AUSTIN, Texas -- General Bandwidth, a leading telecommunications equipment provider enabling carriers to deliver enhanced voice services over broadband networks, today announced that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, has listed General Bandwidth's G6 Packet Telephony Migration Platform on their "RUS Accepted" list. The RUS listing designates products that are acceptable for use in telecommunications systems of rural telephone companies and utilities that purchase network equipment using RUS loans for the benefit of rural broadband infrastructure development.

RUS administers several new programs for improving the quality of life in rural America. The Broadband Pilot Program, a loan program designed specifically to increase the rate of deployment of technology to small rural towns, is one of the RUS projects. Several rural telephone companies are currently deploying and trialing the General Bandwidth G6 platform, which enables a seamless migration from traditional circuit oriented voice to next generation packet voice services, to deliver packetized voice over various broadband networks including fixed wireless, DSL/T1, and fiber-to-the-premises.

General Bandwidth Inc.