Alabama Fiber Network Selects Arista Networks for Statewide Middle-Mile Initiative

Business Wire 7-Aug-2024 9:00 AM

Arista Networks (NYSE:ANET) announced today that Alabama Fiber Network (AFN), a consortium of eight electric cooperatives, has selected Arista as its provider of routing and switching equipment for its robust middle-mile network project. This initiative delivers affordable, high-capacity and reliable internet access to last-mile providers and large enterprises throughout underserved rural areas across Alabama.

AFN is spearheading a major broadband expansion supported by the State of Alabama through Governor Ivey's Be Linked Alabama initiative and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The project delivers an over 6,600-mile open-access, middle-mile network, reaching all 67 counties. This critical infrastructure supports communication service providers and community anchor institutions in bridging the digital divide.

As part of the over $340 million investment, AFN selected Arista's high-performance 7280SR3 platform, Ciena's WaveLogic 5 Nano (WL5n) 400G ZR+ pluggable transceivers and Reconfigurable Line System (RLS).

"Through AFN's middle-mile network, last-mile providers will have the bandwidth they need to bring high-speed broadband to rural Alabamians. This network will not only boost economic development but also improve access to healthcare and education," said Terry Metze, AFN's Chief Executive Officer. "We are building a best-in-class network that offers the highest levels of performance and security. Arista's technology is the perfect choice to help AFN achieve these standards."

"The Alabama Fiber Network represents a significant step towards enhanced connectivity and digital inclusion across the region," said Ashwin Kohli, Chief Customer Officer for Arista Networks. "Both AFN and Arista are driven by a shared purpose of leveraging technology to create positive change. We are honored to be a part of this transformative initiative."

The Arista 7280R3 routing platforms offer a scalable and adaptable architecture, enabling seamless connectivity across diverse locations. They provide robust automation, routing, and switching capabilities to handle the demands of the extensive network. Additionally, AFN will leverage Arista's CloudVision^® platform for streamlined network management, Arista Professional Services for implementation and validation, and enterprise solutions to support customer acquisition.

Arista and Ciena have jointly certified the Ciena WL5n QSFP-DD coherent pluggable transceivers solution. With this solution, Alabama Fiber Networks optimizes cost and power efficiency for transporting broadband traffic statewide at high bandwidth 400Gb/s rates, even across distances of 1,000km. The advanced, adaptable 6500 RLS provides seamless connectivity to any location and future-proofs the photonic infrastructure for emerging technologies.

About Arista Networks

Arista Networks is an industry leader in data-driven, client-to-cloud networking for large AI, data center, campus and routing environments. Its award-winning platforms deliver availability, agility, automation, analytics, and security through an advanced network operating stack. For more information, visit https://www.arista.com.

About Alabama Fiber Network (AFN):

AFN, the DBA for the Fiber Utility Network, was established to address the lack of middle-mile connectivity in rural Alabama. Eight electric cooperatives and their subsidiaries: Central Alabama Electric Cooperative, Coosa Valley Electric Cooperative, Covington Electric Cooperative, Cooperative Connection LLC (a subsidiary of Cullman Electric Cooperative), JWEMC Communications LLC (a subsidiary of Joe Wheeler Electric Membership Cooperative), North Alabama Electric Cooperative, Tombigbee Electric Cooperative, and PowerSouth Energy Cooperative collaborated with fiber lease partner Alabama Power Company to deliver middle-mile network.

ARISTA and CloudVision are among the registered and unregistered trademarks of Arista Networks in jurisdictions worldwide. Other company names or product names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Additional information and resources can be found at www.arista.com. This press release contains forward-looking statements including, but not limited to, statements regarding the performance and capabilities of Arista's products and services. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements, including rapid technological and market change, customer requirements, and industry standards, as well as other risks stated in our filings with the SEC available on Arista's website at www.arista.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Arista disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

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