grew 26.8 percent in 2005.

About Calix
Calix is the largest telecom equipment supplier focused solely on access solutions for broadband service delivery. Service providers deploy Calix access systems to enable a rich set of information, communication, and entertainment services and to expand their revenue base beyond connectivity. Calix access innovation helps service providers transform their networks from circuit to packet, narrowband to broadband, and copper to fiber. Calix has deployed millions of ports and tens of thousands of systems into hundreds of service provider networks throughout North America. For more information, visit the Calix website at www.calix.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are based upon management’s current expectations and are inherently uncertain. Forward-looking statements are based upon information available to us as of the date of this release and we assume no obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking statement to reflect any event or circumstance after the date of this release. Actual results and the timing of events could differ materially from current expectations.

For additional information contact:
Jeannette Bitz
Engage PR
510-748-8200 x207
jbitz@engagepr.com