OAKLAND, Calif. -- Zhone Technologies, Inc (NASDAQ: ZHNE), a global leader in network access solutions, announced that leading town developer, Orascom Development (OD), has selected Zhone as its end-to-end FTTx GPON equipment provider, delivering premium FTTx services to its flagship self-sufficient town, El Gouna, Red Sea.

Zhone provides El Gouna with a single source for a tightly integrated FTTx GPON system with RF video overlay, including Zhone’s powerful MXK™ intelligent terabit access concentrator, zNID™ Optical Network Terminals (ONTs), RF equipment and the Zhone Management Systems (ZMS). Zhone’s recently announced MXK platform will serve as the cornerstone of El Gouna’s new FTTx network, delivering premium triple play services to a multicultural community of 15,000 residents. The MXK provides a 2x bandwidth improvement over the closest competing platform and is designed expressly for multi-stream HD and immersion game media that requires massive amounts of dedicated bandwidth. El Gouna’s entire FTTx GPON network will be integrated via Zhone’s powerful SLMS access operating system software, giving OD a rich complement of advanced networking and security features, with a high degree of flexibility in adding future services.

“We underwent an extensive survey of the leading FTTx GPON vendors, evaluating the capacity, robust design, and interoperability, and it was readily apparent that Zhone’s system is best inClass,” said Eng Samih Sawiris, OD CEO and Chairman. “Zhone’s offerings are very much compatible with El Gouna’s standards. With it, we can source an elegant, integrated approach to provisioning data, voice and entertainment services with a great deal of efficiency, flexibility, and capacity to grow.”

Designed for easy multi-vendor interoperability, Zhone’s FTTx GPON system featuring the MXK is the only solution to offer Smart OMCI™, Zhone’s standards-based FTTx GPON management interface, providing network managers proven multi-vendor interoperability, and greater ease of operations in FTTx GPON system.

In addition to its first-class amenities and services, OD cares to provide El Gouna’s growing community with FTTH GPON based telephone extensions with AVAYA SIP functionality, high-speed data and video over a single fiber to each MDU/villa. This network design was achieved using Zhone’s carrier-class MXK uplink and link redundancy LACP into its HP 10 GigE core switch. The MXK provides a range of redundant uplink options for optimum network design.

Zhone Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: ZHNE)

Orascom Telecom