SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Riverstone Networks (Pink Sheets: RSTN), a leading provider of Carrier Ethernet Networks, has received USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS) listing for both its RS and Riverstone 15000 product lines, making it the first vendor of MPLS-based Ethernet routers to do so. A RUS listing permits Independent Operating Companies (IOCs) and Rural Local Exchange Carriers (RLECs) to deploy these products using RUS Broadband Loan and Grant programs.

The RUS loan program is designed to increase the rate of broadband deployments to communities of up to 20,000 inhabitants, ensuring that rural consumers enjoy the same range of communications services that are available in urban and suburban communities. The program provides funding critical to the economic welfare of smaller communities by helping rural service providers deliver the high-caliber broadband connectivity needed for these communities to attract and retain jobs.

"Broadband connectivity is a big issue for the nation's 1,000 rural operators, and naturally many are looking to Ethernet as a solution," said Michael Howard, principal analyst at Infonetics Research. "By listing Riverstone's MPLS Ethernet routers, RUS opens the door for these operators to use special funding to take advantage of this solution, which can give them the ability to not only offer more broadband-intensive services, but to do so over a less costly and potentially converged infrastructure."

Riverstone Networks Inc.