[November 17, 2009] MRV Earns Rural Development Acceptance for OptiSwitch Product Line Tweet Nov 18, 2009 (Close-Up Media via COMTEX) -- MRV Communications announced its OptiSwitch 900 demarcation series (OS900) and OptiSwitch 9000 aggregation series (OS9000) have qualified for technical acceptance based upon the standards of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS). MRV is a networking company with a full line of packet-optical transport (P-OTS), carrier Ethernet, 40G networking and out-of-band networking products. RUS oversees a multi-billion dollar budget designed to encourage the availability of telecommunication services in rural or under-served areas. This RUS endorsement means that rural independent telephone operating companies (IOCs) will qualify for a subsidization of their fiber optic transport rollouts if they deploy MRV's OptiSwitch solutions. To be technically certified, equipment must meet the USDA Rural Development's standards for a variety of hazards including corrosion, weather, fire, earthquake and vandalism. MRV's OS900 demarcation and OS9000 aggregation families are compact carrier-Ethernet switching platforms. The OS900 demarcation series enables premium Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) manageable Ethernet services with extensive traffic management that gives carriers the ability to differentiate their service portfolio and maintain strict service level agreements (SLAs) in the last mile. With a comprehensive suite of operations, administration and maintenance (OAM), the OS900 series can provide network fault and performance management at the network demarcation point. "With the Broadband Initiatives Program enacted earlier this year allocating $2.5 billion to be awarded to build broadband infrastructure in rural areas, RUS acceptance is more important than ever," said Noam Lotan, chief executive officer of MRV Communications. "This RUS acceptance certifies our entire first mile carrier Ethernet solution and I am thrilled to see that MRV is able to be a part of this critical initiative." ((Comments on this story may be sent to [email protected])) [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]